By: Mo Senne

Activator Rejoyce Kgabo Legodi grew up in a “very agricultural focused family” with her parents being subsistence farmers. She switched to economic studies when she got to varsity but her love for agriculture quickly caught up with her shortly after. Legodi remembers always being good at agriculture throughout her studies. Agricolleges International can attest to this as they wrote:

As first place winner, Rejoyce has won a Fundamentals of Agribusiness course sponsored by AGRICOLLEGES international to advance her knowledge in the agricultural field as well as a Writing for Blogs and Websites course (proudly sponsored by SA Writers College)

Legodi says: “ACTIVATE! is my biggest flex” and this is why…

In 2018, Legodi’s friend (who’s a 2017 Activator and in radio) introduced her to ACTIVATE! because Legodi’s work was focused on community development. Interesting to note, she says: “My love for writing grew more through ACTIVATE! because I met a lot of writers.” Legodi remembers the ACTIVATE! Citizen Journalism Workshop which was held at the Braamfontein offices – it confirmed her passion for writing and propelled her to finish up the opinion pieces she would occasionally write but discard. She then won a Sinelizwi Citizen Journalism Award.

By definition, according to Courtney C. Radsch, citizen journalism refers to “an alternative and activist form of news gathering and reporting that functions outside mainstream media institutions, often as a response to shortcomings in the professional journalistic field, that uses similar journalistic practices but is driven by different objectives and ideals and relies on alternative sources of legitimacy than traditional or mainstream journalism.” Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 Regulations, ACTIVATE! had to digitize this training just like the ACTIVATE! Change Drivers (ACD) Programme.

Impressively, she found the Agricolleges International competition on Facebook and entered; she “took a chance” and wrote about South African farmers. In her appreciative piece, she highlights how farmers work “tirelessly to put their efforts into the soil.” Further, she states how they inspire her to make life worth living and how the mere entrance of a store reminds her of farmers and their consistency. Humbly, Legodi says she did not think that she would win the competition and be afforded another opportunity to grow her writing skills.

Question: In line with our #NewAgeHeritage Campaign in September, how do you think heritage has changed over time?

According to Legodi, livelihoods (especially of young people) have changed – they are easily influenced by social media, technology, and no longer take much interest into what history has to offer. Based on her response, heritage has changed overtime such that Ubuntu has turned into individualism, i.e., everyone does as they see fit without proper consultation of those who came before and probably know better.

In conclusion, ACTIVATE! celebrates and congratulates Rejoyce Kgabo Legodi’s accomplishment. The Women in Agriculture Research Report of 2020 states:

Women have an important role to play in the future of agriculture worldwide… As more women work in crop protection, agriculture lending, soil science, veterinary practices, animal health and livestock nutrition, it is important to support and contribute to the dignity of women in agriculture.