SABC News !Xun and Khwe language special wins SADC Award

SABC News’ Ulrich Hendriks and Thapelo Kgmotoshwane have won a SADC Media Award for their video piece on the !Xun and Khwe languages of the San people living at Platfontein near Kimberley.

The piece delved into the history of the languages, how it migrated with them from Angola and Namibia and settled with them in Platfontein.

Award winning piece below:

It also highlighted how the San people survived war, poverty and discrimination.

Hendriks says, “We looked at the challenges they faced as they settled into communities on the way here. The story also looks at the future of the languages as they try to develop it in a time where the children chose to communicate in English and Afrikaans.”

Hendriks says that all the interviews were conducted in !Xun and Khwe only, adding that editing and transcribing the sounds were quite challenging.

“We have colleagues at XKFM, Tomsen Nore and Wejoenke Kambugu, who we thank for assisting us.”

Hendriks and Kgmotoshwane worked with tight time frames but the end product speaks for itself.

“Thapelo and I had a vision for the piece and we tried to give it the best we could under the time constraints we were given. We were given two days to shoot and another four to edit. We both came in over a weekend to finish the piece,” adds Hendriks.