Dear Learn and Teach I enjoy your magazine because I learn a lot, especially about trade unions. I have a problem. I am working for a building contractor. I work with sand blasting and painting. I have been doing this work for ten years and I am a foreman. But I don’t have any certificates from my work. My problem is this where can I study more about my work? At school I have done standard seven. Abraham Malindi CARLETONVILLE
Thanks for the letter Abraham. The Department of Manpower says it might give you a trade certificate. To get this you must show that you worked as a painter for at least five years. So your employer must give you a letter. The letter must say how long you have worked as a painter. The Department of Manpower says sand blasting is not a trade. So you cannot get any trade papers for sand blasting. You can go and see the Department of Manpower. Their address is Department of Manpower, 156 President Street, Johannes burg. Phone. (011) 29 – 2332. If you want to study further you can contact the Education Information Centre. They will give you more information. Their address is: 6th Floor Dunwell House, 35 Jorissen Street, Braamfontein, 2001. Phone: (011) 339-2476 Good Luck. -editor \
Dear Learn and Teach Thank you for the story on the New Tax Law. Learn and Teach has made light for many workers. Taxation is heavy on the black nation. I did not know that the government gets so much money every year from the sweat of black workers. I want Learn and Teach every month so I can follow the nation’s background and history. D. M. N. Mdantsane EAST LONDON
Dear Learn and Teach I saw your magazine from a person who was sitting next to me on the bus. I looked through it. I found it very interesting. So could you send me more information about Learn and Teach. M. Ngxiki GUGULETHU
Thanks for the letter. We are glad you like the magazine. Learn and Teach magazine comes out eight times a year. If you send us R4.00 we will send you the next eight issues of the magazine. It is best to send a postal order. Our address is in the front of the magazine. -editor
Dear Learn and Teach Please can you help me. I have a problem. I cannot understand English well. I started standard eight but did not finish it. Please tell me what book to buy so that I can learn more English. B. K. Nornpilo WALVIS BAY
Thanks for the letter. A place called SACHED has a book to help people read English. The book is called “Readwell”. The book costs R5.00. You can send a postal order for R5.00 to SACHED. Then they will send you the book. Their address is: SACHED, P.O. Box 11350, Johannesburg, South Africa, 2000. -editor
Dear Learn and Teach Please do me a favour. Send me pictures of Haile Selassie the Emperor of Ethiopia and Chief Albert Luthuli of Groutville. I really enjoy reading the magazine. The magazine has really improved my English. I and I will survive if I and I can be taught by an African teacher. Jah bless the readers of Learn and Teach. John Ras Mashampa RADIUM
Dear Learn and Teach Please don’t be surprised to get a letter from me. We need your help. We are very worried about our sister who is in Johannesburg. We have not heard from her for a long time. Her name is Nomangesi Ndlwana or Vuma. How can we find her? Siphiwo Godola Black 36 M 1 New Brighton PORT ELIZABETH
Sorry to hear about your worries, Siphiwo. We hope that our readers will see your letter. Maybe somebody will know your sister. We hope that they will write to you about your sister. Or maybe they will tell her to contact you. We hope this can help you. -editor
Dear Learn and Teach I want to ask about the law in Namibia. Black people suffer here in Namibia. Everyday the law catches many black people and puts them in jail. White people from outside Namibia can come to visit the country. The law does not catch them – only black people. It is a waste. N. H. NAMIBIA
Dear Learn and Teach Please do me a favour. I want you to write the full story about Chief Albert Luthuli. The story about Chief Luthuli in Learn and Teach number 9 was not complete. I would also love you to write more about our black leaders, so that we should know our history. Nthato Mtimkhulu SOWETO
Thanks for your letter and sorry the story on Mrs Luthuli was so short. The problem is we don’t have so much space in our little magazine. So we can’t make the stories very long. But we will write more about our black leaders – like the story on Toivo ja Toivo in this edition. -editor
Dear Learn and Teach For a long time I have seen the life of black people is heavy. Now I ask you what must we do to get a better life? How do we get more money for our work? Z. Makopane BLACKHILL
Thank you for writing. It’s true – life is really heavy. You did not say what your job is. But one way to make work better and to get more money is to join a union. Write to us again. Tell us what work you do. Then we will give you the name of a union to join. Unions make the workers strong. They help to get more pay. Good luck. -editor
Dear Learn and Teach
I like your magazine very much. It’s not so easy to say why I like it so much. All I can say is that it gives us what we desire. It leads us to greener pastures.
It is Learn and Teach that gives us true stories. We are clear about the new tax law now. We know what is happening instead of filling in forms that we don’t understand.
We have told the people about your help. Everybody in town is talking about the new Learn and Teach.
I wish you feet to visit far and near. I wish you a mouth to tell about things loudly. You are so cheap but are worth more than a car. Sloppy makes things even more loveable.
Themba Sangweni
EMPANGENI