It is during September that we get to mark our nation’s diverse culture and heritage, and in honour of this month, we get to celebrate people who are passionate about the preservation of their cultures and continue to showcase the richness of our African languages.

Amongst those people, we get to celebrate and honour the 45-year-old Faith Mtyida-Ngandi who was born and bred in Mthatha within the Eastern Cape. Faith Mtyida-Ngandi always stands out, she always reinvents herself, and her work always speaks on her behalf, she is indeed a true definition of what it means to evolve as a woman.

Faith is the former marketing manager of Umhlobo Wenene FM, She is the owner of Faith’s Gifts Florists and Catering (Pty) Ltd, Faith’s Yummy Eats and she’s also a Budding Poultry Farmer and adding to that she’s now a first-time author, with her new book recently successfully launched.

She has written a collection of 30 isiXhosa poems that have been compiled into a book titled Ibhekile, a book that seeks to inspire a sense of pride in our languages. The book is dedicated to her mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother.

According to Faith, the book is packed with poems that address various topics from the preservation of the isiXhosa language, female empowerment, and the call of action against femicide, the book fosters self-worth amongst females while it delves into issues of societal ills as well as the beauty of nature, in the book Faith also commemorates heroines such as Charlotte Maxeke, Mother of black freedom.

In the pages of this book, people get to discover the love the author has for the isiXhosa language, and this is reflected in how the author managed to paint a picture with her words in every poem.

Faith Mtyida-Ngandi‘s passion for the preservation of culture is indeed inspiring. The book retails at R180 excluding delivery, to order send WhatsApp message on 079 561 1745 or email on ngadisimele@gmail.com