Social | Economic | Political Minded Leaders

CIRCLE OF CONCERNMAGAZINE

RSA R19.50 2310-8827

OPEN LETTER TO 2014 OPEN LETTER TO 2014 MATRICULANTSMATRICULANTS

ONE OF THE MZANSI'S YOUNGEST ENTREPRENEUR

BUSINESS : WHERE BUSINESS : WHERE TO START?TO START?

JANUARY 2015

Society victimise pupils Society victimise pupils who who FAILEDFAILED matric. matric.

Colourless Colourless AfricanAfrican

10 D

igits

CONTENTSJANUARY 2015

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

EDUCATION, SOCIAL AND POLITICS

Editorial : Open letter to matriculants 6

If the earth could talk 8

Business : Where to start? 11

One of Mzansi's youngest entrepreneurs 14

Mentorship programme for aspiring entrepreneurs 17

How the society victimise pupils who failed matric 23

Colourless African- Politics with Golden 27

Is it poor South Africans or poor education system 29

Numbers don't tell me about the struggle 32

Karate in Kasi 34

INSIDE THE MAGAZINE | PAGE 4

On the CoverOn the Cover

Society victimise Society victimise pupils whopupils who FAILEDFAILED

matric.matric.

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Komane Golden | golden@circleofconcern.co.zaJUNIOR EDITOR Molebogeng Mashobane | lebo@circleofconcern.co.zaFINANCE EDITOR Kulani Mhlanga | Kulani@circleofconcern.co.zaCOPY EDITOR Marvin Malaka | m.malaka@circleofconcern.co.zaEDUCATION AND SOCIAL EDITORHarold Ncongwane | harold@circleofconcern.co.zaWRITERSOfentse Maluleka Andrew SakoMichelle NchabelengLebogang MabothaThulani MasilelaSUBSCRIBTION Sako Andrew | andrew@circleofconcern.co.za | 071 328 7107ADVERTISING Golden Komane | golden@circleofconcern.co.za | 071 328 7107PUBLISHER Circle of Concern Magazine

The TeamWith Managing Editor

Opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of this magazine, its editor or its publishers. The mention of specific products in articles or advertisements does not imply that they are endorsed or recommended by Circle of Concern Magazine or its publishers in presence to others of a similar nature, which are not mentioned or advertised. While every effort is made to ensure accuracy of editorial content, the publishers do not accept responsibility for omissions, errors or any consequences that may arise therefrom. Reliance on any information contained in this publication is at your own risk. The publishers make no representations or warranties, express or implied, as to the correctness or suitability of the information contained and/ or the products advertised in this publication. The publisher shall not be held liable for any damages or loss arising , incurred by readers of this publication or any/ other person/s. The publisher disclaim all responsibility and liability for any damages, including pure economic loss and any damages, resulting from the use of any service or product advertised in this publication. Readers of this publication indemnify and hold harmless the publishers of this magazine, its employees and servants for any demand, action, application or other proceedings made by any third party and arising out of or in connection with the use of any services and/or products or the reliance of any information contained in this publication.

EDITORIAL SPACEK

oman

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Depoliticising vital

institutions

Team | PAGE 6

Open letter to Open letter to 2014 matriculants2014 matriculants

EDITORIAL Letters to readers| PAGE 6

IF THE EARTH COULD TALK…Ofentse Maluleka

Mother earth consists of many systems that are complex and interdependent. In order to understand those complex systems, we therefore need to study the biological and ecological functioning of each system.

These systems are the atmosphere, biosphere, geosphere and the hydrosphere. We need to be deep in our sense to expand our knowledge from understanding the basic food chains to understanding how the human-environment is linked. We all have different definitions about the environment and that is why our perceptions about nature are wrong.

ENVIRONMENT Mother Earth | PAGE 8

The environment according to NEMA (National Environmental Management Act of 1996 under South African Constitution) is defined as “the surroundings within which humans exists and consists of (i) the land, water, and atmosphere, (ii) micro-organisms and animal life, (iii) any part or combination of (i) and (ii) and the inter-relationships among and between them, (iv) the physical, chemical, aesthetic and cultural properties and conditions of the foregoing that influence human health and wellbeing” (UNISA 2010).

