Fezeka's Voice

Could you turn my phone off for me?

Could you turn it off for me?

…so this is four bars before letter "A."

- -

I've told the boys the important thing is to not hold back

or try to copy the English style.

We have worked hard to get here and a lot of money has been spent,

so we should show we appreciate that.

Now our work here has started

and this is our work.

Are we clear?

When all this started,

Phumi kept saying,

"Hey, go and apply for your passport,"

and I thought, "It’s not going to happen."

Is this really serious? Are we really going or…

Oh, now I started to feel that, "Oh, I’m going to England."

The word flight was, flight,

no, man, it’s not there.

I am going to another country. No, it’s not happening, boss.

It was my dream.

Altos this way!

Sssh.

But when he got a letter inviting the choir,

then I started thinking, "Hey, this is real.

It’s happening."

All right.

If I take less time than the other person

to finish that job, then it means I’ve got more power than that person. Seven?

Right, they say it’s the rate at which we’re done.

It’s the time it takes for that job to be finished.

That’s what makes a person more powerful or to have more power.

Which lines did you utilize to calculate your gradients?

A, B and…? BC.

So,

it is sexually transmitted, yes?

How does this virus get transmitted?

How do people get this virus?

Are the people prepared to abstain?

Why would you say no? Peer pressure?

Come on, come on.

You must time your own part, then sing… one, two…

You're not concentrating, you're messing around.

You missed your part last time.

Okay.

Tenor and alt.

We are one of the best choirs-- school-based choirs. If not the best.

And a lot of the other choirs that are usually our second, third best,

have had a stint abroad, and

we have not, and then we’re beginning to wonder

"What is this?"

Wow!

Ah! Whoa!

One, two, three. One, two…

Whatever!

Okay. Let’s hear soprano and tenor one more time.

It's going to be a mammoth task, you know, it’s a tall ask.

I have faith that they, yeah, it will all, it’ll turn out well in the end.

You know, teaching is a very, very funny profession.

I don’t think there’s any country where teachers are paid huge sums of money.

I don’t think we’re here for that.

Then there must be something in this profession of ours

that actually keeps us attracted to it like a moth is attracted to the light.

Even when we want to wander away,

somehow there is a compelling force that keeps bringing us closer to the light.

There’s always a lot of chatting and counter-chatting,

so the game is not necessarily only played on the field.

The talking itself, as well, they score points.

Just so that you have the idea.

The plane leaves Cape Town and goes this way over the sea.

The countries you'll be passing over, starting with Africa,

are Namibia, Angola, Gabon, Ivory Coast Mauritania,

Algeria, Morocco,

Portugal, Spain, Ireland. I’m told it’s very cold there and then…

England. That’s where we’re going.

England, UK.

England, London, right, like Hollywood, USA,

has a lot of glitz and glam that’s portrayed on TV.

So, they have those ideas.

They are expecting

to find this world full of

fun, fun, fun.

It’s been a big dream for me

because I’ve always dreamed to be like a movie star,

shooting my movies in the Hollywood.

I’m the star. But now to England, yeah.

I’m also taking this one along.

This is my favourite dress.

My earrings.

In this century boys wear earrings.

So, it’s not a crime. We just want to look cute.

Just like I’d assume is the case with people who come here

who have never been to Africa,

I mean, I’m sure the pre-concept ideas would be

that we are moving around half naked with animals and maybe

having a lion as a pet on my backyard.

You know, until a person then comes to Africa and experiences it,

a person would never know what Africa is.

I think I’ll allow them that space.

I’m not going to spoil the fun.

Hello, ma’am. Is that ?

I’m all right, ma’am. I cannot complain. Well, I’m lying, I can complain.

My name is Phumi Tsewu. I am calling from Cape Town, Fezeka High School.

Ma’am, I have a very serious crisis.

I’m traveling with 77 kids to England.

These two boys applied for their ID documents last year,

but Home Affairs then told them that their documents had been water damaged.

They needed to re-apply and…

They did re-apply this year in January, but still don't have ID numbers, ma'am.

Upon inquiring with Home Affairs,

apparently these kids, the two of them, don’t have ID numbers.

Immediately, if we can get them ID numbers or birth certificates

only then will they be able to issue passports.

Music is a very strange, very, very strange language.

It is used, I mean, we use it, for instance, as a tool to,

not only to discipline children, but to get them away from trouble.

In fact, we protect them against being exposed

to gangsterism, to drugs, to…

to alcohol abuse and so forth.

You have a lot of people that, in fact, young people that belong to gangs

that are quite a threat to the prosperity of the township.

These gangs infiltrate schools and you’d find the cliques also

existing inside the schooling setting, yeah,

which pose quite a serious challenge to the progress

of the learners at school.

This is my favourite song from this opera.

Inside it, it’s out and about to be a celebrity.

This is me.

"Teen talent Kaapse Jol. He wowed the judges with his operatic voice.

Now Zukisa Nyaba, 16 years old, has his sights set on fame.

And he's well on his way thanks to the Teen Talent Competition.

The teenager who hails from New Cross Roads, Nyanga,

made the top 10 in the competition

which saw organizers bussing in contestants

from the townships and Cape Flats.

Zukisa's soaring voice left the judges speechless,

'You are a rough diamond,' gushed judge Mini Groove."

I have a low self-esteem. That’s the problem.

Sometimes I think of things that are the things that I’m not supposed to do.

Like, sometimes I think I’m not a good person.

Sometimes I think of killing myself

or sometimes I think of…

of… Well, I just have the anger

and I don’t behave right at home and I'm cheeky and do unexpected stuff.

That’s how I handle the pressure.

So, I don’t like to be disappointed.

It’s okay to be disappointed, Maizo.

It’s actually okay to be disappointed.

When we were growing up, we used to go to the ponds chasing wild ducks,

especially the small ones.

When you see it in the water, you feel like you can catch it,

and you dive in the water.

You see it floating on the water.

It’s as if it’s blown away by the breeze.

Right? But dive underneath and look at its little feet

below the surface.

The duck's feet are the busiest ever