Danger, crime, rape, violence-all words that come to mind when thinking about Mamelodi. These were the kind of stories  our journalism students thought they would cover when we went to Mamelodi as part of the second year journalism program at the beginning of the year. 

Most of us have this horrible perception of Mamelodi. We only see the negative reports in the newspapers, and as a result expected only the worst when we were told that this was where we were going. Boy were we blindsided!

Mamelodi was not what we expected. Greeted with smiles and hugs at all the schools we visited, we soon realised our   perceptions of this vibrant community were unfounded, there was much more to this community than what we had first thought. The positives of the experience far outweigh the negatives. Actually, the only negative that comes to mind was not having more time to spend in Mamelodi. Our tasks were simple. Find a story, interview, check facts and learn to be accurate. The stories you will find in this paper are the result of our second year journalism students’ wonderful writing    talents. Just as we thought we were finished with Mamelodi, we were told that we were going back to take photos. We had to capture the essence of Mamelodi, and that we did through the photos that were taken by our journalism group.

Thus The Mamelodi Voice was borne. A group of 21 talented students were chosen to create a paper that told the story of Mamelodi, in their words and their pictures. Albeit a small part. We were given a deadline and some instruction on how to make a newspaper. Then we were set free. Given the power to be creative and learn how to be a real news team, from layout artists, copy  editors to news and photograph editors. We had it all and we certainly gave it our all.

As journalists, experience is vital. This opportunity gave us far more than just experience. It has taught us that making a newspaper from scratch takes time. Lots of time. It has taught us that early mornings and late nights are just as much a part of being a journalist as reading and writing is.

This has been an amazing experience. I would like to thank every single one of the people in my team for all of their hard work and effort, without which this newspaper would never have been finished. I would like to thank Prof. Green, the head of our passionate Journalism department for all her valuable input. Ms. Jordaan, the best lecturer ever, for being there whenever we needed her, and for her wonderful surprises. The experienced Mariel Bird, who joined us all the way from America, giving us valuable input when we needed it most.  Lastly we thank AfriSam for the competition prizes.

by RUAN MULDER (editor, The Mamelodi Voice)