One can argue that time is a construct, according to one’s opinion and point of view. Nonetheless, the year 2020 put everything into perspective for all of us. Time became one of the most valuable things, forcing us to stay at home and organize meetings online and making us hope we could skip to the conclusion of the upheaval so we could get back to our regular lives.
The 2023 Alumni Award Ceremony was clearly attended by many people who were delighted to finally see one another after three years of all events being held digitally. The ceremony was held on the 23rd of March 2023 at the Indoor Sports Centre, and recognised alumni who have gone the distance and beyond in their various fields, to the benefit of society at local, provincial, and international levels.
Speaking at the ceremony, Vice-Chancellor of Nelson Mandela University Professor Sibongile Muthwa reported that more than 100 alumni awards had been given to graduates from a variety of fields and age brackets since the establishment of the Alumni Achiever Awards in 2010. She added that our university enrolled more than 30 000 students, each of whom has their unique set of goals and experiences. The award winners are role models whose accomplishments serve as an inspiration to others.
We have a broad age spectrum, which reflects the power of the lifelong connection from which we draw experience and wisdom,”
Professor Sibongile Muthwa
In this year’s awards alumni from a variety of fields, including sports, law, psychology, and academia, received eight honours in three categories.
In honour of Professor Cheryl Foxcroft’s more than 40 years of academic service at Mandela University, she was given a Special Award. She was previously the Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Learning and Teaching. Alumni Association President Siphile Hlwatika reiterated that Professor Foxcroft’s work included successfully navigating instruction throughout the #FeesMustFall protests and the COVID-19 pandemic by establishing the hybrid form of learning.
Professor Cheryl FoxCrofy ,Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Learning & Teaching. Nelson Mandela University
Recipients of the Alumni Achiever awards were educator and seasoned musician Willem Bouwer van Rooyen, award-winning clinical psychologist Anele Siswana, renowned Johannesburg attorney Ziyanda Ntshona, and mathematician Professor Nosisi Feza, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Postgraduate Studies at the University of Venda, who stood proudly to say, “At Nelson Mandela University, we do everything with integrity”.
Rising Star honours were given to 3 recipients, clinical‘’psychologist Curwyn Mapaling, who attended the World Peace Summit in Kenya earlier this year. In his speech he quoted 7 things that led him to where he is, How to Buddy, Peer Help, Beyond the Classroom, Student Counselling, healing, family, and Nelson Mandela University at large.
Award recipients with the Nelson Mandela University Vice Chancellor Professor Sibongile Muthwa (front row: third from right).
Education expert, author, and influencer Awonke Nqayiya, who thanked the Mandela University lectures for his success, “I am because they are,” he said. Sedibu Mohlaba, manager of Cricket South Africa’s women’s squad, who said “Good deeds never go unnoticed”, speaking on his success.
The ceremony saw recipients of all ages, receiving the recognition they well deserve. An evening of honour and inspiration, of diversity and integrity, the values of Nelson Mandela University.
Growing up in a township, I had the inevitable opportunity to witness and live in the era of a popular dance culture that took the world by storm. It is important that I note that I also wished to have participated in this, but having strict parents somehow saved me as I would have taken it a little too far.
The streets would be painted with a lot of colour, fashion, class, money and you would never guess what else… custard. Izikhothane were everywhere in the year 2012 , that for me was the year of self discovery.
Izikhothane or Skhothane is a subculture rank of wealth and a display of fashion statement. The term Skhothane is local terminology for hustlers according to , the word itself is from the Isizulu language word “ukukhothana” which means to lick each other. According to fellow people in the Zulu culture we seemingly understand why the term Skhothane comes from this word. Uskhotheni, which in isiZulu refers to a misbehaving adolescent with homelessness undertones, is the most similar in terms of meaning. ‘Ubukhotheni’ then refers to a way of life in which anyone who shows such behavior may be accused of being ‘uskhotheni’ or living in such a manner . This as a result makes calling Izikhothane as oskhotheni and their behaviour as ubukhotheni quite common, because it implies that the young people participating in being izikhothane are essentially untidy and do not have manners
Background
Crews in townships around the year 2012 in the East Rand would meet in parks, where gatherings or parties would happen and compete in dance off challenges wearing designer shirts, Italian made shoes, bucket hats and carrying either Ultramel custard or Johnnie Walker Blue label bottles. Some of the most well-known labels include Carvela, Sfarzo couture jeans, Nike, Adidas, and Versace. The skhothane became a symbol for this. The goods, interests, trends, and activities were all focused on one overarching belief: “Look at me; I can have it.”