If the earth could talk … “Hi there, can you please stop what you doing and start to be responsible for all your actions. Why are you so ignorant, when information about my body is delivered to you? Today I am dirty, have developed holes in my ozone and sometimes I cry this acidic content I don’t really connect with as it makes other parts of my body suffer” What would you do if the earth starts sending-out invoices about our debt, will you pay?. The transition from this personal egoist has contributed to the long term degradation of our natural capital. Our desires and freedom of supply and demand has turned Mother Earth into a patient with care-less nurses ignoring the doctor’s guide, yes environmentalists are nature’s doctors.

The transition from this personal egoist

has contributed to the long term degradation of our natural capital.

ENVIRONMENT Mother Earth | PAGE 9

Furthermore … Hello Mr Capitalist, it is because of you that my body is itchy and I have difficulties in maintaining my body temperature and as a result some contents of me struggle to survive due to chronic climate change. You dig deep within me, extracting and exploiting my belongings.

You grow rich while I deplete and degrade. Homo-sapiens, I thought you and I were friends when some of you started recognizing my suffering and preached the gospel all over the world. You care-less for me but I care-more for you as I provide food, oxygen and area of rest for you. I wonder how you treat your friends, do you always betray them?

I wonder what will happen to your species the day most part of me becomes degraded, what will you eat? Modify crops? Well just so you know, such food is not as healthy as the one’s I provide to you. You think technology can solve the suffering you cause to me, try to close the hole you created above my head…yes! The holes in the ozone layer. I bet you cannot rectify them, so why do you continue to destroy me if you cannot correct your actions. Well that for me is being dull, yes you are!

ENVIRONMENT Mother Earth | PAGE 10

Starting a business | PAGE11ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Where to Where to Start?Start?

A question most aspiring entrepreneurs seems to be struggling with. There’s no right or wrong answer but the best place to start at, is where you are now. Great ideas are generated every minute around the globe but implementing them is another tale not to be told at all. You cannot thumb-suck and decide where, when and how to start a business. What is it that cease great ideas to come to being?

Business itself is not only lucrative but it is also overwhelming and challenging. The first thing you have to do as an entrepreneur is to conquer fear because it might go against your dreams going forward. Motivation and hard work must not absent during your entrepreneurial journey. Let self-determination help you move forward.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP Starting a business | PAGE12

The advancements of technology changed the landscape of most industries. It is not like 30 years ago where a startup will be dependent on funding from venture capitalists, investors or creditors. Those days where registering a company complicated but with modern technology you can have a legal entity with few clicks on your personal computer. Start where you are because the process is easy and economical. Turning a small business in to fastest growing and sustainable corporation takes time and requires a lot of hard work.

The simpler way of building a core business with no money is through finding yourself a cash-cow. While most profitable and sustainable ideas need a lot of money and time to mature, you need to have a cash-cow where you are going to be milking rands in order to run the exact business idea. The money will help you cover the startup costs while you are still looking for investors to invest money in your ideas. Finding an investor is not an overnight thing, it takes times but as an entrepreneur you have to put your money first, before you could ask potential investors to plough some cash in.

When you create more small businesses, you create small entrepreneurship. Out of that comes self-determination and

employment.Jesse Jackson

What is great about entrepreneurship is that entrepreneurs create the

tangible from the intangible.Robert Herjavec

I always knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur. I started my own

software company in high school and went to college to

study entrepreneurship.Marc Benioff

Marc Benioff

ENTREPRENEURSHIP Starting a business | PAGE13

There are small things that needs to be done, doing them before operating is a good idea. You need obvious stuff like logo, slogan, and determination of target market and clear understanding of the product or services you want to offer. It should be understood that sometimes it’s expensive for most startups to get well organized market research from market connoisseurs.

If you could not get an expert research on your market or industry of choice due to financial constraints then consider having discussions with people whom you believe are your target market. Listen to how they feel about the product and service you want to offer, be truthful with yourself and take every comment regardless of how it is shaped.

Understand what impact your product or service is going to have on the lives of your target market. Usually products or services that turned into fortune were solutions to most of our previously abandoned problems. Look how companies like Google changed the world, before 1998 there were plenty of search engines but they never met the need of the internet users.

The co-founders of Google Larry Page and Sergey Brin saw vacuum then they entered the market with their own solutions. Entrepreneurs are not only moneymaker but they are also problem solvers. Start today because tomorrow is sometimes never.

Growing up style is all I have ever known from my mum helping others to get their fashion sense says 17 year old Gomolemo Setshedi who started his own brand 2Presh2Plly it implies that when you are wearing our brand, you are fresher than your peers and you don’t have to follow what society says.

