Meet Sive! FunDza’s new intern. We asked Sive to introduce himself to us – who is he and why he wants to be at FunDza! This is his story:

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“My name is Sive Sibenya, I am 24 years old. I am a musician, a brother, a son, a friend, a young entrepreneur, a colleague, but over and above all, I am a God-fearing man. I love to write in my personal time; I most often write poetry or rap lyrics because music is the love of my life. I fell in love with music at a young age and ever since then all I ever wanted to be was a big-time rapper.

I feel in my heart that I am talented and the gift that God gave me is enough to take me to wherever and however far I want to go in life. I look up to strong critical thinkers like the late great Tupac Shakur, Niccolo Machiavelli, Malcolm X, Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, and the many people who have contributed to the development of mankind today.

I love my country and I love everyone who lives in it. To me all that matters is the mind and the heart of a person. I would love to travel and see the world someday, and to experience all of our many diverse cultures. I have strong morals, principles and values and I take them very seriously. I owe my wisdom to God and I am committed to consistent learning. One of my favourite sayings is by Socrates – it goes something like this: “the smartest man in the world is the man that knows that he knows nothing”.

Although, I grew up in a big household, I was raised by a single parent, my mother – a beautiful black woman, Ntombi, who did everything in her power to ensure I all my basic needs were met. My life is about family, fun, food, freedom, God, work, prayer, love, music and giving back to others, in any way I can. I come from one of the most prominent families in Langa. My family has a very deep-rooted cultural history. My grandfather is a Western Cape Hlubi clan chief, so that’s how we got our stripes, even my street name is named after our surname!

My biggest dream is to act and star in Hollywood! I am not afraid to dream big and go for the things that I want in life. I also enjoy the outdoors – hiking, swimming and playing sports – as well as playing video games. I studied marketing at CPUT from 2012 until 2014.

When I heard about FunDza, whose vision is to contribute to the growth of hundreds of generations of educated, empowered and engaged young leaders and citizens of South Africa, I just had to find a way to work with them. FunDza believes that reading stories and books can change lives. And that’s where my heart lies. Working for this amazing organisation has broadened my horizons on how my efforts can help shape up this country’s future generations: literacy is a powerful tool with lifelong benefits. Reading books and stories influences one’s choices, it gives value to lives, it enhances critical and creative thinking and encourages personal development.

I’m blessed to work with such a great team, who are passionate about getting young South Africans reading and impacting change in our country. I have learnt so much in the short space of time that I have been here, and I’m still sucking knowledge up like a sponge.”

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Thank you Sive, you’re a joy to have on our team! WELCOME!