Barbara Makhalisa

thumb|Let “truth at all times” be your motto Barbara Barbara Makhalisa (born 17 August 1949, also known by her married name as Barbara Nkala) is a teacher, Ndebele translator, novelist, editor, publisher, and one of the earliest female writers published in Zimbabwe. She is the author of several books written in Ndebele, as well as in English, of which some have been used as school textbooks. Quotes Your language is your fountain of knowledge. bcmnliterarytrust.org In Africa, about 65 percent of the population is young people, and they are not despairing. Africa's hope lies in the young people of the continent who are embracing education and the gospel. As quoted in Nolt Steven M. Loewen Loewen Through Fire and Water An Overview of Mennonite History 2010 MennoMedia 9780831697013 https://www.google.com/books/edition/Through_Fire_and_Water/hoFIEAAAQBAJ 3 October 2025 It is still the same—Exactly the same.Take up arms and wage warLet your spear be educationLet your shield be knowledgeLet “truth at all times” be your mottoLet your will be the determination to work hardFor sisters illiterate still abound.Fight it to enlighten themFight it by solidarity of purposeWithout your participationGrandma fought itMama fought itI still fight itYou have to fight itYour daughters will have to fight itFight on! Excerpted from "Fight on!" (2010), in Epigraph Women's Studies Quarterly 1997 97 3-4 https://www.google.com/books/edition/Women_s_Studies_Quarterly_97_3_4/QD8TgZVWugYC 3 October 2025 Even Africa has something to offer. We can offer love, and we can offer from the little we have, even as the story of the widow’s mite tells us, how she gave out of the abundance of her heart. Martin Maurice African leader joyfully shares gifts http://legacy.canadianmennonite.org/vol08-2004/8-21/upclose.html Canadian Mennonite November 1, 2004 3 October 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20230329164715/http://legacy.canadianmennonite.org/vol08-2004/8-21/upclose.html March 29, 2023 Read! Write! Tomorrow's leader. 08 May 2020. bulawayo24.com One must find a way of not destroying the spirit in the process of trying to help Mpofu Mbulelo Meet Gogo Nkala, the matriarch with swagger https://www.heraldonline.co.zw/meet-gogo-nkala-the-matriarch-with-swagger/ 3 October 2025 January 22, 2022 I am immersed in culture and try to speak it into my Ndebele novels ... These are things that make you who you are, although, of course, modernity is working to erase that. Children are coming along when broader family structures have been broken by urban life and individualism. Our languages themselves are slowly disappearing. These days you may meet a child who cannot speak her mother tongue while also lacking a natural relationship with the English they want to be identified with. This Is Africa Priviledge Mugejo Stan Onai Mushava Interview — Ndebele novelist Tsitsi Nomsa Ngwenya is seeking the ancient paths 19 May 2022 https://thisisafrica.me/arts-and-culture/interview-ndebele-novelist-tsitsi-nomsa-ngwenya/ 2023-05-16 Quotes about Makhalisa thumb|It would have been pretty normal for Barbara to choose English ... She, however, chose to use her mother tongue A loved elder of literature. The Herald 1 March 2017. Everyone was emulating white culture from fashion, hairstyles and language. Because of the fad at the time, it would have been pretty normal for Barbara to choose English as the language of her novels. Not only was this going to make her appear more sophisticated but it would have boosted her profile, internationally. She, however, chose to use her mother tongue, becoming the second woman to publish in her native language after Lassie Ndondo. https://nyaradzo.co.zw/storage/2022/02/Sahwira-Spotlight-FIRST-EDITION.pdf Arts Legends: Barbara Makhalisa-Nkala – Taking pride in the development of local languages February 2022 Meeting her opened my eyes. I realised that the most important thing when it comes to opportunity is not the actual opportunity, but your readiness. Poet Thembani Norman Ndlovu, in Barbara Nkala’s literary legacy shines through protegé Thembani Norman Ndlovu https://www.heraldonline.co.zw/barbara-nkalas-literary-legacy-shines-through-protege-thembani-norman-ndlovu/ Chronicle 3 October 2025 January 18, 2024 External links barbarankala.com bcmnliterarytrust.org Category:1949 births Category:Living people Category:Novelists from Zimbabwe Category:Short story writers from Zimbabwe Category:Translators from Zimbabwe Category:Editors Category:Publishers Category:Educators from Zimbabwe Category:Women authors from Zimbabwe