Khwezi's vision

I once had a vision that was forbbiden. This vision was meant to bring change and prosperity in my community, but as a woman, my voice was not heard let alone understood, so my next mission was to speak loud and louder until my voice was listened, this was to prove not just to myself, but to every young man and woman out there, that if you really want something, you can achieve it, no matter how many stumbling blocks could stand on the way. The vision drives a person to wake up in the morning and do something that could bring him or her closer to it, which is why it felt like I was dreaming, eating and living my vision, therefore, I couldn't accept "no" for an answer.

I was a twenty two years old lady who finished her social worker degree. I grew up very poor and I didn't want our new generation to grow through the same circumstances. Passing my matric was as hard as climbing Mount kilimanjaro, with no libraries, I had to go long distances to do my school assignments and to even have excess to a computer. I met a young boy one day, who told me how much he struggles with school work at university since he doesn't even know how to type and was now deciding to drop out of school. that hurt my feelings because I had gone through the same situation and I realised that if I don't do something about it, more and more children will drop out of university like that boy I met and the light of our community will never shine bright. That's when I made an appointment with the community councillor who was all ears about what a young, female community member was doing in his office. "Young lady, how can I be of help to you this morning?" He sked. "Good morning sir, my name is Khwezi Ngubo, I am a qualified Social worker and I came to let you know about the vision I have for the children of this community." I said. He sipped his coffee and said, "I'm listening." I cleared my throat and continued. "Sir, It broke my heart to see the future of this community parish like this, while we as community members can do something to put a permanent stop to all of this," he looked at me straight in the eyes and said. "My girl, stop beating around the bush and tell me what you want from me." He said. "Ok sir, I want you to build a community library that will also consist of about twenty computers. Believe me sir, this will make a huge change in the way children see education, studying will be much easier for them and interesting too. They will pass with flying colours and this will benefit the whole community, because their succes is our success. I grew up in this community too, I know how hard it is to be a university student, while staying at home. Typing my assignment was always a challenge and I don't want other students to go through the same thing."

I remember as if it was yesterday when the councillor laugh at me, the old man almost fell from his chair, "so, you want me to build a library? You came all the way from where ever your home is to tell me this? My child go home and make a cup of coffee for your grandmother, that's not a vision, it just your plan to make easy money. You want to sell all those computers and books for your own benefit, too many of you people come here and waste my time about what I need to do for this community, I gave you water, I gave you free electricity and the roads are straight and fine, I am building no library! I don't care if those children pass with flying colours or walking colours, it's non of my business." He said that and left me sitting right there on the chair, in his office. For a while, I asked my self, maybe if I was mature enough, if I was a man too. Maybe he would have given me a chance to prove that this library was a way forward for today's generation to the next. But to him, it felt as if only basic needs like, water and shelter are needed by the community, forgeting that even if we have that, we still need good jobs that will sustain our lives in a long run.

At home, I couldn't sleep, I could still hear the councillor's laugh ringing in my ears. I said to myself, "Khwezi, you need to do something, the future of these children lay on your hands." And so I took the first step. "Good morning to all the school tearchers, principals and all the learners at Thokozani High school, thank you so much for giving me this opportunity to have a small talk with you, I know I still have five more high schools I need to go to because this message that I am here to share with you, is like a matches to your candle sticks. You already know that education is key to your success, so how about I tell you that there is another place that I am trying to build for all of you, a place that will give each and everyone of your their keys to unlock their future." I went in each and every high school in my community and they all agreed with me, even the school teachers that a library will make a difference in the way children recieve education. But we couldn't build it ourselves, we still needed the councillor's approval, so me and five school principals went back to his office, I felt confident that he would now listen to me because I was going with mature people. "It's you again, library girl, you hired people to force me into your stupid idea?!" He said. And we all went back, with a "no," for an answer. So I had to come up with another plan. This time, it was a do or die situation. Early in the morning on Wenesday, the school gates were closed and all the teachers and learners we outside the councillor's office singing, "we want the library!" Members of the community joined in and the singing was loud and clear. We were holding placards, blocking the road for other cars not to pass by, people had to be informed about the kind of a person they had put on a chair to meet all their needs. Then the moment l was waiting for came, I was given an opportunity to tell the whole community about the need of the library and the aim behind having it in our communities. "Yes, the teachers teach the learners very well, but there must be other sources where these children could gain knowledge from, children finish matric and stay at home because they don't even know how to use a computer to apply at tertiary institutions online, if they have excess to this at an early stage, this could even make teachers work very easy, the learners share mathematics books, but they don't even live together, so, how do they study efficiently? How do they do their home work? Then we judge them and say, they don't want to study, even though we had not given them something that would encourage them to do so,

the counsellor couldn't ignore my voice anymore, because a month later, we were discussing the location in which the library will be built. It's amazing, the number of people who were behind my vision was unimaginable. This had taught me a very good lesson. In life, never hide your vision, let people know about it even if you were told many times that it won't work. If peope say it useless, prove to them that it is useful, if they say it won't succeed, do something that will show tham it will succeed, because at the end of the day, no body can fight for your vision better than yourself.

Today, I am twenty eight years old and I am proud to say in my community, we have doctors, accountants, lawyers, more teachers and many more professionals to graduate soon. When I look at the library, written with bold words, "KHEZWI'S VISION LIBRARY," I almost wet my eyes with tears of joy. This library was once a vision, that was never going to be a reality without a mission. Even though, it took so much for my voice to be heard, I am glad that at the end, my vision became every one's vision and many families are now reeping from the fruits it had produced.

The end