2Presh2Plly it’s a peoples brand and behind our brand we tell stories, more like story tellers than designers, stories that are told relate to our consumers and our target market especially if your are are especially if you are teenager or if you are in your early 20’s.

KASI MY FUTURE Entertainment | PAGE14

ONE OF MSANZI’S ONE OF MSANZI’S YOUNGEST ENTREPRENEURYOUNGEST ENTREPRENEUR

Entertainment | PAGE15KASI MY FUTURE

I am business minded so I had to think of a way to make money, I am currently working alone but I have a few people that help me because I am still in high school, my aunt is a fashion designer so I am inspired by them, they tell me the do’s and don’ts of the couture and clothing.

The company is not registered yet, 2Presh2Plly is not registered but the copyright and patent is still in process.

Entertainment | PAGE16

I came across various challenges such as support, manufacture not getting my vision and producing quality brands.

Manufacturing in South Africa it’s a problem especially where I come from (Rustenburg) People do not support local brands, they would rather buy fake brands which is low quality and have no meaning and the other thing is that manufactures improvise more than service delivery what you want and that’s why it’s difficult to meet your vision requirements .Startup capital was also one of the challenges because I had to save my pocket money but I didn’t mind because I wanted my brand to be a success so I knew I had to invest in it.

KASI MY FUTURE

Mentorship Programme for aspiringaspiring

ENTREPRENEURSENTREPRENEURS

BUSINESS Business | PAGE 17

Mentorship is a personal development relationship in which a more experienced or knowledgeable person helps to guide a less experienced or less knowledgeable person.

Entrepreneurs, mostly those who just joined the exciting journey of business need to be guided by those who have been there or knowledgeable in the fields of operations.

Access to capital was and is still an issue to many small businesses but lack of mentorship is not largely recognized as the stumbling block.

Mentorship will help you get capital, gain access to market, equip you with skills to run your business and it works well for network as well.The National Development Youth Agency (NYDA) is offering youth mentorship programme through the process of establishing their respective businesses.

BUSINESS

It is a great opportunity for aspiring entrepreneurs to learn from experienced impresarios. Access to this mentorship will help you understand your industry better and improve both your business and financial acumen. An opportunity to grab with both hands.ve passion for youth development

Business | PAGE 18

The first phase of approximately six months focuses on developing entrepreneurial skills, identifying and evaluating a business opportunity, business planning process as well as testing the viability of the business plan. The second phase assists mentees with

gathering resources to establish the business and how to run it. One of the resources be capital and necessary assets to get your business going. The combination of these two phases entails theory and practice to provide basic skills to mentees. It is given that mentors will help you to apply what you learnt.

WHO QUALIFIES TO BE A WHO QUALIFIES TO BE A MENTEE?MENTEE?

● To become a mentee:You must be a South African citizen between 18 and 35 of age or must have at least 51% ownership in the business.Must have a startup or existing businessHave a micro or small enterpriseYou must need assistance in starting, sustaining or growing their businessMust be self-motivated and prepared to lead their development process.

The programme emphasizes that each mentee plays an active role in their development, while mentors and NYDA provide guidance and direction to achieve the desired outcomes. Mentees enrolling for this programme must be willing to take responsibility for their learning and thus complete assignments for all modules. This is to ensure that resources including time are not wasted on people with no drive to succeed as an entrepreneurs.

TERMS OF AGREEMENTTERMS OF AGREEMENTMentors are required to sign a mentoring agreement that outlines the code of conduct, privacy rights and possible conflict of interest. The mentee agreement also includes the mentee code of good practice and the mentee must indemnify the agency and mentor against any liability or loss incurred resulting from participating in the programme.

WHO QUALIFIES TO WHO QUALIFIES TO BE A MENTOR?BE A MENTOR?● To become a mentor:

You must be a business professional with at least 3 years’ experience in relevant industry. Must be an experienced manager or entrepreneurBe a retired professionalBe an enterprise Development Practitioner

BUSINESS Business | PAGE 19

How the society How the society victimise pupils who victimise pupils who

failed matric.failed matric.

EDUCATION Matriculants | PAGE 23

The society plays a huge role in how pupils who didn't complete their matric deal with failure. Quite often we hear in the news that students have committed suicide after they have found out that that they have failed or couldn't complete the matric with sufficient grades to meet the admission requirements for specific qualifications at tertiary institutions.

I am a failure

Mom and Dad

What people will say?

EDUCATION Matriculants | PAGE 24

After receiving results matric results and found out that they didn't do well, pupils tend to be overwhelmed, disappointment and often anxious to confront reality by facing their parents or relatives.

