Hola MaHigh-School - Your Life magazine

Your Life Magazine

Issue 6 2012

WINCool Hampers!

See pages 44 - 45

Gap Year –Yes or No?

Textbooksvs Tablets

The InternationalDrug Trade

CAREERS: Finance & Chartered Accountant

>>>Hola MaHigH-ScHool >>>Hola MaHigH-ScHool 32

CONTENTS CONTENTS04Editor’s LetterWe have big plans for 2013.

06Publisher’s Feed BackFrom 2012 to 2013.

08ContributorsMeet our fabulous contributors.

09Holla @ USConnect with us.

10Really Silly Sports People spend their time in weird ways.

14A Career in FinanceWell worth considering

16Gap Year - Yes or No?We look at the pros and cons

20Alternative EnergyIs it realistic in South Arica?

26Textbooks vs Tablets Is the New World taking over yet?

24In Our Next IssueFrom Kwame Nkrumah to lunch boxes.

26Indigenous LanguagesHow important is it?

30GAP Year ContactsContacts of reputable agents.

32Career as Chartered AccountantWhy CA (SA) Spells Success.

34The Quotes Game Learn from the wise men.

36Sport in Schools A lot more development needed

37Book Reviews

38True GreatnessA story of Marcus Garvey

40The CV and That InterviewA couple of tips to help you along

41The International Drug TradeA booming business or a looming apocalypse?

44 & 45CompetitionsWin with Hola MaHigh-School!

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20

4

26

38

41

54 >>>Hola MaHigH-ScHool >>>Hola MaHigH-ScHool

From the Editor From the Editor

This is the last issue for this year. This has been a fantastic year and somehow we all managed to get to the end of it.

We have had quite a ride this year, but we are now at a stage where we have quality writers. These were presented in last issue. They are starting to be very seasoned and knowing exactly how to put things together.

That said, I will still like to see more people into this venture. Young writers, still students or already “out there” will be great. We are always trying to help in terms of the articles, as it is not so easy sometimes. As one of our writers put it, it is difficult to concentrate your entire article into say 800 words. One has to think a lot about how to put it exactly like that. So it is going to be read. It is easy to waffle.

In essence, an article should be 80% thinking and planning and 20% writing. If it is anything else, I am sorry to say it: it will be words piled upon words. Waffle. Not so ‘lekker’.

Editor: This is a major issue. We have to have someone in as we start out in 2013. Does anyone know one?

By the way, what does an editor do? The editor

is first of all a legal entity. You can sue the editor if an article is hate speech or something like that. So be careful. On top of, an editor is the person carrying the editorial line, defined by the publisher. But there is the editorial freedom. The editor has final say in a lot of things.

Is that it? Oh no. An editor is also responsible for getting the writer’s material in. that means setting our what articles should be carried, and get the right writers in on the job. Delays and late delivery will be the editor’s headache. So it is not as much writing as it is admin, really. And that’s what drives me up the wall right now.

Trust me. It is not so easy, this.

Now, enough about that.

What do we want to do in 2013? It will be much more of the consolidation of the “look-and-feel” of the magazine. We will establish the brand and ensure that everybody will recognize us when we get into the next development we have planned: Hola MaCampus. You can guess what it will be!

Good read and enjoy after all the exams stuff!

Sybil

Editor’s note

Have you considered the number of career options within the Finance and Accounting sector?

From the exciting, edge-of-your-seat world of

stockbroking to the highly valued practice of

financial planning, the Finance, Accounting,

Management Consulting and other Financial

Services (Fasset) Sector has a career for every

aspiring number cruncher. Just some of the

many careers in the finance and accounting

sector include accountancy, bookkeeping,

debt collecting, tax practitioning and

accounting technicians. There are so many

opportunities available in the fields of finance

and accounting that the possibilities are truly

endless.

BLA

CK

MO

ON

108

35

10835 HolaMyHighSchool Sept 12.indd 1 2012/08/25 2:58 PM

Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter;

for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs;for the world is full of trickery.

But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full

of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection.Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity

and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrender-ing the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield

you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with

yourself.

You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.And whether or not it is clear to you,

no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

Poem by: Max Ehrmann was born in Terre Haute, Indiana on September 16, 1872 to German immigrant parents. In 1894 he

graduated from DePauw University in Greencastle. Later Ehrmann studied law and philosophy at Harvard University.

He returned to Terre Haute where he practiced law. When he began writing, he devoted every day to his work. Ehrmann wrote

many poems, but his most famous poems are‘Desiderata’ (1927) and ‘A Prayer (1906)’.

6 >>>Hola MaHigH-ScHool

Publisher’s Feedback

I am still trying not to repeat myself on this here. Being editor and publisher is a bit hard. But here goes.

2012 was the break-through year. IDF’s funding helped us to do the most important thing in this: Produce on a near-monthly basis. It is immensely important as advertisers would not trust us otherwise. We have continuously produced since July. THANK YOU IDF. That carried us into sustainability.

It is also important to start building the brand. “Hola ma…” must be seen as a brand now. We are not a small magazine. 50 000 copies to all high schools is not small by any stretch. We can surely walk tall here.

2013 will see a lot of activities: the web site (again!). We will simply have to pull this off. November and December will give us a bit of time to get the business plan together. The costs are high here.

By the way, would anybody like to see how we put a magazine together? Know what publishing is all about? Please invite us to your school. I will be so happy giving a speech on this topic. There are a lot of fun things doing this.

2013 might also see us going to other provinces. We simply have to expand now as there is too much pressure on us from advertisers. They would like to see us becoming national now. It goes to show that they have faith in us.

Where will all of this take us? Our idea is still to make a “home” for young people in terms of jobs. SETA will be the next major step in that direction and is something we need to sort during November and December. 2013 must see us employing at least two, even three more people.

There are plenty of things to do. It comes with being a “big” magazine. This is not small fry anymore. We are BIG and we are successful. That is now a run-away train so we have to get better at it.

Look out for us on Facebook and Twitter. We are also getting that right now.

See you all in January and have a nice summer vacation!

Sybil

FROM 2012 TO 2013


Contributors

My name is Innocent Ximba. I am a creative writer and motivational speaker. I have opinions that amaze the world and advice that the youth can relate to. Yours in creative writing, Innocent Ximbaair.

Nombuso NondabulaAm a talkative person at heart, I do a lot of debating, public speaking and modelling. I love meeting new people as well as music. My rule is: do it for your success but hey also do it for your hood.

My name is Rofhiwa Madzena. I’m a young woman who is fun and approachable, I’m a budding feminist and I strongly believe that the worth of a woman is second to none, the trick is convincing the rest of the world-a challenge I’m ready for! I’m passionate about South Africa and the World and many call me naïve but I believe that we and generations that will follow will achieve world peace!

Thabisile Masimula. I find much pleasure in writing. I am ‘a fun to be with’ type of a person (or at least I try, lol) and I love talking, although I am a bit shy. I live in Pretoria, and I am a freelance writer for a local newspaper. I love meeting new people and interacting with young people. I was born in Limpopo 22 years ago, and writing has always been my passion. I started writing at the age of 10 and I still write poetry. Challenges bring out the best in me, as I always do everything to the best of my ability.

WE ARE NOW ALL OVER THE PLACE

EditorSybil [email protected]@gmail.com

Advertising SalesNext Level Management Services cc011 614 5046/5076076 360 [email protected]

PublishingRomele Publications ccPO Box 53056Troyeville 2139011 614 5046

EnquiriesRomele Publications cc32 Eleanor StreetTroyville011 614 [email protected]

Production & Art DirectionSybil [email protected]

PublisherSybil Otterstrom

DistributionOn the Dot

PrintingPaarl Media

A big heads-up to your lifestyle magazine: Koketso Thubakgale

i love ur mag !u guys u rock my world!!!” – Kefentse Hope

Guys u duing a gr8 job nd m totally inlove with yo mag. – Refiloe Mawela

From our Facebook page

Follow us on Twitter@holamahighsch

My name is Koketso Thubakgale. This is one of my all time favourite quotes: “I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good therefore that I can do or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creatures, let me do it now.” –Author unknown.


Knaresborough Bed Race. The first race in 1965 was only open to Army, Navy and American Marines, but now the competition is open to anyone.

The competitors race in teams of six, plus one on the bed. Each team must provide their own bed, decorated in the theme for the year. The bed runs on four wheels, but also need to be able to float, as explained below.

The 3km run race begins and ends at Conyngham Hall. About halfway through the run, the teams face the one-in-five gradient climb to Castle Top before it’s back down the hill and toward the final challenge – crossing a river.

GurninG is apparently a word for pulling a face, and you probably are not surprised to know that there is a World Gurning Contest. Gurning competitions are thought to have originated in 1297 at the Egremont

Crab Fair, in the UK, named after the crab apple, which are pretty sour. It makes sense then that as part of ‘Crab Fair’ in this part of the world they hold face pulling competitions to see who can make the ugliest face. This must be easier for some, though they make it easier by requiring you to also wear a horse collar at the same time. Gurning through a horse collar is known as “gurnin’ through a braffin’.

