Wow, when I met Gcinisizwe in 2008 he actually introduced himself as Eric, his "struggle-name" as they say in Thembalethu. Eric was a shy man who struggled his entire life and on several occasions nearly died of starvation. Flip forward to 2010 and Eric has blossomed into Gcinisizwe, the strong, proud Xhosa man that we have grown to know and love. Some time ago I actually had a little informal ceremony where I officially buried "Eric" so that he would never be heard from again. Every now and then Gcinisizwe will be in a new situation where he feels like Eric again and it is then when I whisper into his ear that Eric is buried in our garden remember? He laughs and then the fabulous Gcinisizwe returns to me.
It is amazing to me that the little boy who grew up in the height of Apartheid and has witnessed things that should not been seen by little boys has blossomed into a man that is now married to a Canadian woman, is the co-founder of a registered charity and also appears in the media frequently.
Gcinisizwe when translated into English means "Bringing the people together to work as one, regardless of race or religion". A Xhosa person is expected to live up to their name and that is exactly what Gcinisizwe has done. He recently escorted a team of journalists through the streets of Thembalethu and the photographs that were taken are nothing short of inspirational. A big thank you to Michelle Pienaar from the George Herald for her commitment to improving the lives of the people in Thembalethu through her journalistic talents.
Click here to see the beautiful photo gallery created by Michelle including lovely photos of our very own Gcinisizwe Noyakaza.
http://www.georgeherald.com/gallery.aspx?gpid=229&gid=1
Nice story!
ReplyDelete