They are scared of the embarrassments and humiliation they have to deal with in the communities. In this state of mind, learners may think that failing their matric would suggests or confirm that they are failures and that they cannot achieve anything in life.

This could result to the use of drastic method such as drug abuse, alcohols abuse or suicide to escape the moment. What is quite interesting is that even though these pupils are aware of the option of upgrading, somehow they just don't see themselves upgrading or re-writing their subjects.

The manner in which the community treats individuals who have failed their matric can either destroy or motivate. Influential parties such as parents, teachers, community leaders and organizations play a role in how pupils take temporary fail. We can not only blame such pupils for their attempts to deal with this challenge of failing matric. We either support or reject them and any situation if individuals feel inadequate or lacks social support, they are bound to use ineffective ways of coping with failure and disappointment.

This comes from a perception that the community has towards individuals who are re-writing their subjects or those who do not have matric. Even if these individuals are making a great contribution towards the community, they may still be labelled as failures or "not good enough".

EDUCATION Matriculants | PAGE 25

The irony is that some parents don't engage in their teenagers studies, and when their child fails they act surprised, while if they were not involved at the first race. They would be able to know more about the struggle of their child and provide support if they engaged the race at the beginning.

Please don't confuse my point here, I'm not taking away the responsibility from the teenager but we all know that parent involvement plays a role in teenagers' confidence, encouragement and emotional comfort especially when the teenager is facing a burnout stage during exams.

Once a learner fails matric, he or she may think that it's over and there is nothing that can be done. There is life after failing matric and after failure.

Failing matric doesn't mean that you are incapable of achieving your initial dream. You have an opportunity to still do things differently .There are a number of ways you can explore to complete your matric,

1. You could re-write your school subjects that you couldn't pass in your matric. Enquire with your school principal for more information

2. You could also go to any FET college to complete a Vocational programme by adding technical subjects to your matric or to upgrade your marks.

ColourlessColourlessAfricanAfrican

Our Africa Matriculants | PAGE 27

I still cannot believe that I woke up colourless in Africa, I was not black nor white I was just colourless. Defining one’s roots or legitimacy based on colour raise unnecessary racial concerns in our societies.

We have seen the same thing of labeling people by colour doing the unjust to almost everyone. At the left hand side we saw the oppressor who never knew what humanity was

and on the right hand side we witnessed the confusion of the oppressed due to injustice enforced upon them. They were all victims. You lack humanity you are victim of immorality, you are denied freedom you are the victim of injustices. I deny to be part of the rainbow nation, not because I am arrogant or what.

Rainbow theory is impractical and can be faked by some people with thong hearts covered by roses. The theory acknowledges the differences of colours but I uphold colourless Africanism. 20 years of freedom yet we still see individuals like Steve Hofmeyer making unnecessary racial remarks about certain people. A death to one is not a death to all, we as the concerned nation we should not underpin what Steve Hofmeyer said, to a particular religion or groups he belongs to.

Societal issues we are facing on daily basis support the issue of racism. We still have the issue of land distribution and reform, which is still controversial. Inequality does add as well. Colourless Africanism is the way to go.

It is his mind not theirs. He is the one to be blamed not his group. I can agree with an exception that certain people in his constituency might have played with regard to his manners when coming to racial issues. You get some political leaders like Julius Malema singing kill the Boer. Racism is not just at all, whether it is from the so-called black or white people and remember that I am colourless.

Before labeling my brother as white or black acknowledge and respect the fact that he is a human being. I strongly believe that we are all Africans regardless of our associations, culture, skin colour and religion. Africanism it is all about coming together and acknowledging the importance of every racial group in Africa and provide conducive environment in which everyone can practice their particular believes

I know No Hate, I am I know No Hate, I am ColourlessColourless

Our Africa Matriculants | PAGE 28

A 2.4% drop compared to 2013’s matric results, shows that the important thing here is not the systems but the teaching and learning partnership within the education-system itself. Policy alone cannot change performance but needs to be integrated with other factors far beyond bureaucracy.

IS IT POOR SOUTH AFRICANS OR

POOR EDUCATION SYSTEM?

Matric is one of the biggest stages of every child’s academic journey, it marks 12 years of schooling. As they say “The journey of thousand miles begins with one step” it is not all pupils that has started grade 1 in the same year as others that actually reach this point, from grade 1 to 12 is such a marathon. It takes commitment, hardwork and parental guidance to actually make it to and through matric.

