Heading for bright future

LIMPOPO – IF Lisby Mashaba had chosen to remain working in the family business, he’d still be a goat and cattle herder, which he started when he was seven years old.

Like a modern day King David, Lisby would write stories and develop a passion for reading from that age. Even for a young boy, life could be incredibly tough.

“It was never easy because if you lost one animal, you would be hit with a sjambok 22 times. When I was a little older I’d be sent around Mphambo village near Malamulele where I grew up selling vegetables using a wheelbarrow to transport them after school. I was never ashamed for a single moment. Looking back, it taught me to be an entrepreneur,” he says.

When Lisby got to high school at Mphambo High School, his teachers noticed his talent for writing and encouraged it.

“From that moment I wanted to study journalism after matric. My parents didn’t understand this and chose something else for me.”

While in high school, Lisby started a soccer team instead of complaining about the lack of one. In the same spirit, he decided to do something about his passion for writing even though he had no formal training.

“When my uncle started an online Xitsonga newspaper, Matimu News, I decided to help him. I fell in love with it until it became like my own. It has helped me to touch people’s lives,” he says.

Young people were given a chance to nurture their talents by volunteering to write for Matimu News, and Lisby became even more hungry to reach a bigger audience and achieve more.

“I founded an inspirational online and print magazine magazine called You Can Magazine. We look at South Africans who are doing something positive to improve their communities as well as sharing relevant information with our readers. To date, You Can has had over 1 million views. I want to own a big media company which will provide communities all over Africa with solutions.”