We soon find ourselves fitting in with the weekly production pattern for the Yung Amplfied show. Every Tuesday afternoon, we attend their editorial meeting where they prepare content for the next broadcast.
All the team members arrive wearing the uniform of their particular school. There is an atmosphere of excitement and purpose at these meetings. We sit in a circle around a table, and the Upstarters talk about the ideas that they feel passionate about and want to air on the next Saturday edition of Yung Amplified. Each member of the team is there to act as a reporter for their school and community.
Their task is to take their field recorders and come back with stories that can capture the views and experiences of the people they represent. They are the eyes and ears of Upstart.
The two of us compare notes about our own experience of high school. Our lives had been just as hectic, times haven’t changed that drastically. So we can relate. We sympathise when we notice that members of the radio team often arrive without story ideas for the next show. It brings home to us again how much is expected of young people at school, having to balance so many demands. But then, that is how life will always be, and at least as members of Upstart they are learning how to cope with these challenges. This reminds us of a quote from Dr Seuss: “So be sure when you step, step with care and great tact. And remember that life’s A Great Balancing Act. And will you succeed? Yes! You will, indeed! (98 and ¾ percent guaranteed) Kid, you’ll move mountains...”
This is Asithandile Mayile. He is in grade 9 and he is from Nthaba Maria. He loves sports and talking to people, and he is very confident.
This is Xabiso Mnyamana, a grade 11 learner from Ntsika Secondary School. He loves eating, making people laugh and talking on radio.
This is Anathi Madinge from Khutliso Daniels. He is doing grade 11 and is crazy about music.
This is Anganathi, she is doing grade 10 at Mary Waters. She loves spending time with friends and learning new things about radio.
This is Anam Kralo from Graeme College. She is in grade 10 and she is a part time rapper and a full time music lover.
This is Thandile Lungwana and he is doing grade 11 at Khutliso Daniels. He llooooves talking and making people laugh.
This is Phelisa Ralo from Nombulelo Secondary School. She loves reading novels because they make her imagination very active.
Cycles of productivity...
But this is no simple task. We notice that there are many demands placed on this small radio team. They explain to us that none of them are in their final year at school - Upstart does not allow this, since then they are supposed to focus purely on their studies. But they are in grade 9 -11, and need to keep up with the increasing requirements of homework and-school activities, and all the responsibilities at home. And of course they are teenagers, which is demanding in its own right. The work they do for the Yung Amplified show has to be balanced with all of this.
Something else we notice is that the atmosphere in these Tuesday afternoon sessions always changes when the adults who usually manage the discussion leave the room. When Shireen (director of Upstart) is there, the team members take the discussion seriously, and come up with good show ideas. But it is when the door closes behind her that the spring of ideas really begins to bubble, shooting up from all over the room. At one of the meetings, some of the team members argue that the next show should deal with teenage pregnancy. Others cannot be bothered with this - they want to discuss drugs. A third faction are arguing for a show about fashion. Oh my word, the range of ideas that come out can be overwhelmingly diverse and no one knows where to start tackilng all these suggestions.
But seeing the Upstarters converse in this way makes us proud to be young people in South Africa. They are aware of the social issues that affect both their communities and this country more generally, and they want to grapple with these issues. They are motivated and full of positive energy, and who wouldn’t want to be a part of that!?
The space in which we find ourselves with them is so rich with humour, vulnerability and excitement. These young people have such an eagerness to learn more about the world and at the same time such fear about what they might find there. We feel privileged to be offered a first-hand account of what it means it be a teenager in Grahamstown, what conversations they find funny, what misconceptions they have about issues such as homosexuality, what traditional beliefs they hold close to their hearts. And all those conversations that we are privy to help us to better understand what Upstart means to them.