Young Leader on the Spotlight:

                                                 Lindiwe Mazibuko

citypress.co.za

Lindiwe Mazibuko has recently made it onto my list of young leaders who are truly making a name for themselves on the political ground. She's young, beautiful and her intelligence is apparent.

The 32 year old is a Member of Parliament in Cape Town making her the fourth youngest political leader to get sworn in parliament at national level after the likes of Mduduzi Manana of the ANC, Luzelle Adams from COPE and her co worker Masizole Mnqasela from the DA. Not only was she sworn in as an official member of parliament but in 2011 she was elected as the Democratic Alliance Parliamentary leader beating Athol Trollip in the race.

Now one cannot deny that this young lady has done extremely well for herself in the political field, especially when comparing her age to her fellow members. I can imagine how intimidating it can be having to engage in political debates in full public view with parliament members twice your senior but she however still does it effectively and does not let her age or political experience get in the way of her work, duty to society and her organisation. I have had the privilege of witnessing this live when I was present in parliament last month during the "questions to the president debate", (I was in the observatory gallery of course).  She asked some pretty tough questions and was very firm in doing so but what I liked about her was that she did it in a tasteful and respectful way in which I really do commend her for that.

Politics (especially in this country) are never certain neither are they stable, so I wouldnt exactly say what I think the future holds for this dynamic young leader but we cannot deny that she is indeed making her mark and we should look out for her in the near future (amongst many other young dynamic leaders).

Disclaimer: Due to my neutral and objective nature as an aspiring journalist I do not support or have any affiliations with any political party.

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                                          Real Issues:

                     DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

PressTV.ir

 

Depression and Anxiety are common problems amongst students today; a recent study conducted by the World Health Organisation Shows that an approximate of one million people dies from suicide every year and it is estimated that by 2020 those figures would have risen to 1.53 million deaths per year worldwide. Another study conducted by the South African Depression and Anxiety Group shows that on average, suicide accounts for 9.5 percent of non-natural deaths in young people particularly age between 18 – 24, and 11 percent in adults.

According to Ms Leila Abdool Gafoor an educational psychologist at the Psychologist Educational Services Centre for Psychological Services and Career Development (PsyCaD), there are many contributing stressors to depression and anxiety. Ms Abdool Gafoor suggests that some of the contributing factors are the pressures relative to varsity life, and these could include the many significant transitions one has to face when embarking on varsity life, (My doctor told me that it can also be genetic), however, Such stressors can include academic work load, social dilemmas and being exposed to a different environment. If students feel that they are inadequate or feel that cannot deal with all the pressures that come university, they then can become susceptible to depression and anxiety disorders. However, Ms Abdool Gafoor adamantly states that there a huge differences between Depression and “just feeling down and lonely”, she suggests that students often tend to mistake to two from one another. Ms Abdool Gafoor says that depression is far more severe and serious than “just feeling blue” as it is a mental disorder that can lead to fatality; suicide.

Ms Abdool Gafoor does however suggest that if a student is emotionally ill to the extend whereby they feel like they cannot cope with everyday life they can contact the PsyCaD crisis line to get some professional advice and make an appointment with an educational psychologist at the PsyCad department whereby your problem will be dealt with according to the diagnosis made by the psychologists. Whether you’re depressed, anxious or “just feeling blue” PsyCaD is there to attend to your psychological needs.

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                          Young Leader on the Spotlight:

                                                    Goitsione Malete

Goitsione Malete is a 23 year old Soweto born who has made his mark in the political landscape at the University of Johannesburg.. He talks about his rise in the youth leadership in varsity, ANC as an organisation, Julius Malema and Jacob Zuma.

Goitsione Malete is a 23 year old Soweto born who has made his mark in the political landcape at the University of Johannesburg. He was born and raised in Diepkloof for the initial eight years of his life. he attended junior primary school at Andrew Chakane PS. He then later on moved to the East rand and matriculated at Illinge High School in 2006. After completing his matric, he enrolled at the University of Johannesburg doing his bachelor degree in Economics and Econometrics. This is where his political affliliations would begin.

                                                                 And then it was politics...

                                                      Ancyl.org.za

Malete has always been politically active since his days in high school, as he was elected as an LRS treasurer at Illinge High School. He then joined a learner organisation by the name of COSAS (Congress of South African Students), where he served in the Gauteng Provincial Executive Committee as an additional member, where he was delegated to attend the Gauteng Youth Parliament.
When he enrolled at UJ he immediately joined the ANCYL becoming the secretary of the organisation in 2010. During that year, he served in the APK SRC council, and in 2011 he was elected as the ANCYL SOMAFCO Chairperson, and in 2012 was officially deployed by the organisation to be UJ APK SRC chairperson.

Goitsione talks about how leaders of the likes of Oliver R Tambo inspired him as a young politician saying that the late O.R Tambo "is a stallion that contributed in building the gigantic movement...(in which is the ANC)... and contributed to the liberation of South Africa". Goitsione vaguely discusses the now political rivals, Jacob Zuma and Julius Malema, stating that he respects the leadership of Jacob Zuma and states that Malema was the command in chief in the strive for economic freedom.

Goitsione Malete suggests that he is yet to make a impact on the political landscape at a national level, saying that his ambitions are to grow within the organisation and "serve the people of South Africa through the ANC".

Disclaimer: Due to my neutral and objective nature as an aspiring journalist I do not support or have any affiliations with any political party.

                                      Khanyi Dhlomo

forbes.com

As an aspiring journalist, Khanyi Dhlomo is definitely one of the people I look up to in the game; you ask why? Well I could always just give you a very sarcastic and phony response such as 'duh', but given how much I love and look up to her, I would gladly explain to you....
                                               

justcurious.co.za

Look here; Khanyi is one who we as aspiring journalists look up and say "this chick has made it", and simply because she has. Her career kicked off at the age of 20 back in 1995. She was a journalism student at the University Witswaterstrand when she made history in South African media by becoming SA's first black news caster on SABC 1, in which was a very big deal given the political and social landscape at that time, and of course her age.....GUYS she was 20, I'm almost 20 but my big break seems no where in sight :(. Anyway it didnt stop there for her she was appointed as the editor of True Love Mag at just the age of 22 and mind you according to Forbes, True Love's circulation figures doubled during her first year of leadership and her time as the editor of True Love was rather very fruitful.

After her divorce in 2003 she headed to Paris for a "eat, love and pray" journey and while she was there she got the job of being South Africa's Tourism board manager. And also managed to do her MBA at Harvard Business School (I also wanna do my MBA :(...). She then came to South Africa and started Ndalo Media, her own media house, in which publishes Destiny Magazine and Destiny Man.

Need I say more.....

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                      A Day in the Life of a UJ Student

This photo essay or story captures the life of an ordinary university student, it captures the simplicity of someone's day to day life. This is photography in its its simplest form, the kind of photography that is at the disposal of every layman photographer. This photo essay represents the art in everyday photography. There is nothing more interesting that capturing the everyday random happenings of an individual. It shows everyday life as it is through photography, it shows a sophisticated kind of simplicity where by the moments that often go unnoticed are the one's that matter the most. Everyday photo's have the amazing ability to store all kinds of memories and it is for that very same reason it is the most common type of photography.
This is the everyday life of a UJ student..........

                                                      As the early morning starts.....

                                               A girl's everyday dilemma; what to wear now??

As she enters the car......

She then drives off.......

                                                                   On the road....

Approaching campus....

                                                                UJ APK Campus.....

                                                                      In lecture...

                                                                  Lunch with friends....

                                                             Study session at the library...

                                                                After a long day.....                                                                             
                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                  
                                                                         
                                                                       
                                                              
                                                                          
                                                                     

                                         Here I belong.....

 This is the place I call home, place where I feel most comfortable and the place where I express myself efficiently with ease. This is where my family resides, located in Nelspruit Mpumalanga. It is said that home is where your family is, here is where I have a sense of belonging, where I rest and gain peace of mind. Home is the place where I get to sit in silence and re-evaluate my life in the city and gain perspective. This is the place where I know I will find a confidante (My Mother), someone I can talk to. For me this is a place of love, peace, security and sanity. Everyone has a place they call home and this is mine....

Now this for me is the perfect scenery.......

                                My Own African Wedding Photography

This is a photo that I took at my sister's traditional Zulu wedding whereby I tried to emulate the likes of the well known photographer Emil Wessels. In this part of a Zulu traditional wedding called "uMhlabiso", for Zulu people it is not just a covenant between two people, but it is covenant between two families. This part of the wedding where by the two families exchange gifts in symbol of their covenant. I tried to emulate wedding photo's taken by Emil Wessels but instead I chose an African angle, something I relate better to; my culture.