Writer’s dreams coming true

Ntsako Mabunda

LIMPOPO – WEEKDAYS will no longer be the same in the Mavasa household in Madonsi village outside Malamulele.

Like in many families, you would have found 14-year-old Shaun fighting for the TV remote with his five-year-old sister, Vunene, while their mother, Mkateko washes the dishes and their father, Shaddy reads the newspaper.

But that recently changed as the family now excitedly tunes into the radio drama, Xivono, weekdays on Munghana Lonene FM, which was written by Shaddy Mavasa.

Responding to an advertisement on the radio station calling on anyone who fancied themselves to be a writer to come forth, Mavasa attended a workshop for radio drama writers.

After fulfilling the task to write a synopsis and treatment for evaluation, Mavasa was delighted to receive positive feedback that Xivono met the required standards and was selected to be the first drama series to be produced for the evening slot.

Xivono is an educational drama which aims to teach the nation simple ways to start a business and to bring solutions to problems of unemployment, inequality and poverty.

For Mavasa, this was a long time coming.

“I write not just because I want to, but I write because I’m a slave to writing,” he explains.

Besides holding down a full-time job, Mavasa still finds the time to head the entertainment column of Matimu News, a Xitsonga online news site, where he writes articles as well as poetry.

Mavasa is also awaiting his book of short stories, N’wereti, which has been sent to the National Library of South Africa to be approved before publication.

The 10 short stories cover various themes such as teaching readers wage negotiation skills, other stories teaching family values, conduct within relationships, as well as promoting a culture of learning.

This is especially important for Mavasa who did not formally train as a writer, but had to learn through a host of helpful teachers and mentors about the different structures and formats required to write for different genres and mediums.

Mavasa, who has had a TV film, Savangani aired on Soweto TV in 2010, already has several projects lined up for the near future. These include more radio and TV drama series and short films which will be on various channels.

“If there’s anything in life I do with all my heart, it’s writing. I will die, but my writing will live on forever.”