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Social challenges inspired Tony to succeed

Social challenges inspired Tony to succeed

Tony Manyangadze has gone from being an orphan in Zimbabwe to graduating Cum Laude with a National Diploma (ND) in Journalism at DUT – and he is headed for more.

The hard-working student is currently doing a BTech in Public Relations at DUT, having obtained several distinctions in the journalism course, and he may even take up law studies in future.

“My late parents inspired me to be the best that I can be, (especially my late mom). So everything that I do, I try to think if she was here would she be proud of my achievements? That motivates me, inspires me to push harder, to read more and be the best in whatever I do,” said Tony, who is looking forward to his graduation ceremony (for journalism) 0n 16 April 2014.

For the 23-year-old bookworm, being orphaned at a young age was very challenging.

“I feel like sometimes I grew up way too early, I matured faster than most of my friends. After your parents die, you suddenly realise, like now I’m on my own, even though my uncle is supporting me, I have to work extra hard to be able to advance in life without having anyone to support me all the time,” he said.

It was this determination that drove Tony to achieve nine distinctions in ND Journalism, and now he is currentlyworking hard in his BTech course. When he completes that, he plans to go back home and get a job, preferably in journalism, and make a difference in society.

“I still want to make a difference in terms of television production in my home country, Zimbabwe. It’s not the best quality, so that’s why I want to go home and apply what I have learnt at DUT and try to make a difference in improving the multimedia in my country,” he said.

Tony was one of five students who were given a full scholarship by the Government of Zimbabwe to study Journalism at DUT, a dream come true for him. However, upon arriving in Durban, even though he was determined to succeed, a lack of understanding of the local culture,languages and eating very hot Indian curries proved to be his greatest challenges.

“On my first day in Durban in 2011, I took a taxi from the residence to City campus and got lost. I only speak English but most taxi drivers could not understand English and spoke isiZulu, so I ended spending two hours in the city centre, trying to figure out how to get back to City campus.

“That was my first challenge. Also, the change of environment was very frightening at first. I never went to a boarding school and here I was in the bustling city of Durban. I cried on my first bus tripfrom Harare to Durban, which proved to be no easy feat. I ended up sleeping on the bus, which literally took about two days travelling to Durban and some getting used to,” said Tony.

Manyangadze loves news, and is discovering that he is very good with technology. “I love editing, photography, digital softwares – I actually discovered that I have this passion while studying at DUT. I was the multimedia editor at JournalismIziko, an online news website run by students.

“We started it from nothing to what it is today. It took blood, sweat and tears to get it up and running under the leadership of the editor-in chief, Maude Blose.

“It’s the students’ baby, as well. I helped a lot to design and conceptualise the JournalismIziko website and I wrote my first story for it, which was the best feeling ever,” explained Tony proudly.

Tony is excited to go back home and make a difference in his community in Harare. He is even contemplating studying Law, taking a break and making his mark in the media industry.

“I have made many friends in Durban, but my home is in Zimbabwe and that’s where I hope to make a difference once I have finished my BTech,” he said.

– Waheeda Peters

Tony Manyangadze is passionate about reading and every moment he tries to read as much as possible.

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