An institution in Alice Springs is the Henley on Todd reGaTTa. The event is named after the Henley-on-Thames Regatta. What is so unusual about Alice Springs version?. Well, Alice Springs is close to the center of Australia, and the Todd River is rarely flowing. The race is along the dry river bed using boats of all sorts with no bottom. People run along inside the boats in a mad dash to the line. There are usually about twenty teams participating. The big finish is a race between two large boats, built on tractor bodies, which

have cannons fastened to the side and large fire hoses connected to watertanks. The mix of flour and water make for a messy end to the day. And bad weather can also come into play, as occasionally there has been some rain about and the river may actually be flowing - resulting in the event being cancelled.

Sepak Takraw is an exciting fast paced sport that looks like a combination of volleyball, soccer and gymnastics. The sport is popular in Asia, though it is gradually spreading throughout the world.

Each team has three players on the court at one time, played on a court with net height and size similar to those used in badminton. The rules are very similar to volleyball, except that using the hands is not permitted, and each player can touch the ball only once before it is hit over the net. The ball can be returned over the net using any part of the body except for the arm from the

shoulder to the point of the finger.

Not being able to use the arms means that there are spectacular jumps and flips to attempt to kick the ball over the net.

The sport of worm cHarminG (also known as worm grunting and worm fiddling) is very simple. Each competitor gets a patch of ground and a certain amount of time to bring as many worms to the surface as they can. Competitors can use just about any method they wish, though be warned - the use of dishwashing detergent has been banned.

The annual World Worm Charming Championships are held in the village of Willaston, near Nantwich, Cheshire. In this competition, each team gets a 3x3m plot and has 30 minutes to charm as many worms as they can. Visit: www.wormcharming.co.uk <

Really Silly Sports

Have A Laugh Have A Laugh

THE ETON WALL GAME: You gotta be joking! The Eton wall game is a game similar to rugby, that originated from and is still played at

Eton College. It is played on a strip of ground 5 metres wide and 110 metres long next to a slightly curved brick wall erected in 1717.

The aim of the game is to move the ball towards the opponent’s end of the playing area. In those last few yards of the field is an area called the “calx”. In this area a player can earn a “shy” by lifting the ball against the wall with his foot. A teammate then touches the ball with his hand and shouts “Got it!”. After this the scoring team can attempt a goal by throwing the ball at a designated target: a garden door at one end of the field and a tree at the other end.

cHeeSe rollinG: At least since WWII, people have been running after cheese in the unusual sport of Cheese Rolling. Every year, a wheel of cheese is rolled down Coppers Hill. The hill is, “Very rough and uneven and it is almost impossible to remain on

foot for the descent.” As people race down, the first one to reach the cheese wins it. Today, a 7-8 lb. Double Gloucester is used, but a 40 lb. Cheddar has been used.

SHin kickinG: To prepare for the unusual sport of shin kicking, people stuff straw down their pant legs. Then, they stand head-to-head and kick one another’s

shins. Knocking an opponent to the ground in pain is worth a point, and the person with the most points after three rounds wins.

THe mud piT Belly Flop: This is a kind of game where even the spectators get splashed in mud but in fact that is quite the fun. The very annual Summer

Redneck Games in East Dublin brings about this game and brings about some of the greatest hubcap discus throws with it.

Bed racinG: The sport of Bed Racing has been embraced by the people of the North Yorkshire Town of Knaresborough, who hold the annual

11>>>Hola MaHigH-ScHool

Central Johannesburg College (CJC) is a public Education and Training (FET) College governed by an electedcouncil in accordance with the Further Education and Training Colleges Act 16 of 2006, which provides strategic guidance and support to its management.

HISTORY Central Johannesburg College was founded in September 2003 from a merger of five former technical colleges – Alexandra, Highveld, Eastside, Parktown and Johannesburg Technical Colleges – with the intention align resources so as to eliminate duplication of programmes and to enable the effective delivery of excellent education and training programmes to the people of the Metropolitan City of Johannesburg.

After the merger, the former technical colleges became Central Johannesburg College's campuses and siteswith a model of programme specialty and delivery.

EDUCATIONAL OFFERINGS AND FACILITIES Our programmes are largely divided into two categories to cater for varied educational and training needs. These are:

National Certificate Vocational NQF Levels 2-4 programmes for ambitious learners with a minimum entryrequirement of Grade 9 pass, in nine distinct learning areas that can be classified into Business Studies, Engineering Studies, IT & Computer Science, Hospitality and Tourism

National Qualifications Framework programmes (unit standard-based) offered in three of our Q2schools. These include HHS Studies (Hair Care and Cosmetology), varied ICT programmes from Basic Computer Skills to more advanced internationallyaccredited programmes like Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator, as well varied skills programmes like Construction Plumbing and Construction Carpentry

Our programmes are offered in five schools that are spread across four campuses and three sites – AlexandraCampus; Highveld Campus with three sites Riverlea, Crown Mines and Langlaagte; Parktown Campus;Ellis Park Campus; Braamfontein Site; Troyeville ICT Centre and Motsweding Skills Centre.

TARGET MARKETS The college attracts young people, out-of-school and unemployed youth with a minimum Grade 9 pass, up to grade 12 largely residing in the Metropolitan City of Johannesburg. However, about 40% of our students come from other regions of Gauteng and other provinces as well as outside South Africa. Our prime future market is prospective students with a minimum grade 9 pass, employed and unemployed youth who are eager to acquire skills surely needed by a growing economy and those who would want to improve their skills toposition themselves for employment and better employment or to go into entrepreneurship.

15>>>Hola MaHigH-ScHool14 >>>Hola MaHigH-ScHool

The world of work, business and the econ-omy will not be complete without looking at finances in one way or the other.

The Financial world is diverse and huge and we all participate in it every day. Every place of work be it school, banks, supermarkets, insurance companies, financial institutions such as banks, government de-partments, businesses, homes and everywhere else has something to do with finance.

Why is this important? You are now at school but, soon your world will change. You will be out there contributing to the country’s economy. You will be an employer creating jobs or employed and making a dif-ference. It is important for you to consider a career in Finance.

The world of Finance is interesting, has many oppor-tunities for growth and fulfilment, high salaries, the field is wide with many opportunities for exposure

A CAREER IN

FINANCEand it is changing all the time, so you will never be bored.

In order to be in a financial career you need to have certain subjects in high school. One of these subjects is Mathematics. Look at maths as a ticket to success be-cause it is. Many degrees at University require Math-ematics as an admission entry point. It is also very im-portant that you take other commercial subjects such as Economics, Physical Science and Business Manage-ment in order to be part of Finance careers.

Finance is not just one topic. It covers a variety of ca-reers. Each one has a set of criteria and career paths as well, so look our for what you want to do.

The demand for Accountants, Auditors, financial trad-ers, credit managers, payroll managers, stock brokers, actuaries, tax brokers, bookkeepers, and insurance brokers, financial managers is high. And with many laws that require companies to comply with various

requirements, organisations need Finance profession-als to help make sure those reporting and other com-pliance requirements are met.

What about in business? In any business, the aim is to make profit and grow. Finances are the best way to see that your business is improving. When the busi-ness has a strong financial accountant or manager, it becomes easier to measure success and to plan for fur-ther growth in areas that need attention.

In South Africa there is high unemployment. If you consider at this level of your studies to target the ar-eas that are scarce you stand a better chance to have a promising and successful future ahead.

Wouldn’t you rather take those subjects at school that will help you have a better chance at University and help you to find a suitable Finance career for yourself? We are talking about Mathematics, Sci-ences, Business stud-ies and Economics. You will be sure that while you study fur-ther, your chances for a successful career will be high.

There are other opportunities in big organisations to manage funds and projects with a strong financial background, meaning that oppor-tunities are many across various fields. Wouldn’t you want to be one of the few with the required skills and expertise to take on these opportunities?

There are ways you can find out more about Finance careers. Why not start asking yourself if you were to be a player in the Finance world which role would you like to play? Will it be a Finance consultant? A chartered accountant? An auditor? What do you like? Also take into account that some of these roles require particular personalities. For instance, an Auditor is someone who analyses information, is detailed in the approach, reads a lot, and must be willing to interact with people. Your personality is also important.

Are you more of a people’s person who likes selling ideas? Perhaps a financial consultant might be suitable for you. Try to research about the different careers and

activities and identify one that would suit you. Find one that you are passionate about, that you like, as that goes a long way in career satisfaction. Money is im-portant but balance it with passion or the love of the field or career choice.

Pay attention to University open days or Career guid-ance days at your school. Look out for the career op-tions Finance companies are encouraging learners to take. Even if you are in grade 10, start paying atten-tion to what is happening in the world of work. Attend these sessions and align to your studies.

