Family grasps at knowledge

In a changing world, having access to knowledge is not something the Govender family take for granted.

Meet Andrew and Llewellyn Govender. The father-son combination not only entered, but actually won the East Coast Radio Grand Challenge and Smarty Pants Competition respectively.

“We would tune in every morning on the way to school and try to answer as many questions as possible. It turned into a bit of a challenge between us in the car,” Mr Govender reminisced.

It was this family challenge which pushed him to enter, and following in his father’s footsteps, so did Llewellyn.

For those not clued up on the challenge, callers are given 60 seconds to answer 10 questions. For Andrew these 10 questions revolved around global happenings, whereas Llewellyn was questioned on general knowledge and historical events relating to Newcastle.

“I learnt about the history of Newcastle in school so I’m glad for that,” said the proud 10-year-old Lennoxton Primary School pupil.

It has become common practice within the family of five to pay close attention to newspapers and it is a daily ritual to watch the 7pm news together.

Besides the daily news intake, Mr Govender keeps himself up to date with the latest news from around the world using the Internet.

“I read a lot, from autobiographies to the thrillers from Steven King, and I encourage the children to read as well.”

Llewllyn also reads widely between a rousing a game of soccer or fishing and camping with the rest of his family.

What about the matriarch of the family, Kaminie Govender? She admitted that at times raising three children could be a handful, but her husband was the epitome of a ‘modern man’.

“He is more than willing to assist with everything from dropping the children off at school, to preparing dinner,” she explained.

“It’s hard to juggle the children, my career and everything else life throws at you, but it is possible. You have to set aside time for your children, not just to help them with their homework, but also to set specific times for them just to talk,” she advised.

Young Llewellyn also shared some wisdom after he was asked what he would be doing with the prize money he won.

He admitted to having spent some of the money, and said his parents had saved the rest.

With a shy grin and a tinge of guilt, he said, “You should always remember to spend your money wisely and not waste it.”