KwaZulu-Natal is simply buzzing with sisters who are doing it for themselves. One such lady is 24-year-old Imbali Yezimbongi who is passionate about the arts and involves herself in writing and reciting poetry, acting and script-writing.
The young lady from Danhauser, is fast making her mark in the performing arts industry and began her journey in 2016 at the age of 19, when she fell in love with poetry. “I spent most of my time penning motivational stories about myself. I used this as a tool to motivate myself as I was going through a bit of a rough patch during that time. I later turned those stories into poetry pieces. The topics ranged from substance abuse, gender-based violence, teenage pregnancy and child abuse,” said Yezimbongi. She then began performing her poetry at DNC Combined School where her teachers took note of her talent and encouraged her to continue writing more poems. She took their advice and never looked back.
Her poetry soon caught the attention of the community which led to her becoming a well-known brand in the industry. She then went on to perform at many events including Poetry Revival, The Dundee July, Newcastle Rainbow Events and the Ubusuku Bendumiso, just to name a few, where she wowed audiences with her lyrical genius. In 2017 Yezimbongi got involved in arts and culture and a few short years later, in 2019, this poetess was nominated to share a few poems in a book. “I was nominated to be part of a book called ‘Twenty Five Years to Freedom’ and featured a poem that I wrote called ‘INKULULEKO’ which was a big achievement for me. Seeing my poem in print was a dream come true,” she said.
She also became heavily involved in youth camps which were organised and hosted by the Department of Social Development. “I am now secretary at the Danhauser Youth Forum. Our main objective is to organise and host youth awareness campaigns, dialogues and camps against GBV, teenage pregnancy and child abuse,” she explained. Her goal is to now publish her very own book of poetry and become a household name throughout the country. Her advice to the younger generation wanting to write poetry is to keep going. “Believe in yourself, understand your background and know exactly what you want out of poetry. Especially girls who are faced with so many challenges. You are the people of tomorrow.”
