Story by Regis Mhako, Mashonaland West Bureau
A fourteen-year school girl from Chinhoyi is the talk of town after she got a housing stand and acquired a herd of cattle through her prowess in poetry.
They say talent is cheaper than table salt and what separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.
This is the case of a Nemakonde High School Form One learner, Sakile Manyonga who has acquired what most people take a lifetime to obtain.
From humble beginnings in Matoranjera in Makonde where she would walk nine kilometres to school, she has not only enrolled at a better institution but Sakile is a proud owner of a stand and a herd of cattle, thanks to her talent.
With the housing stand now delivered and the paper work in order, her mother Eunice Muchena, says it was written in the stars from day one when she gave birth to Sakile alone in a rural hut.
‘‘She got the stand from the council after being noticed performing without fear of the public glare at the state and public functions ever since she was around four. I want the nation to know that Sakile was born at our rural homestead while I was home alone and had to cut the umbilical cord using a broken bottle of glass. Besides the stand, Sakile has six head of cattle which we bought using proceeds from the public performances. The herd once reached the eight mark, but at some point, we had to sell two to settle her fees requirements.’’
It is however what she has managed to achieve at the age of 14 which proves that fortune favours the brave.
Chinhoyi municipality spokesperson, Mr Tich Mlauzi said, ‘‘We have a policy as a council to honour those we deem would have made some unique contributions but the decision has to be made by the full council. Sakile was spotted at many public fora performing at a very tender age hence the honour.’’
The town council’s decision was obviously a no-brainer with Sakile now a proud owner of a 356 square metre stand in Chinhoyi’s Rusununguko suburb.
With that kind of determination, the sky is the limit for the talented Sakile.