Image source: Pintrest
Izikhothane as an active concept has reshaped the way in which new trends or subcultures in the townships are introduced and what purpose they serve. The difference between izikhothane and amabujwa (which is where the dance styles of izikhothane is derived from) as kasi street style is that amabujwa or isibujwa was more about fashion and dance as a statement not a competition.
Sbujwa is a subculture of Pantsula that is characterized as a dance in which every muscle in your body must engage in order to perform moves according to an article in The Guardian (2012). Pantsula is a depiction of the black identity from townships using dance, movement and music. It appears to be a tap-and-slide dance with flat feet. Pantsula-dance is heavily influenced by tap-dance and incorporates a wide range of completely conflicting influences. A dance that involves elements of South African dances, specifically mime and pace, it brings together a set of movements derived from modern African-American urban dances, as well as clowning, contortion, acrobatics, and magic tricks
The street serves as the primary source of inspiration for the pantsula movements: scenes from daily life are translated into dance, and the majority of the movements depict ordinary, everyday gestures that refer to a specific situation. The township uprisings in South Africa during the 1970s were significant. These movements were led by a generation whose parents had been removed from their homes and who grew up in the new township context.
The first set of questions to ask is:
Why do the youth feel the need to show off to each other
Why show off in this manner
What purpose does it fulfil?
These questions may be answered by referencing the historical aspects related to the race in which izikhothane are from and with that we are practising observation as philosophy makes us. Black people historically have always been disadvantaged, and we see this in the apartheid regime where they were segregated and left in poverty. Their ‘salvation’ comes in the form of a black president which and this pushes them to want to imitate wealth, being well off and of higher class by means of showing off.
Components
The components that create this concept of izikhothane are, poverty, peer pressure, ego/masculinity. Poverty, as stated above is a historical contribution to the way in which black people, especially the youth, circle their life’s purpose. The idea is to make others feel less of themselves by the way they present their supposed wealth. What the parents regard as a way of living and sustaining themselves, their children regard as a means of competition.
Peer pressure links directly with poverty. Some of the people who participate in ubukhothane are just doing it because a friend is doing it, disregarding their families situation. Granted, some of them come from well established homes and can afford to do the lavish and extravagant things needed to compete, but majority according to Langa Richards come from the poorest of homes, leading to crime being the only way to participate and maintain status constantly and consistently.
With these two mentioned then comes ego. Ego as a concept on its own stems from a lot of things, some may argue that it is an act of preserving embarrassment or shielding low confidence/self-esteem. In the context we are discussing, this concept is a part of the mobilization of meaning and the discovery of a feeling of purpose and worth amid a disorienting and debilitating post-apartheid urban environment whose built form is equally empty of significance and haphazardly thrown together. The feeling of pride when one teams defeats another is what propels the ego to want to do more.
Mental illness is a taboo subject that attracts stigma in much of Africa. The social environment in many African countries does not nurture good mental health, mainly due to the myriad conflicts and post conflict situations. War and other major disasters have a large impact on the mental health and psychosocial well-being of people (Amuyunzu-Nyamongo, 2013). The stigma behind mental health illness in African countries can be attributed to fear, lack of education, general prejudice or religious reasons.
What is General Anxiety Disorder?
General Anxiety Disorder according to the National Institute of Mental Health is feeling extremely worried or feel nervous about things, such as money, health. Family problems—even when there is little or no reason to worry about them. In African families, this may be just over stressing, lacking accountability towards one’s feelings or even being moody.
