Mandisa Zuma, Digital Arts student, mentor and poet - filming the story of her journey with Caversham and the impact it has had in her life and on her future.

In her own words:
Born and raised in a small village beyond countless farms and valleys is a young girl who grew up with values and beliefs taught to her by Mosotho women. I am Mandisa Zuma, an 18 year old whose life was mostly mentored by three powerful women: my great-grandmother and grandmother who are both Basotho’s and my mother. Being born and raised in Lidgetton, mid Kwa Zulu Natal gave me a reason to view my everyday life as a stepping stone towards changing it for the better and seeing every obstacle that I faced as an opportunity to learn to be strong enough to face future challenges.

I went to Nottingham Road primary school for eight years before starting high school at Jabula Combined school in 2007. Like every teenage girl with fantasies and a wild imagination, going to an under-served school like Jabula was a downward spiral for me until Jabula proved that dynamite comes in small packages and provided me not only with the best education but also with opportunities which were bound to change my life and brighten my future in a big way.

Growing up in an environment that was well known for being low in opportunities and a home which was run by my sister, cousin and myself with no adults most of the time taught me that parents aren’t there to lean on but to make leaning unnecessary and to be an independent individual both at home and at school where in the year 2010 my teachers introduced me to an opportunity which was bound to open many doors to my future and a stable platform to turn my dreams into reality while at the same time putting my community under a spotlight.

Being selected as one of the students who would be in a digital arts programme run by Caversham Arts Centre, The NEA Foundation, and The Pearson Foundation first began as one of those endless school projects...until I came face to face with the kind of world I had been dreaming of and imagining since forever, a world where imagination could be turned into reality and beyond. Ever since I now see a future worth looking up to and working hard towards.

Not only do I now dream of making my future bright for my sake and my family’s but I also see myself as the light my community has longed dreamed of.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsdSVyEpsfQ