Elegant-Letona Guesthouse

By:  Onalenna Jantjie

When did you start your business?

Letona guesthouse was born in 2005 and started operating in 2007.

Did you build the building from scratch or did you buy it?

We bought a house as a home, but realizing the potential in it, we decided to convert it into a guesthouse.  We couldn’t let a business opportunity like this to pass us by.

Since your business is based in Kuruman, one would imagine that your clients are mainly Northern Cape citizens.  Would you agree?

 Our clients are from all over South Africa, local and International tourist who want to enjoy the Kalahari experience.  We have unique features in Kuruman and other areas of the Northern Cape such as: Moffat Mission, the beautiful Namaqualand flowers and The Eye of Kuruman.  So we stand out...

What sets you apart from your competitors?

Our unique service sets us apart from our competitors.  

Each one of us is unique and I always use people as an example to say we all have unique features e.g. nose, lips e.t.c. Every time when you describe somebody you will distinguish them by their features.  Therefore, all establishments are unique in their own right.  Our unique features are the Theatre, the Gym, the General outlook of the Guesthouse, paying attention to detail and the excellence service; we have received an award to that effect.  Not forgetting the efficiency and friendliness of our staff.    

Tell us about the lowlights and highlights of running a guesthouse?

 We have received four awards already within five years of operating.  Our clientele has also increased drastically.  Off cause there will be some lowlights in every business but I choose to concentrate on the highlights as they give us hope and motivate us to achieve more. The one that we are celebrating at the moment is being the finalist in the ETEYA (Emerging Tourism Entrepreneur of the year award for 2011/12.  As our slogan says, “Elegance perfected,” we have perfected and improved from being the Semi finalists in 2008 to being the provincial winner in 2011. 

One stop service for current and ex-mine workers

Gone are the days when ex-miners within the Northern Cape Province would travel long distances to get the medical assistance.  Help is now in their vicinity.

Kuruman - Deputy Minister Godfrey Oliphant, officially opened the Kuruman One Stop Health Service centre at Kuruman Hospital, in the Northern Cape on behalf of Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa. The One Stop Health Service Centre is aimed at providing integrated services to both active and ex-mine workers where TB and occupational lung disease assessments as well as administrative services for compensation are delivered in one place.  The project is a collaboration by various stakeholders led by the government and supported by the captains of the mining industry, organised labour and current ex-mine worker associations with the aim to de-centralise services to claimants and beneficiaries. 

Furthermore, the Kuruman One stop service centre is part of the Department of health’s ongoing service roll-out campaign to current ex mine workers following the minister of health Dr Aaron Motsoaledi’s national launch of the Ku-Riha project in Carletonville, Gauteng Province to trace eligible previous and current mine workers who had not claimed their compensation benefits over the last 30 years after they contracted occupational lung disease during their employment.

In addressing more than 4 000 members of the Kuruman community including ex-mine workers, the deputy minister said; “Initially, there were more than R1,5 billion allocations for compensation of 106 000 unpaid claimant files belonging to ex-mine workers when the project began. The number of claimants that have been paid has grown significantly with 8320 claimants paid R260 million over the last year till November 2017.There is also a database of 600 000 ex-mineworkers that is electronically available to check on the claim status of an ex-mineworker. Mobile health services are also provided in districts that do not have access to the One Stop Service Centre.”

Source:  GCIS  (kuruman)

Photos: suppied by GCIS

Young, upcoming literary giant

One on One session with Author Tuelo Gabonewe
By: Onalenna Jantjie

Author:  Tuelo Gabonewe

Give us a glimpse into your background (who are you? where did you grow up?

How old are you? e.t.c)

My name is Tuelo Gabonewe. I'm 33 years old. I live and work in Jo'burg. I was born in 1985 in Sekhing, NW. I went to Sekhing Primary School, Thusoetsile Middle School and Boikagong Secondary School. I studied Psychology at the Vaal campus of the North West University.

When did you fall in love with literature? And how did that come about?
I fell in love with books when I was very young. My older brothers taught me to read before I even went to school. I didn't go to creche, but I was literate by the time I started Grade 1. We never ran out of reading books at home (still not entirely sure where they came from) and I've always hated people. Those books got me through my childhood.

Upon discovering your creative writing talent, what did you do to nature/harness it?
I didn't think much of my writing talent until I went to university. I started writing poetry when I was 18. I wouldn't read that "poetry" to Pol Pot, but I thought I was Dambudzo Marechera at the time. I ditched poetry for fiction, wrote some embarrassing books, looked for a publishing deal and amassed a ream of rejection slips. My first novel, Planet Savage, was published in 2011.

How long did it take for you to get a publisher?
8 years from the time I started writing.

Have you done a creative writing course?
I did Creative Writing (MA) with Wits. I graduated in 2017.