GAD develops slowly. It often starts during the teen years or young adulthood. People with GAD may:
• Worry very much about everyday things
• Have trouble controlling their worries or feelings of nervousness
• Know that they worry much more than they should
• Feel restless and have trouble relaxing
• Have a hard time concentrating
• Be easily startled
• Have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep
• Feel easily tired or tired all the time
• Have headaches, muscle aches, stomach aches, or unexplained pains
In an interview with Medical Social worker Simphiwe Myeza, Bachelor of psychology graduate from the University of Johannesburg, specialising in psychiatry and has been working for over 12 years and Psychologist Vanessa Seleka as they help answer a few questions on anxiety in African homes.
Is culture a reason why African families find it hard to believe that anxiety is real?
• (Simphiwe) Yes, culture is a contributing factor. However, it is not just culture but also socialisation of our African families. Your typical African family is not socialised to talk freely about mental health issues. If you were take it from the olden days, African families were communal people whereby a child is not raised by just the parents but by the whole community, which brough a sense of being close-knit and the ability to share one another’s burdens. So, to that generation, the idea of being depressed for example is weird because ‘why are you depressed when there are so many people you can talk to?’.
• (Vanessa) One cannot dispute or even disregard the extent in which culture plays a role in one’s beliefs and mental structure. In most African families and communities, mental illness is attributable to other practices such as witchcraft or even the urgent need for one to pursue a spiritual or prophetic journey called upon by one’s ancestors. This is means that in most African cultures, mental illness is the result of external factors (someone bewitching you, and/or ancestors), as opposed by those biological, psychosocial, mental and inherent in nature as depicted in Westernised communities.
• (Simphiwe) To them it is a new phenomenon, and other parents may feel attacked. It will be as though you are undermining their parenting skills and are rendering them powerless. Therapy sessions in the African community were not easily introduced, remembering that during the apartheid era, one needs to ask themselves what parents knew about therapy. To parents, growing up in that kind of time and being communal, the only ‘formal’ kind therapy you could possibly get would be from your pastor, because that is how they have been cultured.
• (Vanessa) To have any meaningful conversation, there needs to be a certain level of comprehension and interest in the subject spoken about. The same applies to mental health. Parents and families need to sufficiently be educated on its existence, what is it and how to maintain it. This can be done through reading and consulting psychologists. Not only do they (psychologists) assist in dealing with existing presenting problems, but also help parents in need of information regarding the provision of sufficient emotional support to their children.
There seems to be a pattern of “broken parents raising broken kids”, how do we deal with getting parents to deal with their issues, so they raise their children better?
• (Simphiwe) African parents may not see themselves as broken because they believe that how they were raised is the way the should their own children, and they were able to deal with what they are now doing to you and as such you should be able to deal with it too. The process of learning and unlearning which may be a slow process can be one way to get parents to understand that it is not always necessary to raise their children the way they were raised.
What can be done to get parents to have a conversation about anxiety?
• (Simphiwe) Education and trying to socialise our parents differently. Its unfortunate that in African families, talking about your emotions has never been a norm or rather be free about, and so changing the older generation it will be a tad bit difficult to change their perspective because it is now engraved in them. The younger generation however still have a chance to be taught on how to at least, listen and engage.
What exercises would you suggest parents and children do to mend the fence?
● Quality time: Doing an activity that will get both the parent and child engaged and having fun together. This can be watching movies together, baking, gardening, playing soccer to name a few.
● Discussing expectations: Both the parent and child need to have honest and non-judgmental conversations about what they each expect from the other in order to make the relationship work moving forward.
● Teaching: Both the parent and the child need to teach certain things they feel the other should know to enhance their relationship. For example, the child could teach their parents what signs to look out for when they are feeling sad or anxious.
● Therapy: Both the parent and the child could attend therapy for healing and rebuilding.
The idea behind mending fences between African parents and their children is not far fetched and yet it is not easy either as conversations on anxiety need to become more frequent. Parents need to be guided and taught that if they have issues of their own, they can seek help.
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