The big question now is…does the education system support our learners or is it poor performance from our learners? The education system has been changed three times from NCS (National Curriculum Satement), NSC (National Senior Certificate) and now CAPS (Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement) and still the matric pass rate cannot exceed 85%

EDUCATION Opinion Piece | PAGE 29

Mathematics, science and economics Excellency has to start at primary level, this cannot be done simply by changing policy without strengthening the teacher-learner relationship. The provincial results should indicate which provinces needs intensive care and which are on the right track.

Provincial results according to enca… Eastern Cape achieved 65.4%, an increase of 0.5 percentage points from 64.9 in 2013, KwaZulu-Natal achieved 69.7%, a decline from 77.4% in 2013, and a drop of 7.7 percentage points, Limpopo achieved 72.9% in 2014, up from 71.8% of 2013, an improvement of 1.1%, Northern Cape achieved 76.4%, up from 74.5% in 2013, an improvement of 1.9 percentage points, Mpumalanga achieved 79 %, up by 1.4 percent from 77.6% in 2013, Western Cape achieved 82.2%, down from 85.1% in 2013, a decline of 2.9 percentage points, Free State has achieved 82.8%, down from 87.4%.

This is a decline of 4.6%, North West has achieved 84.6%, down from 87.2%, and representing a decline of 2.6 percentage points and top performing province which is Gauteng which has achieved 84.7%, down from 87% in 2013, a drop of 2.3 percentage points.Even the top performing provinces don’t show consistency, Kwa Zulu Natal has the largest drop of 7.7 percentage points followed by Free State with 4.6% decline. One should ask a question…

EDUCATION Opinion Piece | PAGE 30

“Of the total number of learners who wrote the NSC examination in 2014, 150 752 (28.3%) qualified for admission to Bachelor studies, however, 135 943 candidates qualify for supplementary exams taking place in February and March” (ENCA). A difference of 14809 candidates which is too low for a country like South Africa which has an open and active economy which more industrialized compared other countries within the continent.

The Public and Private sector should increase awareness and work with community-based initiatives in mounting back-to-school campaigns and learner-support programmes to instill and encourage leadership within the masses.

Solving the education chaos needs the integration of such economic players as businesses which motivate learners to be future leaders and start to participate actively in their journey to matric completion and beyond. Community centres has to be provided free to groups that promote leadership within the community so that such programmes can operate.

I strongly agree with the Minister when she said every grade is important, setting a rigid foundation will mean greater benefits in the future. Imagine learners starting as early as grade 7 to be mathematically, scientifically and economically sound, when they reach grade 10 it will just be pap’n’vleis.

Is policy changing hurting us or feeding us? I know nothing about education consultancy as I too was a victim of poor performance, due to unavailability and reliability of teachers.

That is why I find solving our education system being central to enhancing a positive atmosphere within the teacher-learner environment, if such environment is conducive and resources are made available immediately learners can be able to operate on their own. Resources such as lecture videos concerning particular subjects and study materials.

Though in the past four years the pass rate has been increasing, what matters is not the quantity of passes but the quality within each respective year. We want to see an increase in distinctions across all the subjects especially Mathematics, Science and Accounting and number of bachelor degrees obtained.

The pass rate previously was follows, 2009 it was 60.6%, in 2010 it was 67.8%, in 2011 it was 70.2%, in 2012 it was 73.9% and in 2013 it was 78.2%. These are good stats indeed but then we have to look deeper into the quality of the learners that actually made into the stats.

EDUCATION Opinion Piece | PAGE 31

That is a lot of numbers. And that really signifies the fact that numbers are sometimes just numbers. Numbers tell only a segment of the story or play a rather small part of the big picture. They fail to capture the true nature of any story, they fail to represent the situations faced by the individuals in any setting.

Numbers don't tell me about the struggle of the teacher, the struggle of explaining rather complex pieces of information with minimal resources, trying to explain a process that requires a student to have prior knowledge that they have now forgotten because all they were expected to do was to pass a test, not to know what they learnt. Now she has to explain why certain students did so much better than others.

NUMBERS don't tell me about the struggle

Numbers don't capture the struggle of the student, the struggle of studying subjects which he has no passion for because his teachers told him he was too smart to become an actor or an arts director and thereby destroying his dreams, dreams which he had before any of them had an opinion.

Now that kid has to live with decisions which were made for him even before reality made sense to him, before he knew what being a doctor entailed, all because his teachers thought he was too smart. I'm not even going to go into what being too smart did to his relationships with his peers.