Tell us about the journey to becoming a published writer. What were some of the challenges?
Looking for a publishing deal was a frustrating process. As I mentioned earlier, just about every publisher I approached flipped me the bird. In hindsight, I know that I was too young and my work was nowhere near good enough at the time. I cannot think of any other challenges, to be honest. I (used to) absolutely love writing.

How many Novels have you published thus far?
I have written two novels so far, Planet Savage (2011) and Sarcophagus (2016).

Where do you draw the inspiration for your storylines?
I try and write stories that not too many writers would want to touch with a broken selfie stick. Stories about poor black people mainly.

Do you write in Setswana or English? Why did you choose that particular language?
I wrote my first two books in English, but I've recently started writing in Setswana. My next two projects will definitely be in Setswana, and then we'll see what happens after that. English is a dodgy language and I don't know what I'm saying half the time. I thought I'd reach a greater audience if I wrote in English. It turns out there's no audience to reach. Woke writers will hunt me down with machetes for saying this, but there are hardly any readers in South Africa. That’s a story for another day, though.

 What is your preferred genre of fiction and why?
 I prefer literary fiction. You get to create whole new worlds and show off your writing skills. It's like a pig's orgasm, but more intense.

As a writer, how often do you read?
I try and read at least 10 books a year. I haven't been reading much lately. I think the last time I read a book was 4 months ago. I have some serious catching up to do.

Why do you think it’s important for young people to develop the love for reading?
Reading broadens your vocabulary and improves your general knowledge. It makes you smarter. You don't need airtime or data to read a book.

What is the best way to handle rejection from Publishers?
Keep trying. Never give up and keep on improving the quality of your work. And learn to handle criticism.

What advice do you have for young aspiring writers?

Read a lot. Write a lot

Share your problems with love life ground breakers

Love life ground breakers are trained to handle emotional problems of young people

By:  Onalenna Jantjie

Love life organization is still looking out for the well being of the youngsters in our community.  Its main objective was and still is to caution the youth on drugs, unprotected sex, alcohol and abuse. Speaking to The Informer, one of Love life’s ground breakers; Mega Teleko says Love life is dedicated to improving the lives of young people in South Africa. “We visit schools three times in a week to speak to them about healthy living. We encourage them to take part in sporting activities at school as that will help them to stay away from bad things such as drugs and alcohol,” he said

Love life is very much aware that most of the youngsters are easily exposed to bad habits because they tend to loiter in the streets. Among one of the drugs which kids are exposed to at a young age is the use of alcohol and cigarette.  And this according to Teleko doesn’t just happen in the streets. “Most young people tell us that whenever there are parties at home they end up trying alcohol in the absence of their parents because most parents forget to put away alcohol when they are having a good time at home,” he said adding that it’s really a concern to discover that youngsters are exposed to drugs at home where they are supposed to be protected from such things.

Fortunately, through the use of technology, youngsters are able to reach Love life ground breakers at any time of the day. “They can contact us on face-book or even on mix it if they find themselves faced with a challenging situations, in that way we are able to advice them quickly,” he said.  He further stated that most young people are now becoming open minded as they don’t mind asking questions and sending text messages about the most private issues in their lives,” he stated.

If you want to become groundbreaker Google love Life and fill in the information on the electronic form

The carrier of Setswana legacy

Sabata Mpho Mokae has become a well esteemed Setswana writer

By:  Onalenna Jantjie

Kimberly- award winning Setswana Author Sabata Mpho Mokae has undoubtedly managed to make an ineffaceable mark in the world of literature. As a creative lecturer at Sol Plaatje University, Sabata not only teaches the art of creative writing but he also encourages his students to write in their first language.  “Setswana language introduced life and the world to me; it defined human relationships before English came to disrupt that. It is beautiful. It is idiomatic. Each proverb and idiom is a granary of wisdom, not ancient wisdom but wisdom that can be applied in today’s life,” he said

He says it is a pity so see many black people, mainly educated blacks who have abandoned African languages for English and other European languages. “Many of them even prefer their children to speak these European languages. At school African languages are also relegated to ‘additional first language’ status. I battle to understand how an African child’s own language becomes his additional first language. Only Gods and the education authorities know. This I believe is based on a flawed argument that the ability to speak European languages is the indication of sophistication, of one’s attainment of education,” he said.

Mokae believes that each language is imperative. “A language is a way of knowing, of seeing the world and interpreting life. When one can understand and speak more than one language it means one has more than one way of knowing, of viewing the world and interpreting life.  Abandoning that means being unfair to one self. It means losing access to a massive archive,” explains Mokae. Speaking on where he learnt the art of storytelling Mokae gives credit to his family for having imparted the love of storytelling unto him.

