"I am all that I am through all those who saw how far I could go and made it a point to let me know..." - Masixole V. Ncusane
Being able to dream is a miracle in its own right, not knowing what to do with that dream requires assistance from God through those who live by his word. All of us, irrespective who are you are or what you are, have a responsibility towards our communities. It is through the realisation of this responsibility that we seek ways of administering change, one that defines your being and those who look up to you. How we handle such a realisation is what sets us apart.
Amidst the conversations we have, a lot of issues that affect us come to the fore and at times we take things lightly holding those before us at ransom for not seeing what we're witnessing and for being forced to live with the consequences of such things not being taken into consideration.
There are those of us who believe in sharing as a means of finding solace, there are those of who have put their trust in finding solutions that are sustainable and would carry on for decades or maybe milleniums to come as a means of bringing good change in our places of birth.
Amongst us we have champions, leaders, scholars, intellects and masters of life. Alas we also have followers, believers and charity cases. When fused together all these personalities form a union of great achievement, one that allows growth to be inevitable for while the other depends on being led towards success, the other despises being lucklustre and prides themselves in being put in an awkward position. A position that will banish them from their comfort zone.
There is a saying in IsiXhosa: "Impundu zi yavimba, inyawo zi yaphana..."
Which is loosely translated to say if you are lazy you will always stay hungry but if you go forth in getting what you want, you will definitely reap what you have sown and the rewards thereof. Through this my cry did not fall on deaf ears, a cry of achieving what is achievable and that is to bring about change in my community.
Along this journey of achieving my goals through Native Yards Brand - www.facebook.com/NativeYardsBrand , there were 5 people who are greatly gifted individuals that decided to join in. They are the Native Yards Brand Peeps and they all have a story to tell, one that could only be told through action not words. I introduce to you these individuals, who are a perfect description of what I have written and spoke about thus far.
They are:
Lihle Ndindwa - www.twitter.com/li_dwight
Zuko Mbangxa - www.twitter.com/Qualow_1
Nwabisa Mlambo - www.facebook.com/Mamqwathi.Mlambo
Siyabulela Ndiki - www.facebook.com/Siya.J.Ndiki
Mpho Ngobeni
We will soon be launching and adding our value's worth quite soon... These will be your go to people.
Until further notice.
Ola de, ola de, ola de....
Friday, 10 May 2013
Friday, 19 April 2013
Page 4, The crux of the matter
"And it then became evident that in order for us to prosper, to become who we want to become and to achieve our greatest goals, we need to dig deep. Dig deeper than we have ever dug before, through this the moment of truth will come out and that is where we will finally see where our strengths lie." - Masixole Vincent Ncusane
It's April the 3rd, I'm standing, sweating like I'm about to be given the hardest most baddest news ever told to me. I'm shaking, my heart is beating so fast I've even stopped counting the beats per second, "What's the next step from hereonwards, what shall I do? How am I going to tell them, how will they look at me, what will they take me for? DAMN MAN, WHAT WILL THEY TAKE ME FOR!..."
April the 10th my phone rings... "Aargh, another e-mail. Let it add on the pile that's already stacking up wethu." I thought to myself. Strangely though I opened the e-mail, BOOM! To my surprise it was the confirmation I've been waiting for all these months. "No, you've got to be kidding me. Are you for real..." is what I said and then it hit me, things are looking up finally.
Okay, okay... Some of you might be wondering "Whisky Tango Foxstrot is he on about?!"
The above is just a short story of how things transpired when I registered Native Yards Brand and the bad news I received a year later with being told that my form was nowhere to be found. Luckily, after pulling a few strings, a confirmation was sent that the forms had been found. Let's just say BIG THINGS ARE INSTORE FOR THE BRAND INDEED.
The happenings in the story serve as a testament to what most of us go through when we plan something and then you're later told... "It ain't happening guy." And just as you're about to give up, you find out later that this was just a test to see how badly you wanted what you applied for, irrespective of what it is. As human beings, no matter how different we are, we all share the same shortcut. The sort of shortcut that is imbedded in us until we see what it could to tarnish not only our reputation but our future as well, that shortcut is called GIVING UP TOO QUICKLY.
Honestly though do our dreams deserve to be taken via and/or to this shortcut, do we deserve to place ourselves in the nearby routes that lead to this shortcut and if we do find ourselves infront of this shortcut, do we have a turnaround strategy to fight off the urge of proceeding onwards with using this shortcut?
Remember now, the final decision on where you will end up one day lies not with the next person but with YOU...
Think about it and consider the importance of your dreams visa vie the shortcut.
Ola de, ola de, ola de...
It's April the 3rd, I'm standing, sweating like I'm about to be given the hardest most baddest news ever told to me. I'm shaking, my heart is beating so fast I've even stopped counting the beats per second, "What's the next step from hereonwards, what shall I do? How am I going to tell them, how will they look at me, what will they take me for? DAMN MAN, WHAT WILL THEY TAKE ME FOR!..."
