Media personality declares war on drugs
"I always guide my peers to never live with the fear of what you have lost, but live with the love of what you have," Thabang Sola.
Thabang Sola is a 34-year-old media personality from Meadowlands Zone 7 who many consider a brother and community builder.
He is a club DJ, a radio and TV personality, a news anchor and a programme manager at budding community radio station, Cosmo FM in the north of Johannesburg.
Sola said one of his greatest accomplishment was when he was able to make a breakthrough in the media space in 2007. He had had no media background but with God’s grace, managed to pull through.
He said, “One of my highlights was when I had a chance to interview an American ambassador and Oprah Winfrey after the death of former president Nelson Mandela in Qunu. What a privilege and an honour, this shows that your talent can take you to great heights.”
According to the accomplished media personality, “My other achievement was being able to inform and build my community through the medium I am in. I have managed to touch and change my community.”
He continued, “My daily motivation is to never give up, no matter what curve balls the world may throw your way, always keep your head up and strive for excellence.”
“I always guide my peers to never live with the fear of what you have lost, but live with the love of what you have. The reason for saying this is that I lost my parents at a tender age, and I was faced with either thumb sucking or blaming God for taking my parents or being a good example to my two younger brothers,” he said.
Many young people resort to drugs when life becomes tough or after losing their parents, but Sola took his situation and turned it into a steppingstone.
Sola said that his biggest wish was to see a drug free-Ndofaya and to see the community lending a hand to fight this monster that is engulfing our youth.
“Recently, school kids-boys and girls-have resorted to drugs and I see a leaderless nation as our brothers are dying from this. We have talented youth in Meadowlands but they have now given up because of drugs,” he added.
He uses radio to reassure youth participation and to steer them away from drug abuse by encouraging them to participate in sports.
His biggest concern is that the youth do not read newspapers or books, and said, “Caxton issues newspapers weekly, but only a few grab that paper and read.”
“Currently, I am a programme manager at Cosmo FM, but I will be joining Black Community Radio (BCR) which is an online radio station that will be broadcasting from Roodepoort, and it will be focusing mostly on youth building.
Sola will be joining fledgling commercial TV Station GauTV News as a Sesotho news anchor next year.
” I must say, keep exploring the avenues God is giving and trying to show Ndofaya that it is possible. My first job was at Jozi FM with no media background but a talent and love for media and look where I am now,” he said.
“I want people to learn that you can do anything despite your family background or the community. Look, I lost my parents in 1996 and was faced with youth challenges, such as drugs, alcohol and crime. But I chose to look on the bright side. It’s never too late to change your mind. Follow your heart,” he concluded.
Follow Us Here:
Catch the latest news by visiting our other platforms:
