Taunina Telegraph

Meet the next generation

A good education is the number one priority of all Taunina’s artists who have children of school-going age. Some, like Patience, Giselle and Juliet Wilson, are lucky enough to have their children living with them here in Cape Town, where they can keep a close eye on their children’s progress at school and support them or intervene if necessary.

Juliet Wilson’s son, Blessed (6), started school at the beginning of the year and just received a very good report, which she is very pleased about. Little Esnath (5) is very happy in preschool. Patience’s eldest son, Tatenda (10) is very mechanically minded and loves to take things apart and then put them together again. Patience is convinced that he will one day become an engineer, although he will have to pull up his socks when it comes to Mathematics! Her daughter, Agnes, is only two and will start attending playgroup next year.

Little Donel (3) is Gisele’s son and is the apple of his mum’s eye and she has great aspirations for him. One day she hopes he will become a “big man in the world” – like a doctor.

Other Taunina artists, like Mercy, Ennia and Juliet Kudzika have entrusted their mothers or sisters to look after their children in Zimbabwe.  Mercy and Ennia both worry that their children are not getting enough opportunity to speak and practice their English. They both feel that the ability to speak English well is very important.

Nomgcobo’s youngest, Asange (3), and Ntombizodwa’s youngest, Nisha (2), both live with them in Cape Town. Ntombizodwa’s older daughter, Tryness (12) lives with her mother in Zimbabwe, and Nomgcobo’s two older boys, Athabile (9) and Siwaphiwe (6) recently decided of their own accord that they would like to live with their granny and grandpa in the beautiful Eastern Cape. Tryness is doing very well at school and Ntombizodwa is especially proud of her mathematics marks. At first Athabile and Siwaphiwe were a bit behind with their Xhosa Grammar, which they had not done as a subject previously, but they have caught up nicely, to Nomgcobo’s relief.

Beauty’s four grown sons have done very well for themselves. Her eldest, Lovemore, is a builder here in Cape Town. Andrew,  her second born, studied Accounting by correspondence and now works at a local brewery. He is also a keen musician and has a beautiful voice. Courage, who also studied business management by correspondence owns a butchery in Harare, where Beauty’s youngest son, Prudence, also works. Prudence is saving up to study Information Technology. “Now all I need is some grandchildren,” says Beauty with a smile.