News / National
Teacher documents achievements in novel
23 Oct 2022 at 12:47hrs | Views
BISEYI Mangena (79) recalls the days when he was a teacher and would pen down into poems, every success of the community around him and those that sought to promote teachers.
"I've been a teacher all my life. Before my retirement, I was appointed the Lupane Education director and it was during this time that many great things started happening in that area. People were working hard to make Lupane the capital of Matabeleland North and we saw great results during that period such as the Lupane State University.
"Many people didn't believe that there was going to be a school in Lupane; they believed that this was just a dream sold to us, but the dream actually came true. So, I wrote the poem titled ‘Thuthuka Lupane'. With the poem I sought to promote these programmes that were uplifting the area," he said.
Now, he is celebrating the success of his book Inkondlo Ezisithinthayo which documents all the occurrences that he felt should not be forgotten. The anthology, which consists of 19 poems, has his favourite poem, Thuthuka Lupane which he spoke highly of.Mangena said during his stint as a teacher, he documented most of the developments that were positive in people's lives.
"There's another one that I wrote in praise of the Better schools programs because it was a good
initiative for teachers. Basically, I wrote about everything that I encountered and documented the day-to-day lives of people initially. I just told myself that I should write some of the things I see.
"When I was on retirement, I started writing more poems until I saw the need to compile them so that they can become one book. I got them published and gave the book the name Inkondlo eziz'thintayo. These are different poems that don't relate but they all touch us in different aspects. They are a reminder that despite the hardships there are good things that we can look up to," Mangena said.
He said the short Ndebele poems are captivating and can be a good read, especially for those who are still in school.
Mangena started teaching in 1967 and retired in 2016, clocking 49 years in the classroom, and has taught in different schools across the country.
His book is available in bookstores.
"I've been a teacher all my life. Before my retirement, I was appointed the Lupane Education director and it was during this time that many great things started happening in that area. People were working hard to make Lupane the capital of Matabeleland North and we saw great results during that period such as the Lupane State University.
"Many people didn't believe that there was going to be a school in Lupane; they believed that this was just a dream sold to us, but the dream actually came true. So, I wrote the poem titled ‘Thuthuka Lupane'. With the poem I sought to promote these programmes that were uplifting the area," he said.
Now, he is celebrating the success of his book Inkondlo Ezisithinthayo which documents all the occurrences that he felt should not be forgotten. The anthology, which consists of 19 poems, has his favourite poem, Thuthuka Lupane which he spoke highly of.Mangena said during his stint as a teacher, he documented most of the developments that were positive in people's lives.
"There's another one that I wrote in praise of the Better schools programs because it was a good
initiative for teachers. Basically, I wrote about everything that I encountered and documented the day-to-day lives of people initially. I just told myself that I should write some of the things I see.
"When I was on retirement, I started writing more poems until I saw the need to compile them so that they can become one book. I got them published and gave the book the name Inkondlo eziz'thintayo. These are different poems that don't relate but they all touch us in different aspects. They are a reminder that despite the hardships there are good things that we can look up to," Mangena said.
He said the short Ndebele poems are captivating and can be a good read, especially for those who are still in school.
Mangena started teaching in 1967 and retired in 2016, clocking 49 years in the classroom, and has taught in different schools across the country.
His book is available in bookstores.
Source - The Chronicle
