Boxer Norman Tshisikhawe a champion for his people

When people hear of the name Norman Tshisikhawe (36), what comes to mind first is boxing. He is, however, a jack-of-all-trades who masters them all.

Recently he floored the talkative Humbulani Netshamutshedzi during a provincial bout in Polokwane in the ninth round.

Fresh from his victory, Tshisikhawe did not only bring honour to his village, but he also handed over a completed road project that he single handedly undertook three years ago to his community of Mutoti. The one-km road project was officially opened by the local headman, Vhakoma Vho Tshimangadzo Ndou, in the presence of many members of the community, the local primary school principal, Ms Thelma Marole, and her pupils.

The project also has a bridge, which came as great relief to local residents who were cut off from the other part of the village when it rained.

Tshisikhawe said the project came about as a result of the love that he had for his community and the vuk uzenzele philosophy. “I am not always busy with my boxing, so while resting at home it occurred to me that I could use the free time doing something that could benefit my community. I thought of the elderly who had difficulties going to pay points, and there was only one water tap, which was not easily accessible because there was no road. My community was suffering and that was where I started."

He said that three years of hard labour and limited resources had paid off, and "here we are today able to hand over the completed project. I also wanted to show that we could do things ourselves and not wait for the government to do everything for us."

He paid tribute to his family, the local structures and traditional leader for the support they had given him. Vhakoma Vho Tshimangadzo Ndou praised Tshisikhawe for being a beacon of hope in the community. "He is working hard to put this village on the map." He urged the youth to emulate the good work Tshisikhawe is doing in the village.

Date:20 November 2015

By: Elmon Tshikhudo

Elmon Tshikhudo started off as a photographer. He developed an interest in writing and started submitting articles to local as well as national publications. He became part of the Limpopo Mirror family in 2005 and was a permanent part of the news team until 2019.

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