Friday, 15 February 2013

Page 2

A lot of you might be wondering, "What is this Native Yards Brand thing and where does it come from, what is its purpose... What do I stand to gain from it if I join in?"

To put your minds at ease, let me then tell the story of this brainchild called The Native Yards Brand...



A few years ago I had this urging desire to have something that we as the citizens/dwellers of the LaGuNya (Langa, Gugulethu and Nyanga) area may call our own, something that would best serve the needs of my people, be their voice where they saw themselves as voiceless. Something that could serve as their watchdog, where they could discuss issues relevant to their well-being and livelihood all the while they could still be entertained and feel at home in their places of residence... It hit me, there's only one form or medium that could best serve these needs and that was starting up a radio station. A community radio station to be specific, as this would be ours as a community and people of LaGuNya. By that a decision was made, a radio station it was then.
Within the time of my research on the relevance of a community radio station, the requirements to start a radio station and gunnering support from the masses in forming as well as building a formidable community radio station, I met up with 3 very wonderful people... Highly gifted individuals to be quite honest. They were Siviwe "Ta Siv" Minyi (@Siviwe_Minyi), Zandile Mazwayi (@ZandileZaza005) and Sonwabo Phillips (@SonwaboPhillips).
It was in the meetings held between myself, Zandile and Ta Siv that the name Native Yards Radio came about and we knew that with this name we had a winner. This was something our people could dearly relate to, because of its history.

The unfortunate part of it all is that we never got the chance to push our dream and initiative forward as much as we wanted to, this was due to restrictions placed on us being given a frequency. But we pushed and are still pushing, which means that we will get what we had promised our people. We will give them their own radio station.

We didn't let in though because of us not getting or being given a frequency... Native Yards Brand came about. This was the right hand of this body we were constructing. A body that will see to the upliftment of our area and South Africa at large, with our eyes set for the continent of Africa as a whole.

The purpose of Native Yards Brand was to form up an amalgamation of minds and mindsets, bring them together to form up an umbrella initiative that would see to the betterment of our area. These different forms I'm referring to are as follows:

  1. Education,
  2. Entrepreneurship,
  3. Life Orientation workshops,
  4. Concerntration on all sporting codes practised in our area,
  5. Mentorship programs,
  6. Motivation sessions,
  7. Entertainment,
  8. The progression of our area, in any form.
The main focus would be to champion these issues through the youth, whilst involving adults that are fully capable and are willing to come on board either through initiatives that they're linked with and are fully involved in, as well as through their wanting to come on board on the basis of bringing in their wisdom and tons of experience. We will also work with those who have acquired immense success in the abovementioned forms and were birthed, groomed and are products of the LaGuNya area.
We're blessed to have a lot of people that are quite successful in their fields of interest and expertise, people that are what we call a "Native Yards Brand" and would push forward our agenda of unearthing another breed of "Native Yards Brands".

All we needed and still need though, is the full on participation of those who reside in our beautiful area. Hence our plea for people to join in and participate in this great initiative. Native Yards Brand has a Facebook Page (www.facebook.com/NativeYardsBrand) and a twitter account (@NativeYardBrand) where we share our ideas, give out information and where we can converse if you have any additions or would like have a chat with us. You can also follow me on twitter @MasixoleNcusane and add your comments there as well.

Here's to us progressing ourselves...

Thursday, 14 February 2013

Page 1

"The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed."
Speech by Steve Bantu Biko in Cape Town, 1971.



It was these very same words that were lingering in my mind all the while when I saw how our future, as the young generation of Cape Townians, especially those residing in what used to be known as the Native Yards, was heading downward. These words replayed themselves over and over again, as their true definition came into being through the lives of those who live in these so called Native Yards where heading nowhere slowly and where it seemed to be that hope is nowhere to be found.

We, as the residents of these Native Yards, had had enough of living in squalor, while our counterparts in the upper sections of our beautiful town of Cape Town, were gracefully living in royalty. Now because of our wishful thinking and dreams of progressing as a people some educated themselves and their children, while those who could not afford the time spent on patience rooted for the easy way out and that being criminal activities. On that note, educated or not, we were seen as being hooligans and time wasters. A people that did not care for their own wellbeing and the wellbeing of others, we were referred to as wannabes, a statement that gave us a stigma of being followers rather than leaders. Our dreams were never regarded, our intentions were always seen as derogatory and our thinking base noted as senseless. That, unfortunately, was our everyday living, which ended up being a part of "who we are" even though it was and still is unnaturally so.

This mentality given to us was used against us, at all times. It infiltrated itself right down to our morals, values and way of life, how we were brought up... Simply put, we were oppressed and the oppressor was using the same weapon we pride ourselves with; that being our minds.

Fast forward to the new millenium and 12 years down the line we now have our own malls, entrepreneurs, success stories, celebrities, rich history, politicians but still there are some instances of oppression doing the rounds. But the Native Yards were not to be known as such any more, but were to be renamed. Our Black Consciousness hero was the first to be recognised, and the longest street in Gugulethu was named after him, Steve Biko Drive.

Then, the Native Yards Brand was born. No, not your day to day brand that everyone talks about or refers to, but a brand of people that saw good in the new things to come. A brand of people that recognised their potential and the potential in others, one that felt the undying need to free themselves from the oppressor. This kind of brand that is a leader of note, an example to those who have no-one to turn to when in need, a person who is proud to leave footsteps that can be followed, footsteps of goodness, honesty, hardwork and transparency. The Native Yards Brand is someone who is able to say NO to unnecessities and mean it, if it is not for everyone then it is not for them. The brand I'm referring to is not young nor old, they don't see age but see potential and growth. A brand that seeks to uplift, assist and do things for the betterment of everyone. A brand that seeks to place their area of birth on the map of GREATNESS.

This brand is a force to be reckoned with and the oppressor is forced watch out for them as their intentions are good but unknown to the oppressor.

The question is are you a Native Yards Brand?

To be continued...

Tuesday, 12 February 2013

New Beginnings

Welcome one, welcome all...

First and foremost before anything else, let us pray...

"Father God, Creator of all that was, all that is and all that shall be, I thank you for this great opportunity. In your presence is where good things happen and in your absence is where our shortfalls come to be. Bless the beings, hands and minds that will join me in this venture I'm about to embark on.
Let those whose generosity is given without boundaries or expactations of reimbursement be blessed greater so than what they put it.
To the young and old that we seek to help, let their tears of joy be the guiding routes of our journey towards prosperity. For all that you have placed before us that was good, is good and will be good... I thank you. AMEN"

On that note the Native Yards Brand blog is officially opened for business...

Azishe ke.