Study hard, very hard. Work on getting the best results for your Univer-

sity admission entry. Be aware of the requirements for admission and set those as your targets.

Say for example, admission at Wits Univer-

sity for B.Com Accounting math-

ematics is 60%, then target maths 80% as

your pass rate. Continu-ously check with the De-

partment of Higher Education about critical scarce skills in Fi-

nance. This is valuable information to have because it will ensure that what

you are studying is relevant to the economy.

Be on the lookout for bursaries offered by Companies in the Finance field as this will provide an idea of what companies need for their operations. Even though you may not be at the right grade to apply, this may be a motivator for you for your future career even to assist with choosing a field of study at University.

I hope you are now inspired to work hard and be part of the world of money and Finance. Pass those key subjects of Mathematics, Economics, Business Stud-ies and Science as these are your tickets to the world of Finance.

Most importantly find out all you can about the Fi-nance career of your choice and make it your career target. Trust me with the right mind set, courage and determination you are unstoppable. See you in the corporate Finance world soon!! –Staff writer. <

Careers


Have Your Say Have Your Say

It is time to clear the brains of exams and look at things for next year. Obviously our Grade 10 and 11’s can look forward to more schooling, but this

is also an article for you. Gap year has to be planned.

Let us be clear. A gap year can be just a year off, doing absolutely nothing really. That is not exactly recommended as the danger is you will never get onto something. Is the Matric the end goal? It cannot be, so there must be more to it. You have to get a job or enrol for more education after all.

Before we get into what you can do during a gap year, let us just look at the yes’ and no’s of it.

Yes to gap year

Be aware. It is called a gap year. It bridges a gap between something in the past and something still to come. So it cannot be a life-long gap year.

I am not ready for a job just yet: Excellent. A gap year can show you what the outside world is all about. Try to find your feet on your own. Go overseas. Try something completely different. It will surely mean you have experienced other things than just school.

I am tired of schooling: Don’t burn out as 19. Recharge the batteries. It is OK to be tired and it is OK to want to try something else.

I could need a bit of experience outside schooling: Experience is so important. If you have seen a bit of the world and want to enter the job market, you might find that an employer will prefer you, because you will fit in faster. You have matured because you have done more.

This is my chance to see the world before I have to settle down: Do it! It is a chance which will never come back to you.

I want to emigrate: That’s probably also OK. You might find that the grass is not greener on the other side, though. All of these things are valid.

There are more good arguments for a gap year.

In essence: try something new is never a bad idea. It might not all be about going overseas, but it will give

you a chance to get away from school and to grow as a person.

Doing something different in your life before you start on a multi-year education - or smack into a job - will give you more. Meeting other people and other cultures will make you more valuable and more prepared for a job.

The other thing about a gap year, could be that you have to finance an education yourself, wherefore you

have to work for a year’ to get enough money. That will always be looked at as a positive thing.

Gap year is not just about going overseas and having fun. It might also be a time which turns it into a not-so-fun experience.

No to gap year

You never get to start on something else. Some people have problems with keeping the momentum up if there is a “gap” between Matric and something else, job or education. Suddenly the gap year takes more time.

This is serious stuff. If you apply for a job and have had a 3-year ‘gap year’, what are your chances when you are compared to one fresh out of Matric with fire in the belly? You have become jaded.

A future employer might look at what you have done and if there is nothing for a whole year, you can find yourself in the back of the queue for that interview. Some employers may look at a gap year as a non- commitment. It might happen, but it is not really fair to look at it like that. But that you can’t do anything about.

It is not saying that if you have had a gap year where you have had a job to finance your studies or been overseas for some months will count negatively. That might not be the case at all. It is more what you have done during that year. Nothing at all is not great.

The trap

The trap is also that you might have a little job. A job which may not pay a lot but it is the first time you see this amount of money every month. And it is fun what

can be done with the money. Now suddenly, you may have your own flat and having a little family as well. But the BIG education took a backseat. Or that BIG job. Be careful! You have to judge if you can handle it, and it is a question which deserves a lot of thought.

One of my friends started out studying Computer Science. At that time the need for IT people was tremendous and of course he had a part-time job to keep body and soul together (he financed it all himself). Well, he ended up as assistant director at the age of 24 - with a good income, car, family and house and all the trimmings - but not his Masters degree. When he tried to go back to university, the Dean asked him to quit his job which of course he couldn’t. He was trapped.

What can you do?

There are a lot of things you can do. If you want to spend time overseas, we recommend you to look at the list of gap year contacts. These are at least four big South African organisations with a track record, but more of that later.

As you may spot, there are some similarities. Camp counselor in US, Kibbutz in Israel, Au pair, teaching, Kontiki tour and so on. That you can see for yourself.

The fun part here is that these are actually real jobs. This is not just something with no responsibility. Of course they take into account that this is a gap year for you, but they do expect you to work and to perform. It is for real, suddenly. This might be a shock as it might be the first time where you are expected to perform to a standard in the real world. It is time for exam 24/7 everyday. And you have to pass. Every day.

Who has done it?

We spoke to Ntsiki who took a gap year and went to the US as a camp counsellor for three months.

Q:Why a gap year?Ntsiki: I felt that I was not ready for starting out on an education and I wanted to try something else.

Q: What did the organisation do for you?Ntsiki: They fully understood that I had never been overseas before, actually never outside South Africa. They helped and assisted every step of the way. All my stupid questions were taken serious and answered. Things like, will they laugh at me in Washington? Can they see I am from Africa, those silly things really. But also serious stuff. It calmed me down and ensured I

GAP YEAR YES OR NO?

Playing Volley Ball on a beach

Skiing in Switzerland

Miami, Florida, USA


Have Your Say

had a wonderful trip.

Q: What did you learn as camp counsellor?Ntsiki: More than I had ever thought. You know, if you have siblings you might know these things, but I don’t. Suddenly having to look after a set of primary school kids 24/7 was a shock and an experience. It gave me so much. Those were nice and impossible, laughing and crying, missing mom and dad and them hugging me. I loved it. They were so cute - all of them. But I also felt that I had to grow up fast. It was not me anymore. It was a job for which I got payment. I had to do it properly. I did understand that I was not the child there. I was the grown-up.

Q: Did it prepare you for further studies or a job?Ntsiki: Of course it did. I saw the US, it was like walking in a movie. I got to look at South Africa in a different way. Not negative, ok. But just different. To see what we have and what we do not have. Looking at my fellow students without this type of experience, well, I feel I am more mature.

Q: Worth recommending?Ntsiki: Yes indeed. But only to youngsters who are just a bit courageous. Never having been outside of South Africa and then waving goodbye to mom and dad and off on the 747 to Washington, finding the suitcase, getting on a bus to somewhere, finding the Greyhound, people expecting you to know all these things, buying my first MacDonalds in the US – a real one – it was fun and challenging and so new to me. If I had got home sick in the middle of it, well, I couldn’t, could I?

Q: Other comments?Ntsiki: I loved every second of it. But it was not inexpensive, so there is a catch to it. Can everybody afford it? I don’t know, but it is worth working for,

say, three months to be able to go there for three months. I also feel that the organisation you choose is important. I could see myself arriving in the UK and the organisation is dodgy. Here my mom and dad were involved every step of the way and I had full confidence in this.

The organisationAs Ntsiki pointed out, the organisation is of vital importance. Handing over money to someone overseas you have never seen without checking it out, is not a good idea. It is not saying that the overseas companies are dodgy. If you google them, you can get a list of some 200 companies doing gap years just like that. Some are very tempting (looking after llama’s in Tibet and so on or yetis?). There is one for everybody I feel. But

how reliable are they?

At least if you have a reference in South Africa, an office you can go to, mom and dad can be involved and apply a bit of sanity, it might make a lot of sense.

These organisations should also be members of their

industry bodies. That will guarantee something. There is no problem in asking. It is your money and your life, so be vigilant.

The list we have given you (page 30-31) gives you some reputable organisations in South Africa. Look them up, visit their offices, go on their web site. Talk to people who have been there with them. It is worth it.

Planning

The absolute last: Plan a gap year. Get it written down. Pin it on the wall. Stick to it. If you have three months of work, saving for three months in the US, then do it.

Have a wonderful choice and tell us about it in 2013!<

China

Sydney, Australia

• When you are on a chat site, do not use and send your personal information, like your real name, home address, telephone number or school name.

• Be careful what information you give out on your profile. Remember that you don’t know who your are chatting to – not everyone is your friend.

• Use a nickname or your initials instead of your full name – you don’t want just anyone knowing who you are.

• Be careful who you agree to accept into your forums/private chat areas.

• Do not just accept any ‘friend request’ from people you do not know.

• If you are receiving unwanted or insulting text, you can contact your cellphone network provider.

• Remember to report to the Film and Publication Board reporting channels toll free 0800 148 148 or www.fpbprochild.org.za

INterNet & cellphoNe

safety


South Africa is focusing very much on coal fired plants. why is that so? well, we have mil-lions of tons of it, probably more than anybody

else, so it is rather logical after all. But it does create pollution. coal is not clean. are there other things we can do? eskom is looking at a lot of alternatives as well. Here are a few things to put it into perspective.

