A fact is that lots of talents are found in people living with disabilities. We once interviewed a talented young guy named, Kamogelo Mokoena – an artist using his mouth to make amazing drawings and got inspired. This time we had a nice chat with another talented lad all the way from Nwadzekudzeku Village, Giyani, Limpopo Province in South Africa.
Outten Hlongwani (23) is a talented poet living with disability has never let himself down. He discovered his talent in 2016 while doing Grade 7 at Tshembani Primary School. “I was a type of person who loved to write poems, so I decided to write my own poems and excelled. In 2018, I started to focus more after inspired by “Ntombi Ya Mutsonga” and told myself that I can make it. My first poem was titled “Ndzi Lwerini” which was also recorded. In 2019, I wrote about 30 poems but was not perfect, this year I started writing a drama book called "Swihundla hasi ka Malwangu”. I took it to Lingua Franca publishers but never got any feedback. I also released a gospel song titled “Nkhensa Yehova”, he said.
People living with disability are still facing a challenge of being not taken serious. However, Outten still believes that the sky is the limit to every human being.
“My dream is to see myself appearing on TV screens reciting my poems and see my work being all over the world. My advice to all people living with disability is to believe in themselves and never be afraid of taking more risks in life. They must not take decision to impress anyone but to benefit themselves”, he added.
When asking him about our trending feature called “Poetry Corner” and said “You guys are doing wonderful work to expose their work, we are proud as Africans because now our work will be known because of you, you are trying your best to see everyone succeeding. Be Blessed”
Youth can now be ready to show their talents on 16th June 2024, when Outten host his 1st annual competition under his foundation called “Rock Voice Foundation”.
“Lastly, I want to thank all the people who support me, I will always be there for them, keep doing great things and promise to never disappoint them”, he concluded.
Rise Africans Newspaper would love to see all people holding hands, working together and achieve more despite their health condition, race, culture or background. We are proud of Outten!
He can be found: WhatsApp ( 063 968 1377) Facebook ( Rock Voice Outten or Rock Voice foundation) tiktok
( rockvoicefoundation01)
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