April the 10th my phone rings... "Aargh, another e-mail. Let it add on the pile that's already stacking up wethu." I thought to myself. Strangely though I opened the e-mail, BOOM! To my surprise it was the confirmation I've been waiting for all these months. "No, you've got to be kidding me. Are you for real..." is what I said and then it hit me, things are looking up finally.
Okay, okay... Some of you might be wondering "Whisky Tango Foxstrot is he on about?!"
The above is just a short story of how things transpired when I registered Native Yards Brand and the bad news I received a year later with being told that my form was nowhere to be found. Luckily, after pulling a few strings, a confirmation was sent that the forms had been found. Let's just say BIG THINGS ARE INSTORE FOR THE BRAND INDEED.
The happenings in the story serve as a testament to what most of us go through when we plan something and then you're later told... "It ain't happening guy." And just as you're about to give up, you find out later that this was just a test to see how badly you wanted what you applied for, irrespective of what it is. As human beings, no matter how different we are, we all share the same shortcut. The sort of shortcut that is imbedded in us until we see what it could to tarnish not only our reputation but our future as well, that shortcut is called GIVING UP TOO QUICKLY.
Honestly though do our dreams deserve to be taken via and/or to this shortcut, do we deserve to place ourselves in the nearby routes that lead to this shortcut and if we do find ourselves infront of this shortcut, do we have a turnaround strategy to fight off the urge of proceeding onwards with using this shortcut?
Remember now, the final decision on where you will end up one day lies not with the next person but with YOU...
Think about it and consider the importance of your dreams visa vie the shortcut.
Ola de, ola de, ola de...
Monday, 18 March 2013
Page 3, So it begins
As much as the excitement is getting to me on telling the story that I'm about to tell, it is very important that I first greet you guys... Seeing that it has been a minute since I last done so.
Hello there everybody.
Last night my twitter timeline was packed with tweets about #KhayamnandiFireDonations2013 so, like any other curious being would, I gained some interest in the discussions and decided to check out what they were all about.
Following through the hashtag (twitter talk for subject matter), it was quite heartwarming when I found out what the discussion was all about. Headed by Kolosa Kokolo (@Kokx_kokolo), the discussion was about a donation drive setup for the Khayamnandi, a township in Stellenbosch, residents that were affected by the recent fires that took place a couple of weeks back.
The donation drive came about after she saw how badly affected the residents of Khayamnandi were, she put herself in their shoes in asking the questions "What if it were me or one of my family members that were in such a situation... How can I help and get others to come on board in helping out as well?" After tweeting about her plans, she saw the interest shown by other young people who, amongst other things, shared the same thoughts she had in mind and it was decided upon that; The drive should and will take place.
The meeting point will be at the Gugulethu N.Y. 6 Shops, near the Gugulethu Mall, at one of Gugulethu's favourite hang-out spot called Es'khaleni. People are urged to bring clothes, food, blankets, building material or anything they would want to help out with.
The date for the drive is 23/03/2013.
Native Yards Brand will be there in full force in support of this great initiative and to Kolosa Kokolo, this is what being a Native Yards Brand is all about... Big up to you sis'.
Ola de, ola de, ola de.
Hello there everybody.
Last night my twitter timeline was packed with tweets about #KhayamnandiFireDonations2013 so, like any other curious being would, I gained some interest in the discussions and decided to check out what they were all about.
Following through the hashtag (twitter talk for subject matter), it was quite heartwarming when I found out what the discussion was all about. Headed by Kolosa Kokolo (@Kokx_kokolo), the discussion was about a donation drive setup for the Khayamnandi, a township in Stellenbosch, residents that were affected by the recent fires that took place a couple of weeks back.
The donation drive came about after she saw how badly affected the residents of Khayamnandi were, she put herself in their shoes in asking the questions "What if it were me or one of my family members that were in such a situation... How can I help and get others to come on board in helping out as well?" After tweeting about her plans, she saw the interest shown by other young people who, amongst other things, shared the same thoughts she had in mind and it was decided upon that; The drive should and will take place.
The meeting point will be at the Gugulethu N.Y. 6 Shops, near the Gugulethu Mall, at one of Gugulethu's favourite hang-out spot called Es'khaleni. People are urged to bring clothes, food, blankets, building material or anything they would want to help out with.
The date for the drive is 23/03/2013.
Native Yards Brand will be there in full force in support of this great initiative and to Kolosa Kokolo, this is what being a Native Yards Brand is all about... Big up to you sis'.
Ola de, ola de, ola de.
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:
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...
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:
- Education,
- Entrepreneurship,
- Life Orientation workshops,
- Concerntration on all sporting codes practised in our area,
- Mentorship programs,
- Motivation sessions,
- Entertainment,
- The progression of our area, in any form.
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...
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...
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