The most obvious one is wind power. Look at some of the countries in Europe where they have installed a wind farm of several hundred wind turbines. It may not look pretty, but is it efficient? And can we use that approach?

Let’s see what the experts at Wiki says: “Wind power, as an alternative to fossil fuels, is plentiful, renewable, widely distributed, clean, produces no greenhouse gas emissions during operation and uses little land. Any effects on the environment are generally less problem-atic than those from other power sources. As of 2011, Denmark is generating more than a quarter of its elec-tricity, and 83 countries around the world are using wind power on a commercial basis. As of 2010 wind energy production was over 2.5% of total worldwide electricity usage, growing rapidly at more than 25% per annum”

Wow, that puts that into perspective. But what if the

wind doesn’t blow? For days? Yes, that’s why it can re-ally only be used for up to 20% of the energy usage. It is possible to store the energy generated by various mysterious techniques. However, that is still “flying saucers”.

Is it cheaper? Yes, very much so. But there is still a cost to it. But no pollution.

Who is using it? Here are some recent examples: 28% of stationary (grid) electricity production in Denmark , 19% in Portugal , 16% in Spain , 14% in Ireland and 8% in Germany.

This is one thing we can easily do. It is tried and tested and will work for us. Look at our coat line. Immense. Putting it off-shore will also provide more consistent wind and less aesthetics problems.

Another obvious one is Solar Power. We should be on that as a skin rash. After all, South Africa and sunshine is like chicken and rice. What does it do? It has those big solar panels which will generate electricity when the sun is shining on them. Like those things on the space crafts. So far so good. The technology is pure physics so you can look it up. Or ask the teacher.

Now, is it efficient? Could be much better, really. There

are still a lot of problems with it. Massive mirrors to focus the sun rays were the only option. And that took space. A lot of installations were put out in deserts, but you don’t have a big desert in the middle of Germany. So no joy on that. The technology was not particularly developed either, so it was more hobby development than serious stuff. Until the oil prices went through the roof. That got the focus to do something.

Spain got into the act and is probably far ahead now. Suddenly, as pricing of components have come down and the technology is getting developed, the pay-back time is about a year. That is not bad at all.

Pollution, by the way pollution is also a problem, but look at these figures: Life cycle greenhouse gas emis-sions are now in the range of 25-32 g/kWh from wind powered plants and this could decrease to 15 g/kWh in the future. For comparison an oil-fired power plant 893 g/kWh, a coal-fired power plant 915-994 g/kWh (Wikipedia)

So, why wait? We have the whole Karoo to put these things into operation.

What about nuclear power? Don’t go there. After the accident in Japan, the world is switching their nuclear power plants off. Japan is close to closing it all down. Germany (I think) has already done so and the rest of the world is not far behind. It is simply too expensive to build. It costs more energy to build the thing than it will generate in its life time. So it does not make sense at all anymore. That’s about it on that subject.

These are sort of the main stream alternatives to oil and

coal. Here are some other one’s:

Geothermal energy: If you can find something nice volcanic area, you can push water down to the lava and then pump it back up. That comes up as very very hot steam or water (under pressure). Cheap and easy. And it powers about 30% of Iceland! But you need a nice tame volcano and we don’t have too many of those around.

What is also used now is tidal power. It is dead simple: build a dam where you have a sufficient difference be-tween tide and ebb. Open it when the water goes in, then close it and let the water drive some turbines on the way out. The only problem is you need a lot of it. So not the best option although it can drive small scale set-ups.

A more interesting scheme is to place some big huge tanks half-full of water outside the coast. As the waves pummel the tanks, the water will slosh to and fro in-side the tanks and thereby produce electricity. A bit more into the future, but it works.

Tidal power may be the big hit in the near future. There

are a lot of different ways of doing this. It is all about physics. If you should be interested, look it up. It is a fascinating subject.

The conclusion is really simple. We could do some-thing to complement coal. Coal is a major pollutant. A mix of 30% wind power, 10% solar power, 20% tidal power and the rest from coal is not too far into the future. After all, we have to look after the planet and coal is not green! <

ALTERNATIVE ENEGYIS IT REALISTIC IN SOUTH AFRICA?

Alternative Energy Alternative Energy

A wind farm.

A solar photovoltaic (PV) array. A concentrated solar power parabolic trough system.


1994: Minister of Education, Sibiusiso Bengu took the decision to remove out-

dated and contentious content from school syllabuses.

The aim was to give pupils the sense of characteristics of historical knowledge and understanding. Late 1996 work began to a new Grade 1-9 compulsory education curriculum named Curriculum 2005 to reflect the fact that it would have changed by then.

Thereafter came OBE, NCS and now CAPS.

But hey, enough with the history lesson. My concern at this moment is: are we willing to let go of something that the government has fought for, that they spent years trying to make things better for us, spent money and energy on, conferences and transitions discussing what is good for us, our future and education. Are we really going to turn a blind eye and move on to the new way of things?

Today it’s textbook versus tablets. I thought tablets were a luxury but now it’s amazing that they want to be turned into a book. Imagine a seven year old in Grade

1 using a tablet, do you see that as a good thing? The new generation or a good education turned bad.

Reality in South Africa is not ready for this. First of all it’s failing to provide textbooks, classrooms and teachers, now how on earth can it afford to give millions of pupils a tablet as a new way of learning? Yes some schools have already done that, but, believe you me, they are private schools and they are wealthier.

The textbook crisis cannot be solved by just this new technology. The cost of this tablet can be very high including the fact of downloading. Let’s not forget that some people still depend on GSM 3G while some still lack internet connectivity.

Let us for a moment consider price: The cheapest tablet is R1 699.00 (Incredible Connection). It might do the job.. A more suitable solution will be about R2 500.00 but the most pertinent tables could cost as much as R5 500.00.

A book pack is in the region of R1 500. That amount would include stationery as well.

So, can we com-pare the price of next year’s textbooks with the cost of a tablet? No, we cannot as we still have to add the costs of the Internet for example.

I believe there are a lot more d i s a d v a n t a g e s than benefits at this stage, as at the end the day, government will have to subsidise a large proportion of these costs. At whose expense?

I only see people talking about how it can solve the textbook problem, but, no one said anything about it increasing the level of education or pass rate.

It is easier to say means will be made available for people in rural areas but, when the time comes to implement, everyone will be playing the blame game.

Students in universities still have to use libraries as they don’t have easy access to pocket tablets, but, yet we should consider giving them to primary school kids?

Then what hap-pens to the new curriculum, the time and money spent on the new textbooks for CAPS.

The use of this tablet is one sided, it is impossible to provide hundreds of schools in nine provinces with this new technology.

Yes it’s the 21st century, who does things by the book but, hey, in our economic climate we are forced to do things by the book.

We cannot compare ourselves to developed countries. Imagine the risks we would be taking, having kids being on Facebook and My Space by the age of 10 and spending all those megabytes browsing the wsrong sites rather than downloading from EBook.

So, there are really three major considerations:

Kids from Grade 1 must be PC literate. It will be a must. That in itself is probably very good, but the flip side is:

The danger of the ‘Net’: Can we safely introduce this into a school environment without having heavy safe guards? Remember, it will then be the school’s responsibility as well to guard over Internet content and browsing, not just the parents’ any longer.

Current information. Yes, it will be easier to speed up development, as research can also be done directly on your tablet and news will be readily available. This has to be compared with the price we will have to pay for the new world.

Let’s not spoil the up and coming generation: yes, that textbook is long and full of notes, but, it’s worth it. <

By Nombuso Nondabula

Let us try this: (approximate figures)

Book pack TabletBooks: R1 500 R5 000Internet R2 388 (±R199 pm)Loss of books R 100 (some will go missing)Loss of tablet What percentage of students will lose the tablet? 10%? Therefore: R 500 R1 600 R7 888

Right now, it does not make a lot of sense.

TEXTBOOKS vs TABLET- NEW WORLD -

Have Your Say Have Your Say

In Our Next Issue


The next issue will be in January. That means we will be welcoming a lot of new readers (I should hope so), the former Grade 9’s now into the last lap in school. The

matric years.

We will have some advise on the longer-term planning of the year ahead. It is starting to be very obvious that it is not just exams at the end of the year which is of importance. It is the entire year. That makes sense after all.

We will again try to look at some interesting careers. The next issue will focus on a career in the armed services. That is the army, air force and the navy and those things. There is a lot more to it. An officer is a career. An officer is an administrator. And officer is a business manager. An officer is … a lot of things. So look out. It will be very interesting!

After “notable person” will be Kwame Nkrumah. The first president of Ghana. We stay on the continent for this one. Very interesting person. Now, it is not a history lesson. That you can do in school, but it is trying to go beyond what can be gleaned from a mere text book. That means a very clever person will interpret what he was all about.