EDUCATION Opinion Piece | PAGE 32

QUALITY

QUANTITY

EDUCATIONEDUCATION

Athi-Nkosi Majvu

Numbers don't tell me about the struggle of the parent, the struggle of having been denied the opportunity of education. They told her that education was the key to success but refused to hand her that key, what cruelty.

Therefore I don't think it is reliable to base my feelings about the matric pass rate on numbers. Numbers reflect the number of students who passed a test or a series of tests, which is sadly what schooling has been reduced to nowadays.

Numbers don't highlight the level of knowledge, some of which I still have my reservations with regard to the relevance of the knowledge. Do I really need to know geometry if I want to study towards a mostly theoretical qualification such as accounting. But that goes on to question the importance of geometry, that's another story and I'm no story teller.

EDUCATION Opinion Piece | PAGE33

All her hopes now are pinned on her children grabbing that key with both hands, so she sends them to school. But because her income is never sufficient to meet her needs, she relates success to high paying employment. She fails to understand why her little boy wants to be a teacher like her, why her only girl child wants to be a Law enforcement officer and not an accountant. She fails to understand...

Hahaha, I totally ripped that off Lil Wayne's verse. There is a saying that numbers don't lie, well I have this to say: Enron used numbers to mislead their investors, their employees, the regulatory bodies and the press alike.

WSKDF World KYOKUSHINKAI Karate and self defence federation in South Africa in collaboration with KOPANONG WSKDF KYOKUSHINKAI KARATE CLUB will be hosting the International KYOKUSHINKAI karate tournament at the KT Motubatse Community Hall center on the March 28, 2015.

According to Sensei Lesley Maleka who is the founder of the Kopanong Karate Club the tournament will include participants from different continents including, North America, South America and Europe.

“We will be hosting the international KYOKUSHIN World Federation tournament at the Kopanong community hall where will be having countries like the USA, BRAZIL and last but not least SPAIN taking part in the event, said Sensei Maleka.

Sensei Maleka highlighted that he is working with Shihan Simon Matjiane and Sensei Mike Masina on the upcoming tournament. Adult participants will pay R200 to take part while juniors will be required to part with R150. Entrance will be free for everyone who would love to be a part of the spectacle.

Sensei Lesley Maleka started practicing Shotokan karate in atteridgeville in the year 1980. For those of you who don’t understand what SHOTOKAN & KYOKUSHIN mean. They are both forms of martial arts. Kyokushin is a style of stand-up, full contact karate, founded in 1964 by Korean-Japanese Masutatsu Oyama who was born under the name Choi Young-Eui.

The kanji lettering used to spell kyokushin can be translated as “society for the ultimate truth,” which reflects founder Masutatsu Oyama’s belief that traditional karateka were becoming soft, missing the forceful combative nature of the true art. Kyokushin’s philosophy centers on discipline and self-improvement, which Masutatsu Oyama believed could be further honed through rigorous training and full-contact sparring.A Dojo is a karate training facility in simple terms. The idea of starting a community Dojo came about two years back that being 2nd August 2013 after Sensei Maleka saw the need for kids and youth to be kept away from the streets and bring them to a place where they can learn about self-discipline and most of all total self-control.

Marvin Malaka

KASI MY FUTURE Opinion Piece | PAGE34

“The reason that I open this Dojo is to move the kids’ away from the self-destructive behaviour in the streets, consideration the issue about “NYAOPE” because parents are complaining about the destruction that it has brought to the society, but I believe that the little that I am doing to raise awareness will make a difference concluded, Sensei Maleka.

There are four black belts at the Kopanong Dojo.The black belt is a way to describe a graduate of a field where a practitioner's level is often marked by the color of the belt. The black belt is commonly the highest belt color used and denotes a degree of competence. Besides the black belt there are also blue belts, green belts, orange belts and white belts. Karate according to the belts symbolizes that a person is working hard.The training facility at the KT Motubatse Community Hall is opened to each and every one at no cost. The starting age is 7 years and the oldest; the oldest student we have at the moment is 58years. Parents are encouraged to motivate their children to participate in sporting codes that they like and they should support them. It was Tata Nelson Mandela who said sport can create hope where once there was only despair. It is more powerful that governments in breaking down racial barriers. It laughs in the face of all type of discrimination.

KASI MY FUTURE Opinion Piece | PAGE 35

Parents are encouraged to motivate their children to

participate in sporting codes that they like and

they should support them.