This blog is about
Patson Musabayane.
Patson is one of a
kind. Not many like him. He is a true entrepreneur and leads the micro business
training courses we present at Mfesane in Crossroads, Cape Town.
Patson was born in
Zimbabwe, approx. half a century ago (very old!). He became a victim of the
crisis that took place in Zimbabwe post 2000 and moved to South Africa in 2007.
The Zimbabwean crisis split his family apart, and on top of it he then had to
endure the evils of the xenophobic attacks in 2008. This is when he met Adrian
Lange and was introduced to Themba Training. Adrian spotted Patson’s gifting
and since then he has been the “anchor” trainer in our programme with hundreds
of students passing through his classes.
I have had the
pleasure of sitting in on some of these classes. They are full of humour. Much
interaction. Dramatic. Full of life, lots of action. At times I am confused as
to why he addresses certain subjects, but then I notice the response from the
audience. He pushes the right buttons. Jokingly he refers to himself as an amaKwirikwiri
(the appellation used in the townships to talk about foreigners). He has learnt
the local language (Xhosa) but at times uses wrong words, pronunciations. The
class finds this funny. We all laugh as they correct him.
“So what about the
Somalians?”
“They must go!”
“Oh so you want to
chase them away? What about the Nigerians, the Zimbabweans, Congolese,
Pakistanis? Will you chase them also? Musa ukwenza. No, don’t chase them away.
Observe them, learn from them, and acquire their business and entrepreneurial
skills”.
Patson misses
Zimbabwe. I see the longing in his eyes when we talk about fishing. Immediately
he is transported to the Eastern Highlands. To the Nyanga mountains. Maybe that
is why he enjoys taking the students (every weekend) to sell on the Boland
farms in the Ceres district.
For 5 years Patson has
lived on the premises at Mfesane in Crossorads where we present our classes.
Mfesane has been a haven. It is secure. The students come and go. It is very
convenient. We have been informed that he has to vacate end of December. Not
easy when you are an amaKwirikwiri. We have built this project around Patson,
built it around him staying at Mfesane. So it is a challenge. A challenge we
will have to overcome.
Patson – a valued Thembalitsha
Foundation colleague.
Francois Heunis
Project Manager