The main article will be on food. Yes, food! But not just any type of food. This here will be on the importance of a good meal (yes, we all know that), the type of breakfast (if any) we start on, the lunch box (if any) and so on. What are we doing to ourselves as students? Do we really charge up for the day or do we survive on salty crisps and those horrible things we shouldn’t do? This should be a good read, but also having a bit of advice here and there. Really, can we do better and how?

Our competitions will carry on. We do intend to have more, so please just keep rolling.Of course, please, if anyone can write, phone me. I am always looking for new talent out there.

Sybil


Education

?Everything you read is all

written in English, whether be it a magazine, newspaper,

blog etc. All is written in English. OK, not all, but nearly all.

This article is about the impor-tance of our indigenous languages and how we as a country have grown to neglect them. Do not get me wrong, I have nothing against the English language. It is quite a profound language I must admit, but our indigenous languages should be just as important.

I am Innocent Ximba and I reside in kwa-Thema, Springs. I am in grade 11 at Geluksdal Secondary School. I am an intellectual individual and I have opin-ions that might change the world.

The word ‘Indigenous’ means originating in charac-teristic of a particular region or country. Our topic fo-cuses on our South African indigenous languages. Our South African indigenous languages include IsiXulu, SeSotho, SeTswana, Xhosa, Venda, Ndebele, etc.

I regard Afrikaans as an indigenous language as well. It was “invented” here and is just as much Africa as any-thing else. Afrikaans has a special place, but is not my main thrust here.

The use of our indigenous languages at schools has been a matter of great debate within the Department of Education. Government schools have debated the issue of teaching in indigenous languages, which re-sulted in some public schools isolating the indigenous languages and opting for English. There are very few schools, if any, that encourage teaching and learning purely in indigenous languages.

The statistics stand as follows: 30 percent of schools in Gauteng teach in indigenous languages and 70 percent teach in English. These are very drastic circumstances. Children are slowly but surely losing touch with their cultures and languages.

The level at which we are learning about our indig-enous languages is at its low-est. Some schools teach some subjects in our indigenous languages and some schools just don’t.

“Some” is not enough, we need to elevate the level at which we are being taught in our indigenous languages. It is quite shocking considering that we still have future gen-

erations which might suffer the same stance.

As things stand, the future of our languages is slowly but surely fading away. If the government continues to neglect this problem that we are faced with, we might find ourselves utilizing and appreciating our languages only during heritage month. The home language is also shifting towards English. It is logical: if I am English-speaking throughout the day at school, it will be easy to just carry on.

We can’t have a government that says it is proudly di-verse when only favoring English as a medium of communication, teaching and learning.

The argument is of course that by being absolute per-fect in English, it will increase anyone’s “useability” in any work situation. This is correct, but should it detract from also using other languages? Not so sure about that.

By giving up on our indigenous languages, we make ourselves mentally poor. We do say goodbye to a part of our heritage.

Dr Nelson Mandela once said: “When you learn a man’s language you reach his mind. When you use his language you reach his heart”.

I urge that we all consider the relevance of our lan-guages and that we appreciate them. Happy Holidays!<

THE IMPORTANCE OF INDIGENOUS LANGUAGES

IF YOU ARE:• Still at school and figuring out how to fund further studies; • Currently studying and needing funds to continue or further your studies; • A young adult wanting to study further but needing financial assistance; or• An employer who would like to find a way for his or her employees’ children to have brighter futures, then this Q & A will guide you and give you a sense of the role that NSFAS plays.

Note: Application for a study loan should be made at the institution where you would like to study, not at NSFAS.

The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) is a loan and bursary administration scheme, operating in terms of Act 56 of 99.

ACTA NSFAS study loan or bursary is for those who do not

NEED A STUDY LOAN OR A BURSARY?

— Slindokuhle Mbuyisa looks at the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), which combines the idea of a loan and bursary for the benefit of the student.

Study Loan

have the financial means to fund their studies and / or cannot access bank funding, study loans or bursaries.

What is a student loan? The money that you borrow to cover the costs associated with your tertiary studies.

The study loan does need to be repaid

WHAT’S GREAT ABOUT A NSFAS STUDY LOAN? The student loans attract a very low interest rate.

We will grant study loans without need for guarantees or sureties.

Depending on the student’s academic results, portions of the loan can be converted to a bursary.

A very reasonable repayment plan, based on your earnings. All repaid student loans are recycled to fund more needy students.

WHO DO WE ASSIST WITH A STUDY LOAN?Academically deserving students who meet the following criteria:

• A South African citizen; • Registered at a South African university or university of technology; • An undergraduate, studying for a first higher educational qualification; or • Studying for a second higher qualification (if necessary to practise in your chosen profession. Eg: LLB or HDE); • Able to demonstrate potential for academic success; and • In need of financial assistance.

HOW DO YOU GO ABOUT GETTING A STUDY LOAN?

NSFAS does not allocate funds directly to students but here’s the plan:

• First, apply at the educational institution where you are planning to study. Some institutions will issue you with an application for study together with an application for financial aid. You need to enquire from the institution about their processes and deadlines for both.• Submit both applications to the institution and if you have any questions contact the Financial Aid Office (FAO) on campus who will evaluate your ability to succeed in your chosen study direction.

Study Loan

CHILLI AdVENTuRES

Another big one.

But this one is focused on their web site: www.chilliadventures.co.za

If anything, you have to visit this website. it has got all the information you will need.

Their programmes are:

• Winter Work & Travel USa• Summer camp USa• career Training USa• au Pair USa• Teach English• agri oz

contact: call 0861 244544 FREE

0861 244544 (cHilli) to chat to one of the chilli crew in your local area and learn more about our exciting Work & Travel adventures, or to make an appointment with one

of our experienced team ‘one-on-one’.

Send email to: [email protected]

Send post to: Postnet Suite 32, Private Bag X3, Roggebaai, 8012, Western cape


Gap Year Contacts Gap Year Contacts

GAP YEAR CONTACTS YdP

YDP is also in the league.

Their programmes are:

internship & career training• internship / Professional career Training USa. • internship australia.• Teach asia:

au Pairing• au Pairing in the USa & Europe

Work & Travel programmes• Work & Travel USa: • Summer camp USa• Work & Travel israel: • Work & Travel UK

contacts:

Head office - cape Town:1st floor, Unit B11, century Square

Heron crescent, century city 7441, cape TownTel: 021 552 2000

[email protected]

YDP Work & Travel

Durban office:Plantium Towers, 5 Equinox Road

Umhlanga Rocks, DurbanTel: 031 584 7251 Fax: 031 584 7257

Port Elizabeth office:Tel: 082 366 9863

CCuSA PROGRAMMESSOuTH AFRICA

ccUSa offer exciting work and travel opportunities in the USa.

camp counselors USaEvery year we place thousands of young participants into hundreds of summer camps in the USa.

With ccUSa you could work as a summer camp counsellor leading a group of children in various sports and outdoor adventures. The camp program is just one of the great opportunities that ccUSa can provide. The camps provide all the meals and accommodation plus pocket money.

camps run from early May until end august

Eligibility Requirements:• 18—30 years old• Previous experience with children i.e. babysitting, teaching, coaching,• at least three different skills that you could teach or assist with at camp• applications for 2013 are oPEN, closing date for applications is 1 March 2013.

Work Experience USaWe specialize in the J1 Winter Work visa, allowing FUll TiME STUDENTS to spend up to four months working in the USa during your christmas break. Ideal for graduates. If you want to experience something new, earn $$$, learn to ski, make new friends from around the globe and experience working internationally then this is the program for you.

With offices in cape Town and the USa , you will have support every step of the way. Personal andProfessional service while offering you the experience of a lifetime !• Work and travel at a variety of different employers and locations in the USa. (November/December – 15 February)

Eligibility Requirements:• 18-29 years old• current full time university student• applications for 2013 open May 2013.

For detailed specific programme info, check out www.ccusa.co.za

STA TRAVEL

Programmes offered• Winter Work at ski resorts in the USa. • Summer camp, USa.• au Pair, USa.• Teach English in asia (Thailand, china or South Korea.)• agri oz, australia.• Super Yacht.• cruise Ship work.

STa Travel also offers the cheapest Round the World airfares. Thinking of taking some time out to travel the world? STa Travel offers Exclusive Dedicated Round the World fares for students and those under 26. You get to create your own routing and still get the cheapest fare!

