Zwelethu sacrificed to be a ‘One Day Leader’
By Eethu Magele
The Ginsberg born Zwelethu Kos is flying the Eastern Cape flag high after coming at second spot in the SABC 1’s reality TV show, One Day Leader.
The 24 year old Zwelethu is from the same township as the late Black Consciousness leader Steve Biko. Ironically the township is best known for bad things, from crime to poverty. Despite all the challenges Zwelethu faced as a young person growing up in the township, he never stopped lifting his head high, he always saw himself as a leader.
“A leader is born. I’ve always seen myself as a leader since I was young. I was a class rep from grade three up to grade 11.” said Zwelethu.
Today he is a BA Honours graduate in Political Science at University of Fort Hare where then became a lecturer.
When he saw the advertisement on TV where contestants were needed for the show which its aim was to educate young South Africans on social, political and economic matters, he never hesitated to jump up to the opportunity and grab it with both hands. With the nod of his mother he went it.
“I saw the advert on SABC 1 and I immediately told my mom that I want to be in that show and she said I should go for it.” he explained.
After a long selection process he was finally selected and had to join with other contestants in the city of gold. As determined as he was to be in One Day Leader, Zwelethu took the risk of sacrificing his job as a lecturer where he was guaranteed a good salary at the end of each month.
The city of gold was not so gold for Zwelethu. Although it may have seemed glamorous to the viewers to see him on the show, the conditions in which he lived in off the camera were appalling.
“I was living with my aunt who is a domestic worker. Sometimes it was difficult to work on my projects because of the noise from the shebeen which was at the back of our shack.” said Zwelethu.
In his township, Ginsberg, people are proud that the township has produced someone like Zwelethu who is the example to other young people that where you come from can never be an obstacle from achieving your goals.
A young man from Ginsberg Yanga Funai proudly said, “Although Ginsberg is seen as a bad place, Zwelethu has set an example for the youth of Ginsberg that through education anything is possible. He is a lily in the valley of Ginsberg.”
Even though he came at second place, the King William’s Town man did not walk away empty handed, but with a prize of R70000.
Being in One Day Leader seems to be opening new channels for Zwelethu. Now he is working on establishing an agency that will focus more on helping young people in showcasing their skills.
”I’m working on establishing a Community Development Agency which will focus on youth development. I have selected a team of six brilliant people.” he said.
Zwelethu further explained that the agency is going to be the platform for young people to develop their skills, also a network for them to interact with the professionals. In this way he said he is investing in youth.
The ambitious man is not only a born leader but a poet as well. He loves writing and sharing his poems with people. To read some of his poems one can visiting at www.poetrypoem.com