Last year, (2018), Silindile Maluleka faced the biggest challenge in her life which nearly broke her.  She lost her mom after a short illness whilst studying for her BTech in Journalism. Despite losing her greatest inspiration, she forged on and completed her Journalism degree.

Today (Thursday, 10 May 2019), the hard working Maluleka graduated with her Bachelor of Technology (BTech) degree in Journalism, at the Fred Crookes Sports Centre, Durban University of Technology (DUT,) Steve Biko Campus.

“During this difficult time of my mom’s passing, my whole world just caved in and I wasn’t coping at home, at work and with my studies. I took a decision to deregister but I was discouraged by my family and peers.  Eventually, I decided to continue with my studies, informing my lecturers of my situation, who were very understanding and supportive,” she said.  Maluleka told herself that her mom would have wanted her to study no matter the situation. Her mom always wanted her to get an education since she never received the opportunity to further her studies after high school, due to financial challenges.

It’s without a doubt that she is very inspired by all women and looks up to any ‘sister ‘who is doing it for themselves because she was raised by a single parent.  “My biggest inspiration is my late mom, Philisiwe Cele, who was a domestic worker.  She worked hard, even seven days a week if it meant putting food on the table for my older sister and myself.  She was a superwoman, just short of a cape because she maintained two households – that of her employer and her own.  We were not wealthy, we prioritised needs and we hardly had wants but we were content with what we had because it was sufficient,” she added.

Maluleka also looks up to those women who fought for liberation and democracy, the likes of Mama Winnie Mandela, Mama Albertina Sisulu, Mama Margaret Mncadi, Mama Florence Mkhize, because that is the calibre of woman that she wants to be one day.  “These women had fighting spirits and they were set on achieving their goals of a liberated South Africa and yet they were family women,” she said.

For her, Journalism had always been her choice of study and passion and was over the moon when she had received the acceptance letter from DUT.  “I developed a love for writing at a very young age and it was not for books and novels.  I wanted to tell stories that highlighted the plight of the people, I wanted to be the voice of voiceless, I wanted to tell stories that were never told before because those behind them have been silenced,” she stressed. She added that at a very young age she enjoyed current affairs and that could be due to her being able to relate to some of the issues and challenges rather than reading fictions and fairy tales which were baseless to her.

She added that studying such a course has opened doors for her because she started out in a typical newsroom as an intern at the Daily News in 2008, then she was permanently employed as a journalist at the Daily News in 2009.  “I believe that a publication newsroom is the best place to receive training as a journalist because there are times where you are thrown into the deep end and you are left with no choice but to swim,” she said.  From there she then ventured into government communications and became a writer in 2013 for eThekwini Municipality Communications Unit and later received a promotion to Senior Writer in 2016.  Then in 2018, she was appointed as a Researcher in the Mayor’s Office and this is all through her Journalism studies.

Juggling her studies and her role at the municipality had been very challenging, as working and studying is not for the faint-hearted.  One needs to make sacrifices so that one can divide one’s time adequately for work and studies.  “Due to BTech course being fulltime, it was compulsory that I attend three days a week.  I would work long hours and leave work late to ensure that my work is not compromised by my studies. In between, I was trying to juggle my family time as well but I managed to strike a balance.  There were days and nights where I had to deprive myself of sleep but it was all worth it at the end,” she said.

Her advice to future journalists Is that they will never have a dull moment in such a career. “This field is exciting because you get to do different things and you learn by getting exposed to the diverse aspects of journalism as well.  That contributes to your growth as an individual and the prosperity of your career in this field,” she said.

For Maluleka, she is taking a break this year, (2019) but is looking forward to furthering her studies in her Masters in Journalism in 2020.

Pictured: Silindile Maluleka and her sister Gugu Maluleka.

Waheeda Peters