HELLO READERS!
I would first like to thank you for your kind support in reading and engaging with Tsakane Informer from the day it was established, launched and announced. The numbers are overwhelmingly beautiful, thank you so much!
Growing up I have always had a good knack for good stories and this was evidentiary to my teachers and peers in primary school, where I would suggest which stories to turn into plays even when they weren't plays. I have always had a skill of writing and narrating stories in a way that can be relatable to the people and in a simple manner where the approach to the story and the characters would just be a snap of fingers. I started reading from an early age, 5 years to be precise and this was driven by the fact that I wanted to learn English so badly that I spent most of my time in the community library reading, plus being bullied made me shift easily from the outside into my own world, which has always been books and fictional characters. I spent time reading books and then migrated into reading newspapers and magazines, this was now at home. My granddad used to bring me a lot newspapers and magazines even to this day he still does that even though I am grown enough to go get them myself. I believe these were hints that one day, I am going to become a Journalist and own a newspaper. Though I was young back then and I didn't even know about the word Career and what it means. To me all this was a great escape, a creation of my own world which had no people's opinions and loud voices, their nasty stares and offensive approaches. This was a world where only I got have an opinion, where only I had the eyes and where only I was a spectator. This was so fulfilling to me, and it still does.
So starting this newspaper gave me so much peace and soothing calm in my heart because I felt like this was long overdue. This was something God had planted a longtime in me and he also has been waiting to see this go in motion. I am a firm believer that God qualifies the called and not the qualified, even though for work like Journalism you do need to be qualified and trained. I went straight into writing the best way I knew how and I thank Mr Jaywon Oluninihi for giving me a chance to write for his blog back in 2021, where I published my first article as a Journalist, an entire cover story of twins living with Albinism and God! Not me putting their hearts well into words, they still talk about that article even to this day. Mind you, I was not trained or qualified in Journalism by then, I was a second year law student in Johannesburg still learning and finding my way in academia and education. From that experience I soared higher and started writing even more, even though I was not publishing some of that work but I wrote just improve the skills. I also read a lot more of magazines and newspapers to find writing angles and interviewing angles. This changed my life and my skills. So as time went by, I enrolled myself into Journalism courses and now, I was getting the training I needed and it was so helpful and fruitful. After the courses, I relaxed a bit and continued with my other business, I graduated law school and then I started an academic tutoring academy which is 3 years old this year. I then focused all my energy into building it, and guess what....I never stopped learning, I continued to learn and hone my skills and craft to this day.
What I am trying to get to is, God will always lead you to the path that he wants you to take and he will always show you the way and in as much as he is showing you the way, he will also provide you with the strength and tools that you will use to navigate that path. He won't forsake you nor leave you to be alone and stranded. Trust in him and trust that he will guide you. Ask him for guidance and believe that he will answer. Also always trust that his timing is the best timing ever. While you might be in wait for an answer from him, use that time to improve your life and skills and use that time to learn even more about what you would love to do, learn more about faith and spirituality or about religion if you are a religious person. However always know that by you having that thought and idea, he already qualified you even if you aren't qualified for it.
There's a saying by Daniel Brian and his wife, Brie Bella and it says, "If you fight for your dreams, your dreams will also fight for you", those are my words of encouragement and love to you. In as much as they have worked and still work for me, I believe that they will also work for you too. Stay Blessed!!!
LURNAY TSHABALALA-MAVUSO | Editor-in-Chief