Love of writing earns youngster a trip to London to report on the Danone Nations Cup World Final

Teboho Msiza, a budding poet and novelist from Kimberley, will be joining Daniye Primary School on the trip to London in September to play in the Danone Nations Cup World Finals – but he will not be playing but reporting on how the team from South Africa will progress.  The 13 year old Danone Nations Cup ‘Kids Reporter’ earned the right to go to London via a media competition.

Msiza is an only child in grade 7 at Vooruitsig Primary School in the Northern Cape. He is passionate about reading and writing and excels at English, thanks to the help of his mother who has a PHD in Curriculum Studies from the University of the Free State.  He was brought up in the Free State but moved a few years ago when his father received an internship at Kimberly Hospital.

He says that when he grows up he wants to be a reporter as he enjoys sharing information and believes that most reporters convey messages very well to the public. His role model is Deborah Patta of Third Degree. “I began writing at 8, and enjoy writing song lyrics, poetry as well as fantasy stories,” he said. “My grandfather inspires me and has always made sure that I read a lot. He is always giving me books to read every time we visit him in Lesotho.”

One person the aspiring writer would love to meet is Disney Channel CEO, Robert A Iger.  “I love writing fantasy stories and I want to find out how he comes up with such extraordinary ideas for kids shows.  Everything they do is vibrant and current.”

Teboho was told about the Danone Nations Cup and the kids reporter competition by his cousin. He did some research and drafted his motivation letter for his mom to send via e-mail while he was at school. “When I get to London I will interview the SA team and the coach,” he said. “I am looking forward to interacting with people from other countries and making new friends too.”