Paving the way

We had a heart-to-heart with one of SA’s darlings, Ayanda Makuzeni

Be yourself and believe in yourself
If you’ve followed Ayanda’s career as one of the most popular youth TV presenters in SA, you’d be forgiven for thinking he’s all about appearances. A self-confessed fashionista, the flamboyant Ayanda exudes cheeky energy. He will easily answer that his favourite clothing designers are David Tlale and Craig Port and that he relaxes by socialising and shopping.

THE HEART OF THE MATTER
But what many people don’t know is that Ayanda’s burning passion is to inspire children to be more, to know they have the power to make choices; choices that can change their lives. Growing up in Khayalitsha, Ayanda was lucky enough to have parents who were able to send him to good schools, Tamboerskloof Primary and Camps Bay High. Many of Ayanda’s neighbours didn’t have that opportunity and from a young age he would set up a make-shift school at his home to teach them what he’d learnt at school that week.

Also, many children in his neighbourhood came from homes where alcoholism and absentee parents was rife. Nothing has changed, it seems, and the possibility of inspiring children who are essentially given no real chance in life is what motivates Ayanda to do more and be more.

‘I remember we once visited underprivileged schools around the Western Cape. I had the chance to speak to a few a students’ regarding their goals, dreams and what they aspire to be in life. I was rather saddened by one of the students responses and I quote “I want to be somebody in life and I will not let my background or where I come from determine the person I am and my success” Somehow, this response impacted me as an individual. It changed the way I see things.’

Ayanda says that our children are this country’s next leaders, and they need help. How can a child look towards a future if they have no food and can’t even see today? Children know that education is the key to moving forward and making something of the future, but so many children simply aren’t given the love required to motivate them.

BEHIND THE FAÇADE
Although Ayanda says one of the things he likes most about presenting on Hectic Nine 9 (South Africa’s youth magazine show, broadcasting live weekdays from 4pm -5pm) is that he gets to be himself, acting is really his first love. He would love to play a gangster in a movie one day and impersonations are something he feels he’s pretty good at.

But this ‘out-there’ personality young people love to watch on TV does mean he’s a target for criticism, especially on social media channels. Ayanda says that many people believe he’s ‘hurt proof’, but actually negative comments do niggle into his psyche. But quickly switching it around, Ayands hits social media and the net for positive comments about his performances to push his esteem back up again. He’s certainly not someone that can be kept down for long.
Being on a youth programme for so many years, Ayanda feels he’s learnt a lot about himself and has discovered that taking things at face value just isn’t good enough. ‘I always think outside the box, I always want to know more, more specifically on the underlying factors of a certain story/event, rather than just accepting everything at face value’.

THE NEXT STEP
It’s difficult for Ayanda to talk about the next step because he still loves presenting on Hectic Nine 9 and has no intention of leaving the programme – the moment when he goes live is the best moment on his day, knowing he will be entertaining millions of children around the country. But after seven years, he is also keen to grow into the role of an actor or radio presenter. Ayanda feels he still has so much to give; so many more people who can be inspired by his simple message – be yourself and believe in yourself.