Poetry journal to launch in the Eastern Cape

Primary school learners from the Eastern Cape were given the amazing opportunity to document their thoughts in the Phemba Mfundi poetry journal due to be launched in Qunu, Nelson Mandela’s homestead, this May.

Loosely translated, Phemba Mfundi means “keep the fire burning”. In this context the Phemba Mfundi journal was launched by the Nelson Mandela Institute to give young writers in the Eastern Cape a platform to have their poetry published, “keeping their fires burning” and keeping their dreams alive.

Phemba Mfundi is a bilingual journal of writings authored by rural learners. The Xhosa-English journal is published once a year, collating 12 months of hard work by 168 Grade 7 and 8 learners from across 22 rural schools in and around Mqanduli, in the Eastern Cape.

The learners have been supported to write poetry, short stories and autobiographical pieces, by a small group of dedicated youth volunteers from the University of Fort Hare and youth organisations in Ginsberg, under the guidance of the Nelson Mandela Institute.

The launch will be held on May 15, 2010, at the Qunu Youth Museum. Qunu is about 2.5 hours from East London and about 30 minutes from Mthatha.

The learners, their teachers and parents and researchers and representatives of the Department of Education will attend the launch, where learners will read selections from their work.

According to Brian Ramadiro, the Institute’s director, the initiative has had a profound impact on learners and their teachers, affecting “their relationship to reading and writing, their confidence, their leadership skills, and [giving them] a renewed interest in school and life”.