Winner’s poem inspires
NAL’IBALI, the national-reading-for-enjoyment campaign, has announced 11-year-old Lindiwe Makhoba from Mangaung, Bloemfontein, as the national winner of its annual storytelling contest, Story Bosso.
Chosen from more than 6 000 entries collected from across the country, Makhoba’s winning entry, My Life as a Princess, is a masterfully-told, multilingual poem with the power to inspire the nation.
Every year, Nal’ibali hosts its month-long Story Bosso drive in September or Literacy Month, to encourage members of the public, young and old, to get storytelling in their home languages.
A simple yet effective method to lay the literacy foundations that children will need to learn to read and write; storytelling is something that anybody can do. The sharing of stories is also part of the collective culture and heritage of all South Africans.
This year, the initiative attracted a record number of entries and included a provincial roadshow with celebrated storytellers, including Gcina Mhlope and Sindiwe Magona giving special demonstrations of their craft to adults and children in different parts of the country.
Driving the talent search at local level, Nal’ibali Literacy mentors held more than 100 auditions and entry events in seven provinces to source stories directly from communities and Nal’ibali’s network of more than 1 000 reading clubs.
Makhoba, a Nal’ibali reading-club member, entered at Kgato Primary School where she attends school, and where her win was announced on October 27.
“One of the most important aspects of any story or poem is it’s potential to inspire change. Lindiwe does exactly that. Her confidence was evident and her use of her home language to harness her delivery made it rhythmic and poetic. The use of two languages is tricky, but when mastered as in this case, it becomes exceptional,” a Story Bosso judge and storyteller Bongani Godide said.
The inspiration for the poem came from the discrimination Makhoba has experienced as a child. Her intention in writing it is to encourage adults and other children to recognise and see the value of young people.
Makhoba has been awarded R5 000, a book voucher to the value of R1 000, R250 airtime and the title of this year’s Story Bosso. She is joined by runners up in seven provinces: with Java Hoy in the Eastern Cape as one of them.
To listen to the winning stories, or to find out more, visit www.nalibali.org