I learnt to become more adventurous and confident as an individual. I am also more driven now to take on responsibilities and opportunities that are out of my comfort zone that push me to extend my knowledge of my surroundings. – Sharon Mwamanda (UcT)

My whole trip was amazing, I didn’t have any problems with visas or the traveling – for me it was easy sailing. There are so many to great memories to choose from. Just going overseas and experiencing a new culture and country is amazing. The people I met and friends I made

were awesome. I know we will remain friends forever. Spending time with the children and knowing that I impacted their lives in a positive way and vice versa. It is truly a life changing experience. – Belinda lee Sav-age, USa Summer camp participant.

contact: Tel: 0861 781 781Website: http://www.statravel.co.za/gap-year.htm

Facebook: www.facebook.com/STaTravelSouthafricaTwitter: @statravelsa

Some people ask each other: “What do you want to do at university?” Smart people ask: “What do you want to do after university?” Smart

people know that they want to create opportunities for themselves as well as others; they want to lead; they want to innovate. So they choose a degree that enables them to do that: they become chartered accountants — a CA (SA).

Perhaps you plan on going into commerce, starting your own business or want to enter a profession that

will ensure you always have a great job anywhere in the world. The smart thing to do is become a chartered accountant.

The South African Chartered Accountancy [CA (SA)] qualification is not only highly regarded in South Africa, but throughout the world. In its 2010/11 Global Competitiveness Report the World Economic Forum (WEF) rated South Africa No.1 in the world for the strength of its auditing and reporting standards – largely thanks to the quality of its chartered accountants.

South Africa Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) Senior Executive for Professional Development, Transformation and Growth Chantyl Mulder herself a CA (SA) says that the qualification opens up the world. “With CA (SA) after your name, there are very few business obstacles you can’t conquer. The CA (SA) designation is well thought of and recognised the world over.”

It is easily the most sought after professional qualification in South African business. A recent survey of the top 200 companies on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) found that:

• 32% of all CEOs of the JSE’s largest 200 companies have a CA (SA) degree.• 32% of the directorships of these companies are held by CA’s (SA).• 75% of those companies’ chief financial officers have a CA (SA) degree.

This shows that there is a demand for chartered accountants in the corporate world. And, this year an independent survey of South African Business leaders found that:• 99% knew of the CA (SA) designation.• 55% said the CA (SA) designation was the “most admired” business designation.

How do you become a CA (SA)?

• You’ve got to have that university exemption in the bag (that means you must work hard in your last few years of school). • You’ll need at least a C-plus in mathematics - simple maths literacy is a definite no-no.• Maybe you did accounting until Grade 12 - but that’s a bonus, not an essential.• You must hold your own easily when debating in the English language.

Next you need to apply to study a relevant B.Com degree at a SAICA accredited university. SAICA, as a registered Education and Training Quality Authority (ETQA), only recognises certain universities as having the necessary quality to academically qualify prospective CAs (SA). These universities are rigorously and continuously monitored to promote quality in the

content and delivery of the education programme.

A list of accredited universities and detailed career information is available at www.nowican.co.za

Once you finish your B.Com degree and then the certificate in theory of accounting (CTA) - an honours level degree – you will start your three-year internship or ‘articles’ with an accounting firm, in government or in a commercial company. This is called a training contract.

A training contract is tough. You have to hold down a full-time job, study for your various exams — and still find time for some recreation. But it can be done as the more than 33 000 CAs(SA) prove, however it requires discipline and good time management.

You will be deeply involved with practical issues of real businesses all the while fine tuning your academic knowledge. You will get to:

• Understand what makes a business tick.• How it makes profits or keeps costs down. • How the directors apply the strategies of their companies to achieve their goals.

If you do your training contract in one of the large accounting firms, you can specialise fairly early on in your training, focusing on specific sectors or industries such as, for example, mining, manufacturing, banking or financial services.

In a small- or medium-sized firm you may find you can move into, or even start, one of the firm’s subsidiary companies that might include, corporate governance, internal auditing, IT and recruitment. In government you might see what makes the economy tick at the national treasury or guard public spending with the auditor general. Regardless of where you serve your

training contract, your qualification is the same — the globally recognised and prestigious CA(SA).

While completing your training contract there are two final qualifying exams (QE 1 and 2) that must be passed before you can call yourself a CA(SA) and can practise as a CA(SA) and or as a registered auditor (RA).

You can now work in almost any field of business. For example:

• You can go into private practice.• You can work as a tax advisor or consultant.• You can become a forensic accountant.• An entrepreneur.• A financial manager.• A chief financial officer (CFO).• A chief executive office (CEO).

The list goes on, beyond accounting firms.

A CA(SA)’s reputation is built on four pillars: • integrity• ethics• technical excellence• training

SAICA also offers Bursaries to about 300 students (yearly) who cannot afford to pay for their studies but would like to pursue a profession chartered accountancy.

What are the application requirements?

• The learner must be a South African Citizen. • The learner must obtain at least 60% on Mathematics 5 or above on the NSC Scale of Achievement - NOT MATHS LITERACY.• The learner must be in Grade 12 intending on studying BComm Accounting.• The learner must be African or Coloured.• Learners can phone 08610 72422 or 011 621 6600 and ask for the Thuthuka Bursary Fund application form to be sent to them.

So, go ahead. Take that big step and become a chartered accountant and put that smart designation after your name — CA(SA). It’s called success. <

SAICAwww.saica.co.za

www.sustainabilitysa.org www.accountancysa.org.za

Contact Centre : 08610 SAICA (72422)

Why CA (SA) SpELLS “SuCCESS”

Careers Careers



The Quotes GameQuotes

Here we go again. Quotes for all occasions. We start with some unusual people.

Arnold Schwarzenegger: The “ex-Governator” of California, USA!

“Just remember, you can’t climb the ladder of success with your hands in your pockets.” – Hard work is required if you want to go places.

Fidel Castro:The undisputed ruler of Cuba. Like him or not, but he surely had a way with words. After all, he used to do 6-8 hour speeches (yes!).

“Condemn me, it does not matter: history will absolve me.” – I know I am right

“As I have said before, the ever more sophisticated weapons piling up in the arsenals of the wealthiest and the mightiest can kill the illiterate, the ill, the poor and the hungry, but they cannot kill ignorance, illnesses, poverty or hunger”. – This is worth listening to.

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th dalai Lama:“My true religion is Kindness”.

“Reason well from the beginning and then there will never be any need to look back with confusion and doubt.” – Think before you open the mouth

“Compassion without attachment is possibleYou have to get into the game. You cannot be

an outsider and be a part of something at the same time.”

My name is Koketso Thubakgale. This is one of my old time favourite quotes: “I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good therefore that I can do or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creatures, let me do it now.” – Author unknown.

THankS koketso. This one goes up on the wall in the office.

Mandela: No introduction needed.“It always seems impossible, until it is done.” – Very good!

“A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination”. – It is not all about politics after all

“That was one of the things that worried me – to be raised to the position of a demi-god – because then you are no longer a human being. I wanted to be known as Mandela, a man with weaknesses, some of which are fundamental, and a man who is committed, but, nevertheless, sometimes fails to live up to expectations.” – He is a humble man. If we could all just learn a little bit.

Sir Winston Churchill: Oops, I did it again.“The ability to foretell what is going to happen tomorrow, next week, next month, and next year – and to have the ability afterwards to explain why it didn’t happen.” – on the qualities of politicians.

“You will make all kinds of mistakes; but as long as you are generous and true, and also fierce, you cannot hurt the world or even seriously distress her.” – The truth can hurt, but will never kill. It is the other thing that will kill you.

“The problems of victory are more agreeable than those of defeat, but they are no less difficult.” - A serious one: you can win the war and lose the peace.

It’s not enough that we do our best; sometimes we have to do what’s required.” – There it is again!

“This is the type of arrant pedantry up with which I will not put.” – Oh, my English is not there. What splendid joy I shall enjoy reading such properly handled a sentence!

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” – Not sure if it is Churchill, but it surely is good!

That’s it for this time. <

Books


Book Reviewsby Thabisile Masimule

Sport

South Africans are always being portrayed as sport fanatics. That may be so, but what sport do we really find in schools today? Is it still very

much just soccer, rugby, netball and basket ball? What is the future of sports in South African schools?

A plan to place schools at the centre of the country’s sports development was devised in January 2011, by the Department of Sports and Recreation in Gauteng. Now, it is being implemented – teachers who are specialising in different sports are given efficient training to develop the country’s school sport.

This development is worth noticing as it has to come with a review of the sports facilities in schools. Let’s face it, not all schools have the same facilities. Swimming pools and specialised sports halls are not found in all schools. If we see a focus on supplying facilities to all schools, we should be able to see a vast improvement in school sport, which must also impact our participation in, for example, the Olympics Games.

Playing soccer on the same dusty soccer ground cannot be acceptable development. But what about other sports? Rugby and cricket? And this is not only for the boys. One thing is for sure, cricket may have the appeal to become much more. Townships are now full of kids finding an empty tomato box, a stick and a ball, and there we have a cricket game.

It might just be that this is a development influenced by the international games we now see much more of. For example IPL and the Champions League. And let us also agree, T20 cricket has more appeal than a five-day test match - which can still end up in a tie.

The other major factor in our road to becoming international, is the success of the recent Paralympics. It has surely put a lot of new focus into the spotlight.