“Telling stories around the fire was a norm at home. My late grandmother would tell me stories of her early adulthood in Sophia town while my grandfather loved narrating stories of Lesotho and the Free State Goldfields,” he said adding that he discovered his love for story telling at school.

“I don’t remember at what age or time did I start telling stories but the first time I wrote stories was when I was writing ‘compositions’ at school. I had fun doing that in both English and Setswana. To his day, I still have lots of fun creating and telling stories.”  Fusing the oral storytelling with the so-called modern literature is his ideal writing style. “I am the inheritor of both Setswana and English storytelling traditions – one suckled from my mother’s breast and another one having violently entered my life.

My stories, though told mainly in an African language and tapping into an African idiom, are urban and post-apartheid. But they, I would like to think, are globally relevant too. I have the certitude that Black activist in Brooklyn, New York will find my work relevant if she reads it in English,” he explained. When asked about the message he tries to bring across in his books Mokae said: “Readers take whatever they can out of my books. I tell stories of the times I am living in. I think there are multiple messages in the stories, some obvious and some not so obvious.”

Help troubled teenagers

South Africans have to deal with family issues first and foremost if we are to raise teenagers who are emotionally balanced

By:  Onalenna Jantjie

Reaching out.....Peo giving advice to young boys and girls at Multi purpose centre

When young people experiences hardship in life they rarely ever take lemons and turn them into lemonade.  But for Peo Modukanele it was a different story altogether.  She decided to take the experience of having children at a young age and use it to her advantage.  “I had my first child when I was fifteen years old.  As we speak I have four kids.  The whole experience of having children out of wedlock left me feeling worthless,” she said.  Like many unwed mothers, the society did not see a future for Peo.  “But each day I managed to motivate myself. I would tell myself that I am not a failure and that something good will come out of my situation.  That is when I decided to do charity work in order to better the lives of the underprivileged teenagers. I would do people’s hair or sell cookies just so I could make money to buy toiletries for the needy children. I had realised that most kids suffer from low self esteem because they don’t smell good.  As a result, they can’t even ask questions in class because they are afraid their peers will make fun of them. 

The charity work gained momentum as more and more people began helping out. “I’d receive donations from people staying as far as Limpopo. So I realized that through the help of the community I could actually provide toiletries to a large number of needy students. Hence I asked the teachers from most schools to help identify needy students,” she said. In addition to donating toiletries, Peo also avails her house to kids who are in need of emotional support.  “Some kids come to my place asking for help with homework and I gladly provide them with the help that they need.  Sadly, most parents are negligent towards their kids because their kids would be at my house for days but they wouldn’t even phone to ask how they are doing.  Some of these children come from homes which are headed by children. This has made me aware that the root of social ills lies in dysfunctional families. We as South Africans have to deal with family issues first and foremost if we are to raise emotionally balanced teenagers.

As Peo continued buying toiletries she realised that teenagers not only needed toiletries but motivation. This led Peo to formally register her non profit organisation called Help a child.  “What started as a small organisation is now a fully functioning Non profit organisation which reaches most villages of John Taolo Gaetsewe district.  “I visit schools on a regular basis to give motivation and toiletries.  During the motivational session I share my experience with the young people. As I engage with the kids I realise that most kids are affected by their situation at home.  Some are ill treated at home and find it difficult to stay with step fathers or to relate with step fathers.  As a result, kids end up feeling neglected.  So they end up calling me and seeking advice in the middle of the night.  Although Peo is not a qualified social worker she says she is considering studying psychology. “I would like to study psychology so that I can be more efficient as a counsellor to our youth,” she said. 

Her NPO is currently running on donations given by the community members. She hasn’t received any grand from the government.  “I have approached the government on many occasions but it is difficult to get funding from the government so I have taken my eyes completely off government funds.  We run this organisation solely on the donations we receive from the community. “I believe that the organization will receive the money all in God’s good time,” she said.  In addition to offering help and emotional support, Help a child also started Know your worth campaign.  “This campaign is geared towards the girls as they are the ones who always struggle with a sense of self worth.  Some of them we find are trying to find their worth in a man.  So in this campaign we always invite successful ladies who have gone through various challenges to come and speak with the young girls. And in this way they are able to learn that challenges in life are just stumbling block which they can overcome.  “We also encourage young girls to be self sufficient and to start their own businesses because some of them think that being in a romantic relationship translates into success in life. In addition to that we also encourage them to align their conduct with the biblical principles because God sees them as individuals who are capable of succeeding beyond their imagination.  He doesn’t limit them the way the society limits them.

Speaking on where she sees herself in five years time Peo said: “I’d like to see myself running a rehabilitation centre for those that are struggling with depression. I also want to raise enough funds so that we can pay tuition fees for learners. “