Maverick Life

Audio diary highlights struggles of a young South African as she navigates her matric year and the challenges ahead

Nonhlanhla Mashabana on one of the streets in her neighbourhood and points to the church she attends with her family. Photo: Radio Workshop / Supplied

By Radio Workshop

16 Sep 2024

South African spelling bee champion Nonhlanhla Mashabana faces her greatest challenge to date: her final year of high school and the precarious and uncertain transition to higher education. There’s a lot standing in her way: growing up poor in post-apartheid South Africa, the weight of carrying the family’s hopes of a better life, and the fear of being the first to leave home. As she walks down a road that has caused so many to stumble, how will Nonhlanhla navigate a broken education system?

Early mornings, late nights, and extra weekend classes.

Seventeen-year-old Nonhlanhla Mashabana is spending every waking hour in pursuit of good marks in high school. All of her hard work is paying off. She’s earned herself a place among Greendale High School’s top achievers. But will it be enough to secure her a spot at university next year?

Like so many young South Africans, Nonhlanhla worries that her dreams may be out of reach despite her academic performance: “University applications opened today. I am panicking. I’m panicking every time I open the university websites. I just start shaking.”

Nonhlanhla Mashabana outside her former Model C high school, Greendale, in eMalahleni. (Photo: Radio Workshop / Supplied)

Growing up in Ezinambeni, an informal settlement in eMalahleni, Nonhlanhla finds herself at the centre of a problem facing many South African students: how to navigate an unequal society and a broken education system.

But Nonhlanhla is one of the lucky ones.

She got a bursary to study at a former Model C school — a relic of the apartheid government, which created an all-white schooling system that was better resourced in every way. In post-apartheid South Africa, students at former Model C schools still outperform many of their counterparts at township schools. While Nonhlanhla may be a top achiever, she still has a lot to figure out on her own — what to study, where to study, and most of all, how to pay for it all.

During these moments of fear and uncertainty, she turns to her secret weapon for comfort: the dictionary. Nonhlanhla says finding the right words has always helped her to feel more in control.

“I’ve been looking for words to describe how I’ve been feeling lately… I came across this word, tumultuous. It’s T-U-M-U-L-T-U-O-U S.”

Nonhlanhla spent three months recording audio diaries to reveal how it feels to be on the cusp of so much change as a young South African. Finding the Right Words is her story.

It is an audio documentary produced by Radio Workshop, a non-profit organisation that works with youth reporters to make radio and podcasts in communities across Africa. Radio Workshop provided Nonhlanhla with the tools and skills to record herself, and helped her bring this story to life.

Radio Workshop’s previous episodes have won top podcast awards from the International Documentary Association and One World Media.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDzx5QdTn7M

“Nonhlanhla’s story shows how young South Africans’ matric year poses so many systemic challenges beyond their control that it can make or break them,” Radio Workshop’s editor Lesedi Mogoatlhe says.

Having a competitive edge, such as reporting skills or spelling skills, would, in other circumstances, leverage access to higher education or jobs. But this is not always the case in our country.

“This story takes us through the push and pull factors that young people navigate as they fight to make something of their lives. It’s a moving story of the resilience it takes for young people to break through, and the amount of support they require to really make it.”

Nonhlanhla’s love of words started long before her final year of high school. She was in Grade 3 when she discovered she could spell better than most of her peers. She entered several spelling bee competitions. She stumbled several times along the way but kept trying and eventually became a local, provincial, and national spelling bee champion. It was exciting and nerve-wracking for a shy student like Nonhlanhla, but she also found what she was looking for: a sense of purpose and meaning.

Scary

“It was so scary. I don't want to lie. Like some people, when you see them, they’re so confident, like, ‘I’m going to win this.’ And with me, I was just hoping for the best.”

Now in her final year of high school, Nonhlanhla faces a new challenge in trying to get into university. She has been forced to quit the spelling bee to focus on her studies, university applications, and finding a bursary.

Nonhlanhla Mashabana on one of the streets in her neighbourhood, pointing to the church she attends with her family. (Photo: Radio Workshop / Supplied)

“I lost some part of me. I lost that sense of belonging. I’ve lost something in me. That spark. It just vanished because I’m no longer doing something that I love.”

In 2022, then minister of Higher Education, Blade Nzimande, painted a stark picture of how many young people get lost in the education system.

“Out of a hundred students (who start grade 1), only 12 access our university system, and only six complete, four with a degree,” said Nzimande. Even when students somehow beat the odds and earn a degree, it does not guarantee them a job or a better life. For someone in this position, it can feel like the cards are stacked against them.

Nonhlanhla’s story gives us a glimpse into what many young South Africans experience as they leave high school and try to navigate the system. She’ll keep us in the loop as she goes on this momentous journey, and we’ll share how things are progressing in Part Two of the series. DM

This episode is produced by Radio Workshop, a non-profit organization that trains youth reporters in communities across Africa.

This episode would not have been possible without the support of Luminate, the Constitutionalism Fund, the Shin Creek Trust, the Anne Levy Charitable Trust, SCP Foundation, and Pam and Bill Michaelcheck.

Listen to Finding the Right Words on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

To find out more about Radio Workshop, visit radioworkshop.org or follow us on social media: @radioworkshop on Instagram and Radio Workshop on Facebook and LinkedIn.

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