Nonhlanhla Mchunu was outstanding among the Eastbank High School pupils who brought the house down with their amazing poetic prowess at the Addicted2Life event at the Ster-Kinekor, Rosebank.
Her school was among four high schools in Gauteng, namely Ikusasa Comprehensive School (Thembisa), Boitumelong Secondary School, and Vereeniging’s Rust-Ter-Vaal Combined School, which attended the anti-substance abuse programme designed to empower young people to make the right decisions about drugs.
The organisers dished out microphones to pupils from the four schools to ramp up the mood; when Mchunu took the microphone, all her schoolmates screamed in appreciation and were joined by more admirers from the other schools as she belted out her poetic rhythms.
This prompted the Eastbank teacher accompanying them, Rosemary Mojapelo, to remark, “These kids are highly talented and have this amazing poetic prowess that seems to be out of this world.”
The pupils monopolised the microphone and kept passing it to their schoolmates, prompting an intervention from the organisers.
Mchunu’s poetry was also picked up by the South African Jewish Board of Deputies, who invited her to render her work at last year’s ceremony to mark 110 years of the existence of the board.
There too she sparkled and received accolades from various delegates who said they were highly impressed with poetic ability.
At this meeting, Mchunu, a Grade 11 pupil, gave a rendition of her Alex My Home – Alex My Roots.
The meeting was attended by Alex residents, Deputy Minister in the Presidency Obed Bapela and his wife and Speaker of the City of Johannesburg, Connie Bapela.