Handicapped is not a showstopper anymore, and if the acceptance and interest overseas is anything to go by, the pressure is on to provide facilities enabling the disabled to succeed even mor

I don’t even want to guess where this will all lead us, except into a better future where we can all be given a chance to succeed.

So, we will encourage the department to look at a couple of factors: Get the facilities sorted out in all school, at least ensuring that some basic standards are in place. Next: The teacher’s own abilities. This new programme from the Gauteng education department is tops, but it has to be implemented. Lastly: it could also be fun to try different sports. We look at all the events during the Olympics, but we have not a way of trying it out in our schools. <

SPORT IN SCHOOLS1421 and 1434: Gavin MenziesTwo intriguing books on how the Chinese “discovered” the entire world in the 13th and 14th centuries. If anyone is interested in great mysteries and puzzles of world-wide note, these are the books.

Both books are thin on historical facts and are much more into asking “good questions”. Like: why do we grow rice in Northern Italy? Why do the chickens sound the same in South America as in China? Chinese anchors in California? Did Columbus have a Chinese map showing America before he sailed off? And a lot more of these things.

Read it with caution as it is very speculative but quite amusing. One fact I will leave you with: If the Chinese had ships dwarfing anything Western Europe could build and they knew all countries, why didn’t they sail up the Thames River into London? That would surely have given people something to talk about.

History’s Worst Decisions: Stephen Weir.It is also called “An Encyclopedia Idiotica”, and not without merit! This book is fun. It will make you laugh. It shows the total idiotic way some of the things were decided or just happened and could have happened in any other way. It is a book about vanity and ego and just plain stupidity. Welcome to the world.

Just a few examples: The Dutch envied the British a little Island called Pulau where nutmeg is coming from. They cooked up a plan to offer Manhattan to the British for Pulau. Deal accepted and the Dutch thought this was the best deal ever. Stoopid! Or Y2K: The end of the computer world. Billions being spent and nothing actually happened!

This book has some real disasters as the consequences of real idiotic decisions. So, it is not all laughing but also instructive. Beware! You may be a great leader one day, so learn while you can. <

Success Success


Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Wangari Mathai and Martin Luther King; These are some of the world’s most cher-

ished symbols of freedom and endurance. The force and importance of their tireless efforts not only liberated people from various in-justices and created awareness of various earthly issues but they also formed the foundation of a future of hope, hard work and prosperity.

“Be the change you want to see in the world.” Gandhi walked forward with a pur-pose to lead the movement for the Indian “independence, freedom, peace” and of course to create a great sense of friend-ship amongst all people.

His resolute, long and painful march to freedom was never in vain. Nelson Mandela, much like honourable Gandhi endured much hardship to see the chains of oppression broken and to see free-dom make its way through, our many nations.

A name that is not known to many is Marcus Garvey. He is a man of true greatness and in fact is in the same league as the very figures I have just mentioned that have contributed significantly to the many freedoms that we enjoy today and his story is one which is equally amazing as those that have defined some of the world’s greatest.

Marcus Garvey was born in 1887 and passed on in 1940 but not without leaving a magnificent legacy.

Marcus Garvey, Jr. was born in St. Ann’s Bay, Jamaica to Marcus Garvey, Senior who was a builder, and Sarah Jane Richards, a domestic worker.

Garvey was one of eleven siblings and only Marcus, the youngest, and his sister Indiana survived until maturity. His family was rather financially stable given the cir-cumstances of this time period in that it was not com-mon for black people to live comfortable lives.

Garvey’s father could afford to have a large library, and it was from his father that Marcus gained his love for reading. He also attended the schools in St. Ann’s Bay during his youth and it was while attending these

schools that Garvey first began to experi-ence racism.

It was said that he found this (rac-ism to be a shock because when

he was younger, he used to be friends and play with his white neighbours. However, when they reached their teenage years, they began to reject and avoid him. This

alone, one would say, sparked the fire in him to fight a great

fight.

He grew up to be a great Jamaican political thinker, publisher, journal-

ist, entrepreneur, and orator who was a staunch proponent of the Black nationalism and

Pan-Africanism movements, to which end he founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League which has come to be known as the UNIA-ACL.

He also founded the Black Star Line, part of the Back-to-Africa movement, which promoted the return of the African diaspora or movement to their ancestral homelands.

This is all very interesting because when we think of Jamaica we think of some of the world’s finest athletes, like Asafa Powell and Usain Bolt who have broken re-cords and has also been dubbed to be the fastest men in the world, not a bad little title to carry around, I’d say.

Anyway, it’s not common knowledge that one of the most influential people besides Bob Marley who made his contribution to the struggle for the freedoms we en-joy today through his music would come from Jamaica but only because it is not famous for its political history.

Garvey was unique in advancing a Pan-African philos-ophy to inspire a global mass movement and economic

empowerment focusing on Africa which became known as “Garveyism”. Through this he inspired many within his region ranging from the Nation of Islam to the Rastafarian movement (which proclaims Garvey as a prophet).

The movement was mobilized to give all those of Af-rican descent the power to “redeem” Africa and for the European colonial powers to leave it. His essential ideas about Africa were stated in an editorial in the Ne-gro World titled “African Fundamentalism” where he wrote: “Our union must know no clime, boundary, or nationality… to let us hold together under all climes and in every country”.

In 1916 he left Jamaica for New York so as to spread his mes-sage of black pride and to emphasise the importance of economic self-sufficiency amongst the black com-munity. This gained him a great following, particularly amongst the ghettos (this is what poor black people were defined as) which brings me to think about how many followers he would have if he was alive today and had twitter, certainly a significant amount.

In New York he ventured upon various businesses most of which failed which to him was not a failure because his greater mission of establishing black pride and mak-ing his vision of Africa becoming a homeland a reality; it was this kind of think-ing that inspired the black power movement in later years.

He was a great believer in all artists, which for me fortifies the fact that without art and creativ-ity, the world would be nothing. In 1931 he es-tablished the Edelweiss Amusement Company.

He set the company up to help artists earn their livelihood from their craft. Several Jamaican entertainers like Kidd Harold, Ernest Cu-

pidon, Bim & Bam, and Ranny Williams went on to become popular after receiving initial exposure that the company gave them (they are of course a little be-fore your time but interesting to look up nonetheless if you’re a fine art and music lover).

His journey to establish African greatness was not an easy one and was not openly accepted by all people. In 1923 he was arrested, tried and eventually convicted for five years of mail fraud in America and his arrest prompted widespread debate with a prominent pro-fessor of his time, Judith Stein, arguing that it was his

politics that were put on trial and not him.

He only served two of the five years and when he was released he was

deported. This never deterred him and he continued the great fight for the African people until his death.

It is indeed people like Marcus Garvey that we must thank for the largely wonderful world in

which we live today. If you look around you and into your own

life, you may notice that you are surrounded by diversity, diversity of

people, ideas and all the knowledge and creativity which we can all share.

While our forefathers fought for all that we enjoy to-day, they did not have the luxury we have and so the responsibility lies with us to enjoy and appreciate the world in which we live and ensure that we continue to

push forth the ideals of men like Marcus Garvey so as to ensure peace for future generations.

Some of his words that have never been forgot-ten include: “Look for me in the whirlwind or the storm, look for me all around you, for, with God’s grace, I shall come and bring with me countless millions of black slaves who have died in America and the West Indies and the mil-lions in Africa to aid you in the fight for Liberty, Freedom and Life.” <

TRUE GREATNESST H E S T O R Y O F M A R C U S G A R V E Y

Marcus Garvey Memorial Park, Harlem, New York City.


Success Current Affairs

Apocalypse: An event which involves great destruction or the final destruction of the world, as described by the book of Revelations in the

Bible.

Bearing this definition in mind, what would you suggest would be the cause of an apocalypse? World War III perhaps? One would argue that one of the biggest ways that might see to the crumbling of societies, governments and entire countries, would be drugs and

the business of trading in that industry.

It’s sad but yes, drugs have indeed become an industry.

The business of trading in drugs is a profitable one, and so it comes as no surprise that it has flourished over many decades, fattening the pockets of those who choose to associate themselves with the trade, and deepening the addiction and misery of those who have chosen to fuel the trade.

The InTernaTIonal Drug TraDe: a BoomIng BusIness or a loomIng apocalypse

Whitney Houston - before and afterAmy Winehouse - before and after

The time is fast approaching where the battle for a job is commencing. The CV and the interview is looming. You will probably be bombarded

with at least 200 million pieces of advice from all kinds of people around you on how and what to do. So, why not us?

The CVFirst of all, the CV is a ticket to the game. You have to stand out in writing where your CV might be compared to another 100 applicants for whatever job. It sounds a bit discouraging, doesn’t it? How can I, little me, even think that my writing is more interesting that the next person’s? wow, OK, but that is not the way forward. You have to think that your CV is the best. Thinking it does not mean it will be the best. So, you have to get it to be the best: How?

