The Rep 28 October 2022

THE REPRESENTATIVE 28 October 2022 Tel: (045) 839-4040 / editorial: bobeloz@therep.co.za / advertising: charodinev@therep.co.za 7
READING TO YOUR CHILD: An illustration by Rico Schacherl Picture: SUPPLIED
Introducing books to
babies and toddlers
Hello! This is Gogo,
Yizani Sifunde’s
reading granny.
From birth to the age of
three, children learn an
enormous amount of language
– even if they do not talk a lot.
So, the more stories you tell
and books you read to them,
the more language they learn.
Using books with babies
and toddlers is about enjoying
the time you spend together
and following their lead in
deciding what to try next. Here
are a few tips to consider:
Start by asking, “Shall we
look at/read this book?”
Babies and toddlers enjoy
playfulness, rhyme, rhythm and
repetition. You can enjoy time
together talking and reading
your children’s favourite books
again and again.
Sit comfortably with your
child on your lap, or next to
you, when you share books.
You don’t have to finish the
book. Explore it together for as
short a time or as long as you
both want. Talk about the
pictures, ideas and what is
happening in the book.
Ask them what they think,
and say what you think too.
About Yizani Sifunde:
Yizani Sifunde (isiXhosa for
“Come, let us read”) is a
collaborative five-year project
funded by Liberty Community
Trust in the Eastern Cape. It is a
three-way partnership between
Book Dash, Nal’ibali and
Wordworks, with local Eastern
Cape partners the Institute of
Training and Education for
Capacity-building (ITEC) and
Khululeka.
A sad note: was festival furore worth it?
Now that the dust has settled
and the jazz furore has come
and gone, what lessons can
we learn for this whole mess?
The department of sport,
recreation, arts & culture
(Dsrac) had good intentions
to revive the jazz festival
after the Covid-19 hiatus and
the Chris Hani District
Municipality surely had
good intentions to contribute
funds to make sure this event
went ahead.
The entertainment
industry suffered the most
during the pandemic as
performing artists suddenly
had to stay at home and earn
nothing. Do you know how
difficult this must have been?
Imagine someone who
had a steady stream of gigs
per month to suddenly have
none. Not just for one month
or three months but for a
year and more.
When the pandemic
started, none of us knew h ow
long it would last and what
lasting damage it would do
to many aspects of our lives,
let alone the entertainment
business which depends on
bums on seats to survive.
All things came to a
standstill, and when an
opportunity to kickstart
things came along, I am sure
Dsrac and the entertainment
sector jumped at the
opportunity to not only lift
the spirits of the people but
to put something into the
pockets of the long-suffering
IN TOUCH
Phumelele P Hlati
musicians too. Jazz is a
tough genre to sell and the
musicians doing this craft are
hard-pressed, even under
normal circumstances, to
make a decent living out of
it. The music industry is
dominated by many socalled
musicians who do not
know how to play any
instrument, but the way
music is produced these
days, they do not need to.
They just need a
computer and little
knowledge, and vo i l a , the
person is a musician.
The consumers of music
these days are not really
exposed to “real music” s u ch
as jazz, and so when an
opportunity to allow these
music craftsmen to display
their craft arises, it is a
godsend to them.
Opportunities like these
for a band in a township and
village to showcase their
talent on the same stage as
established artists is rare, and
something they work their
whole lives to achieve.
This is what the Chris
Hani Jazz Festival was
supposed to be.
Sadly, it turned out to be
anything but. This festival,
like everything else in our
communities, was taken over
by service delivery issues,
political factionalism and
political opportunism.
This was such a pity as
the occasion should have
been a happy one and an
event to lift the gloom of the
pandemic by bringing
together all peoples from all
corners of the district.
As it turned out, it
became the perfect stage and
a proxy war for everything
else going on in our
communities.
Was it correct to bring all
the political and service
delivery issues into this
event? Was it correct for the
Jazz Festival to bear the brunt
of the anger people have
towards the municipality
they voted in only less than a
year ago?
Are people experiencing
“b u ye r ’s remorse” and n ow
lashing out at anything
government-related? Is it fair?
I do not know what the
answer is but I guess time
will tell whether the actions
of all involved will produce
the desired results in the
coming weeks and months,
and probably years. At least
the jazz musicians got paid, I
guess that is the positive.
PRIZE-GIVING: Mikhail Tyhulu, left, received a trophy for being the athlete of the year as well as
a certificate for good academic work, and Avuyile Mjamba received a trophy for rugby player of
the year at the Southborne Primary School prize-giving ceremony this week Picture: SUPPLIED
Do us
PROUD
class of
GRADE 12
2022
Hon.Mayor Cllr NF Koni on behalf of the council of Emalahleni Local
Municipality wish to extend words of goodwill to the class of grade 12,2022.
A solid foundation was laid long time ago for you to march on to the
examination rooms with confidence and assurance that you will succeed.
All your energy and efforts must be directed to this future determining
moment.A moment not to be missed by even the blink of an eye. Hence, we
request parents to take it easy on their children during this so difficult period
in their lives, so that they may focus more on the goal at hand, which is to
pass withflying colours so as to open with ease doors to the future.
As learners you must now have the warrior’s mindset, the mentality of an
army when going to war. The say never give up kind of an attitude with
eagerness, fortitude and commitment. For you to be successful you need
to put all the negativity behind and focus to your destination.
It doesn’t matter how your background is, who your parents are and how
difficult it was coming to this far. This is the moment of truth and reality for
you to pave a solid foundation to be who you have aspired to be in the past
12 years or so. Remember no one can determine your future more than you
can, not even the sky is the limit towards accomplishing this gallant goal.
The only limitation to your success is your attitude, with
your positive minds certainly you shall make it.
Your time is now to make us proud
as the matric, class of 2022.
Hon. Mayor Cllr N.F Koni
Mayor Cllr
Nontombizanele Koni