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10-year-old poet 'a powerhouse'
29/02/2008 22:40 - (SA)
Thabisile Khoza
Komatipoort - Ten-year-old Mduduzi Mandlazi is a poetry powerhouse.
Since the age of four, he has been invited to write his own poems and recite poems at local schools, churches and functions in Hhoyi near the Swaziland border in Mpumalanga.
"My family is supportive of everything I do, which is what makes me what I am," says the Grade 5 pupil from Sophungane Combined School.
Last year, local radio station Ligwalagwala FM asked him to recite a poem about HIV/Aids at the handover of second-hand clothing for poor people living with the disease.
In November, he entered a competition as part of Project Read's, "Let's go back to our roots" campaign, which promoted mother tongue languages. He won some drinking glasses and books.
Double act
Mandlazi's passion has encouraged his best friend, Shane Mathe (10), to also write and recite poetry.
Mathe started last year and the duo are fast becoming a double act.
Mathe recites a poem about fire, while Mandlazi recites one about water. He always recite his poems in English.
Their class teacher Sibongile Hlahla said she had asked her class to write poems about the fires that devastated large parts of Mpumalanga last year.
Mandlazi's mother Joyce Silombo says her son definitely has a special talent.
"He testifies in church every Sunday and memorises every advert he watches on TV or hears on radio. He is a good imitator," she said.
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South Africa
