by Lulu Mhlana
‘Learn to love. Learn to live together. Be friends’. That’s the message Phumzile ‘PK’ Kubheka gives learners from schools in the greater Cato Manor district in Durban, KZN.
PK is the founder of Ubhaqa Networks and director of the programme, which aims to shape primary school learners through life skills and creative arts. Inkanyiso crew has since been invited to three school visits including Nsimbini Primary School, Ukukhanya KweLanga and Bonela Primary School respectively.
The programme consists of three main components;
- Reading skills and Spelling B
- Drawing (specifically the SA flag)
- Observing and having discussions on the 2019 elections (in the form of a debate)
These three main components will come in the form of a competition, so as to motivate the learners to have a healthy competition amongst each other, and to work harder and better. Participating learners will get a chance to present their work and art- this will help them with public speaking and presentation.
Learners of Nsimbini Primary School.
The competition will form part of the main event, The annual Mkhumbane Learners Talent Show, that is scheduled to happen in June 2019, where learners will compete under each component and win prizes.
There will also be a section for teachers, where the best performing educator will be awarded. The talent show will include poetry, dance and singing amongst other forms of entertainment. The talent show forms part of the efforts of promoting a culture of learning and teaching.
The participating schools include;
- Bonela Primary,
- Ukukhanya KweLanga,
- Cato Krest, and
- Nsimbini Primary School
PK, who is an ex-student of Ukukhanya KweLanga Primary School, urged the learners not to discriminate against pupils from Golden Gateway School; a public school for children with intellectual disabilities, founded in 1972. This, after a few complaints from the community and the learners of Gateway. Discrimination forms a culture of bullying amongst learners, which leads to many other social ills that negatively affect the learners presently and a later stage in their life.
We recently visited Bonela Primary School on the 15th of April, which happened to be PK’s birthday, interestingly enough, there were two other learners and one educator who were sharing a birthday with the founder, we began by singing for them collectively before beginning with the order of the day.
The programme is still on-going. You may visit our website to see more updates.
inkanyiso.org 