Choice of language and spellingEnglish is still the default language. If that is your language choice, make sure you have no spelling mistakes and no grammatical errors in it. Avoiding spelling mistakes is easy. Use the spell checker! Grammar is easy! Get your teacher to read it through, even after you have finished school. They will probably do you that favour.

If I have to read a CV with even one spelling mistake, I will get nervous about this person’s commitment. It is not whether the person can spell or not. If the person is not concerned about spelling mistakes, how will this person then treat my business? That is the case here.

It also goes to the heart of the often-heard thing: “I have emailed my CV to 200 companies and nothing”. Well, if there are mistakes in the CV, no wonder then. Just do it right first time!

The interviewResearch the company you go to an interview with. Spend some time to figure out what the company is all about, who is the owner, directors, etc. If you have to spend say eight hours on the ‘net, is that not well-spent if you get a job?

Be on time: OK, so you have to start in the middle of the night to get there for 09:00. And so? Is that a problem? But don’t overdo it either. If you are more than 10 minutes early, just go

somewhere and wait it out. Don’t sit in the reception forever. It looks as though you can’t plan.

dress codeDepends on what job you are in for. Office job? Business attire. These things you do know so there are no excuses for it.

QuestionsSome say ask questions, well, yes, but don’t come with a truck load of questions just because. It has to be relevant. Remember, It is also your chance to evaluate this company. It is not a one-way street. If you have serious questions, ask them. And it is fine to have a list of prepared questions and take notes. Who can remember all the info? I can’t and I couldn’t. Write the answers down. If you have a list of questions, it does mean you have thought about it.

Be polite and courteous: But don’t be a doormat. You are there as a fellow human being and don’t be too servile. You are you. Someone who displays character is the person to employ. You might end up as the interviewing person’s colleague! Show character! The more people see of you, the more they should like you as you.

Mistakes: We do make mistakes. If it happens, say sorry. But don’t get broken down on it. Example is to spill the tea on the floor. Oopss. So say sorry and get on with it. Has the other person never done that? Exactly! Be yourself. If you can handle a “crisis” like that, it could just be OK. But please, don’t do it on purpose

RehearsalCan you rehearse an interview? Oh yes. Try it out

on siblings, friends, family and other unsuspecting people. Try to imagine what they can ask and prepare an answer. Write it down. Nobody can remember everything. It is OK. A prepared candidate is my choice anyway.

I am so nervous! Yes, and shaking and sweating and damp hands and my voice is all wrong and my hair and my nails and my… calm down - 80% of you anxiety stays in your body and cannot be seen. And the other person might just guess you are nervous. First job and so on. If they cannot be human and relate to that, you would not like to work there anyway. <

Funny things I have seen or done: Business meeting. The supplier arriving and telling a young man sitting on the floor (no tie, etc) to move as they have a meeting with the director. Well, that was the director.

Once I had to go to the bathroom in the middle of a meeting and couldn’t find my way back to the meeting room.

4342

Current Affairs Current Affairs

>>>Hola MaHigH-ScHool >>>Hola MaHigH-ScHool

The trade has assisted in the development of a vicious cycle of making heaps of money through the destruction of lives, the corruption of governments and the crippling of young minds and furthermore the ruin of their dreams and ambitions. The international drug trade is a global black market – correction, it is the largest black market – and it would seem that despite all of the measures that have been put in place to curb this problem, it only seems to keep growing. For centuries now, drugs have plagued various parts of the world with addiction. Here’s the interesting fact: not only were drugs like

Mandrax initially manufactured to help soldiers fighting in the war, but, if we look further back, the poppy plant fuelled the British empire.

The growing of opium in India and parts of Middle East was the direct consequence of the Chinese Tea trade. As China only accepted silver in exchange for tea, the British found out there was not enough silver to fuel the trade. Finally, they found something to sell to China: Opium. And it had to be grown somewhere: Middle East and India. These parts are still the biggest growers of opium and that is the legacy of the tea trade!

It has been reported by the United Nations that the global drug trade is currently worth an estimated US$321.6 billion (that is about R2.5 trillion). This is a staggering amount and can hardly be compared to anything. It is more than the GDP of even larger countries. Drugs are big business!

Jails around the world are filled to the brim with mules from all corners of the world who were once deceived into thinking that there would be a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, the rainbow being the journey of

taking the ‘merchandise’, from one place to the desired destination.

The problem with the conventional drug mules is that more often than not, they are getting caught, which naturally is costing manufacturers, distri-butors, overseers and the like, a substantial amount of money.

So what do they do? Besides the growing prominence of decoys, which are unsuspecting mules who are used by the cartels to draw attention away from the real mules that carry with them the drugs that are worth the big money, they also devise better plans in which to safely

transport their merchandise to different points around the world.

Cocaine, which, alongside heroine, is one of the most exported drugs in the world, is produced in countries like Colombia, Venezuela (which was one of the first few countries to have produced ‘Miss Universe’ two years in a row), has been increasingly shipped via West Africa (Guinea, Guinea-Bissau and Liberia); it has been argued that the reasons for this are mainly that the security standards that exist in Africa with

regards to the war on drugs are substandard.

Over 50% of all major drug shipments are routed through Africa so as to lessen the risk of the shipments being stopped dead in their tracks by authorities. The money is often laundered (made legal, so that it can “fly under the radar) in countries such as Nigeria, Ghana and Senegal. Here, beneficiaries include state officials amongst other business figures, especially in Guinea-Bissau, where the drugs have been traded with the help of political leaders such as former presidents, the son of dictator Lansana Conté, and chiefs of staff of the army (a figure to read up on!).

It has been reported that the reason that some countries are not stringent with drug prohibition laws, is because, according to the United Nations’ Drugs and Crime Tsar Antonio Maria Costa, the illegal drug money has often saved the banking industry from collapsing.

He claims that he has seen evidence that the proceeds of organised crime were “the only liquid investment capital” which means that banks would utilise drug profits that were brought into banks to do normal

banking business; this essentially implies that drug money has become a large part of economies of various regions. This is even more serious as anything insofar as drug profits now are essential for the survival of certain regions. They are the very elements that ensure that we live fruitful lives. So why should we bite the hand that feeds us? The hand naturally referring to the illicit trading money…

Well, the drug cooperation has seen the destruction of various elements, countries, communities and more importantly the lives of young people. And the point at which these lives are ruined, the point of no return is when an individual or a group make the decision to become human modes of transport for what is more often than not referred to as precious cargo.

As mentioned earlier, drug mules are a traditional form of transportation, but, there are other means which include cargo planes, fishing boats (which are not obvious suspects), container ships, and submarines.

All have been used to transport illegal drugs from West Africa to Europe. These forms of transportation see more than just Africa and Europe; they are what are known as “The Golden Crescent” (Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan) and “The Golden Triangle” (Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos and Thailand) routes, which were primarily designed for the effective transportation of drugs.

Now, the Golden Crescent transports only heroine from where it is manufactured in Asia to Europe, where it is bought and sold, whereas The Golden Triangle transports mainly cocaine, which will also come mainly from Australia and the South of Asia to be transported to the biggest buyer – America.

In the instance where drugs are transported overland, through the Sahara desert for instance, drug traders have been increasingly forced to cooperate with terrorist organisations, such as Al Qaida, which, as you have already guessed, profit substantially from the trade.

Here’s something to think about: Who doesn’t? Drug trafficking is considered to be the most serious

drug offence around the world.

However, the punishment usually depends on the type of drug, the amount trafficked, where, and of course, to whom the drugs are sold; for example if the drugs are sold to teenage people, like you, the reader, then the penalties for trafficking may be harsher than in other circumstances.

After reading this article what would you suggest the answer to the question I asked “The International Drug Trade: A Booming Business or a Looming Apocalypse?” is?

I am going to afford you the opportunity to draw your own conclusion from what you have just read. It is important to do so, because, you are the very future of the world and only you can make the sort of change that was spoken of by the Great Mahatma Ghandi.

Imagine what kind of knock-on effect that would be created if one person said no to trafficking and no to buying; the International Drug Trade would crumble, virtually at the power of your will. <

More than 600 South African drug mules and drug traffickers are currently in foreign jails. Almost half of these are in jails in South America, whilst about 30 are jailed in Mauritius.

A drug mule is someone who smuggles drugs on their person or in their luggage across borders. Their desperate need for cash could cost them their health and their lives, or they could land in jail.

(Above) Sheryl Cwele, former wife of State Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele, was sentenced to 20-years in a South African prison for her role in Tessa Beetge (above, right) being jailed for drug smuggling in Brazil. Picture: Sapa.

(Above, left) Janice Bronwyn Linden (38), the South African woman who was executed in China for drug smuggling in 2011. She was arrested in November 2008 in possession of 3kg of methamphetamine at Guangzhou airport in southern China. (Above, right) Nolubabalo Babsie Nobanda (23) was arrested at Bankok Airport after trying to smuggle cocaine worth R1.2 million in her dreadlocks. She was sentenced to 15 years in a Thailand prison and fined R250 000.00.


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