Talk 20 October 2022

4 Advertising & Newsdesk: (046) 624-4356 Find us on Facebook 20 October 2022 TALK OF THE TOW N
Port Alfred Lions support Sight Month
This week’s “The Better Place”
features the Port Alfred Lions’
a c t iv i t i e s .
With October being World
Sight Month, the Lions will be
holding a White Cane day to
raise funds for the club’s many
sight-related projects.
The Lions Brightsight White
Cane pin acknowledges people
who do not enjoy the luxury of
sight.
White Cane Day will be held
at Rosehill Mall from 9am-1pm
on Thursday October 27.
The Lions will swap a White
Cane pin for a minimum
donation of R10. Please support
them.
BUCO Pineapple Run
The BUCO Smash the
Pineapple Run hosted by Kowie
Striders from the Big Pineapple
in Bathurst to the Country Club
in Port Alfred took place on
Saturday, October 1.
The PA Lions hosted a
refreshments table.
New Member Induction
Finally, the club inducted new
member Cubb van Blomenstein.
We l c o m e !
CRUCIAL ROLE: Traditional surgeons (‘iingcibi’) and traditional nurses (‘amakhankhatha’) in
charge of the welfare of about 500 boys who are set to undergo traditional male initiation
(‘ulwaluko’) in Ndlambe during December, taking part in a pre-season briefing in Port Alfred this
week Pictures: SUE MACLENNAN
BETTER SIGHT: Project convenor Rob
Brunette hands over a pair of spectacles to
Mike de Koch. Lions arranged the script and
the specs are supplied by Lions Brightsight
MANNING THE TABLE: Lion Lorenda de
Klerk pours refreshments for grateful runners
when the Lions hosted a table during the
Kowie Striders’ Pineapple Run recently.
Safety in focus as
initiations to start
HELPING HANDS: Lions Norman Elliott, John
Dell and Alec McKerrow hand out drinks.
READY TO SERVE: The team awaiting the
runners’ arrival
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SUE MACLENNAN
Fourteen traditional
surgeons (iingcibi) and
traditional nurses
(amakhankhatha) in charge of
the welfare of about 500 boys
undergoing u l wa l u ko
(traditional male initiation) in
Ndlambe during December
gathered for a pre-season
briefing in Port Alfred this week.
The workshop, organised by
Makhi Mka, the department of
health’s designated medical
officer for traditional initiation
schools in the Sarah Baartman
District, followed a similar event
the day before in Makhanda.
Mka said the workshop was
held to remind the practitioners
of the requirements of the
Customary Initiation Act, as well
of the good practices that have
seen the Sarah Baartman District
spared from the terrible deaths
and injuries in other parts of the
p r ov i n c e .
Professional nurse from the
department of health’s Makana
subdistrict, Lutho Mshiywa,
addressed the practitioners on
good hygiene, preventing
dehydration and Covid-19
testing, among other aspects.
According to the Customary
Initiation Act, boys must have a
medical certificate to verify they
LUTHO MSHIYWA
are in good health before being
allowed to start their three-week
transition to manhood.
One of Mka’s pre-season
tasks is to visit every clinic in
Makana and Ndlambe to check
how many boys have been
screened.
The ward councillor must
sign their application, and the
initiates have to provide a
certified copy of their ID to
prove they are 18 or older.
The Act, signed into law a
year ago, seeks to protect,
promote and regulate
customary initiation practices.
“I have also visited schools
with municipal and department
of health officials,” Mka told
Talk of the Town.
The good record of the areas
under Mka’s watch when it
comes to the safety of initiates
makes it a first choice for many
families in the area.
Along with his professional
commitment, this has been
attributed to functional
intergovernmental Initiation
Forums, led by the
municipalities in Makana and
Ndlambe respectively.
The Act designates the
council speaker as the coordinator
of the initiation
forums, which include the
departments of social
development, sport, arts and
culture, education, health and
the South African Police
Service.
Chair of the Ndlambe
traditional surgeons and nurses
organisation, Mzamo
Marwanqana, said along with
their experience, teamwork was
the reason for the area’s good
safety record.
“We take responsibility for
those boys. We work as a team
and we know each other,”
Marwanqana said.
The prescribed ratio of
amakhang atha ( t ra d i t i o n a l
nurses) to boys was one to 30
and their role was key in
ensuring the initiates’ health and
s a f e t y.
Amakhankhatha and iingcibi
are registered in the area where
they practice.
The summer initiation
season runs from the end of
November to the end of
December and between now
and then, Mka will be
inspecting 12 initiation sites, or
“boundaries”: six in Makana
and six in Ndlambe.
Ndlambe’s five areas are
Bathurst, Port Alfred, Ke n t o n ,
Marselle/Klipfontein and their
surrounds, and farms.
While 49 initiates died in the
Eastern Cape during the
December 2021 initiation
season and another eight during
the 2022 season, no deaths or
serious injuries have been
reported in the Sarah Baartman
District, including the areas
under Mka’s guardianship.
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29 Miles St, Port Alfred
PO Box 2871, Port Alfred, 6170
046 624 4356 / Fax: 046 624 2293
Chiara Carter, chiarac@dispatch.co.za
Sue Maclennan,maclennans@talkofthetown.co.za
Anneli Hanstein, hansteina@arena.africa
Chris van Heerden, vanheerdenc@arena.africa
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