Barbara Makhalisa

"Your language is your fountain of knowledge."

"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."

"It is still the same— Exactly the same. Take up arms and wage war Let your spear be education Let your shield be knowledge Let “truth at all times” be your motto Let your will be the determination to work hard For sisters illiterate still abound. Fight it to enlighten them Fight it by solidarity of purpose Without your participation Grandma fought it Mama fought it I still fight it You have to fight it Your daughters will have to fight it Fight on!"

"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."

"Read! Write! Tomorrow's leader."

"One must find a way of not destroying the spirit in the process of trying to help"

"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."

"A loved elder of literature."

"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."

"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."