A young Khayelitsha cartoonist is appealing to the community to fund him to compile his book.
Khanyiso Nyanzela said he has been drawing cartoons since he was in primary school. He now wants to take his work serious and to have it published for everyone to see.
The 17-year-old from C section said he dropped out of school early this year after he lost interest.
“I was doing a marketing course at Cape College in Town, but during the course of the year, I just lost interest,” he said.
Khanyiso said he also dropped of Grade 10 at Joe Slovo High School last year.
He said family problems also contributed to his decision to quit school.
“At that time I was already smoking drugs and was not focusing on my studies. I started smoking drugs in 2017. A lot of things were happening in my life then and I couldn’t cope,” he stated.
The soft-spoken Khanyiso spend most of his time at Makukhanye Arts room in Site B.
Since joining Makukhanye he has been living a clean life, he said.
“To me, Makukhanye is like a rehabilitation centre. I don’t have time to do all the wrong things that I used to do. I’m focusing on my drawings now,” he stated.
He said he is inspired by life in general. “Most of the time I make drawings about my experience and what the other youth is doing. That is how I express myself. And when I’m drawing I feel like I’m communicating with somebody else,” said Khanyiso.
He said being raised by a single parent did not deter him from living his dream. “I have a lot of cartoons. Every day I draw something. I arrive here at 09:00 and finish at 18:00 from Mondays to Fridays,” he said.
He described the renowned cartoonist Zapiro as his role model because of his skill. “I don’t know much about politics but I enjoy his cartoons,” he stated.
He said his objective is to educate his peers about cartoons so they can analyse them.
“People see cartoons as just popeye who doesn’t have any meaning, whereas there is a message hidden behind that,” said Khanyiso.