Siyamthanda Pongco – job shadowing at FunDza
Over the years we have opened our doors to young people who would like to find out more about FunDza and job shadow in our organisation. It’s also great for us to connect with more young people and get their input on our work, and for them it gives them a little insight into the world of work, and into our specific world of reading and writing.
At the beginning of this year, we’ve been fortunate to be joined by the young, sharp albeit shy Siyamthanda Pongco. He is a second-year BA student at Rhodes University in Grahamstown, Eastern Cape. Here is a little more about him and his aspirations, in his own words…
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I’m Siyamthanda Pongco, 21 years of age, from Khayelitsha. Originally I come from a small township in Mthatha known as Waterfall.
I’m in my second year at Rhodes University doing a BA in Anthropology and History. I am job shadowing at FunDza for a week and a couple of days before I go back to school: back to my busy and quiet life.
One may be interested to find out what brought me to FunDza since I study History and Anthropology. Well, the answer is simple: my love for reading and writing has brought me here!
I do a lot of reading, especially when I have nothing to do, and that has helped me with my writing. Being here, I believe, will help me in the near future, maybe when I do finally want to share my stories with the public. They still need a lot of polishing but I’m learning the ways of the editing world and what goes into our stories when we submit them.
I’ve been learning a lot through my job shadowing. When I came to FunDza I had no idea what their work was all about. So far I have seen some of what they do (and they do so much for a small organisation) and I have also been given work. I was at Media 24 before coming here where I assisted under NB Publishers. It is through Media24 that I happened to find out about FunDza Literacy Trust.
By the time this job shadowing is over, I hope I will have assisted where I can and also gained some working experience. I don’t mind doing any task I’m given, nothing is too small, because this way I get to learn more. I’m a self-motivated individual who has been through it all: I’m talking about peer pressure and a whole lot of disappointments.
However, I’m still here and doing my best to become the best human being I can imagine. I know exactly what I am capable of and know the extent of my limits. Working with people has helped me very much to grow, and through that I believe I have developed communication skills.
Commitment and the willingness to learn, these are the two things that drive me every single day. I’m enjoying my time with FunDza and look forward to perhaps working with them in the future.
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We love having you around Siyamthanda and wish you everything of the very best with your future plans…