Maseru \u2013 Growing up in rural Mokhotlong in Lesotho, Mot\u0161elisi Jesseica Sekonyela never imagined she would be at the heart of national television.<\/p>\n
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\nHaving started writing at just eight, she thought her destiny would lead her into being and author.<\/p>\n
She impressed from an early age with fictional works like City Lights, about a rural girl who is dazzled by urban life having left home to study in the big city. The culture shock in the city changed her and she lost focus, according to the story.<\/p>\n
Sekonyela was 13 at the time.<\/p>\n
At 18 she published the inspirational book Make Hay While the Sun Shines, which sold fairly well although a fallout with the publisher dampened things a little.<\/p>\n
It was about that time that Sekonyela left Mokhotlong for Maseru to enroll for university.<\/p>\n
And while other young varsity students were being dazzled by the bright lights, Sekonyela was landing herself a gig as the head writer for popular soapie Bophelo on Lesotho Television (LTV) and DStv\u2019s Channel 292.<\/p>\n
\u201cLife was too fast and everything was just unusual and I now understand why people get lost,\u201d Sekonyela says. \u201cIt takes long for some to find themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
But she has remained focused.<\/p>\n
Now 21, Sekonyela is in her third year of Broadcasting and Journalism Honours studies at Limkokwing University of Creative Technology. And even with that pressure, she is still writing for TV.<\/p>\n
\u201cI enrolled for a Journalism programme because I enjoy writing. When I saw Bophelo on TV, I sent them a message on Facebook and I got the producer\u2019s number. The producer blue-ticked me for a month until she sent me a message telling me she had given my contacts to the director.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe director contacted me and asked for a meeting. When we met, he gave me scripts and I binged on them. We met again and I told him what I thought and he liked the ideas. He immediately drafted a contract for me,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
The director, Paul Banda Luanga Jr, describes Sekonyela as \u201can intelligent and focused young lady\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe shocked me to be honest. I like giving people chances and she shocked me. She has performed so well and is focused on her task unlike most young women who push for flashy acting roles. She is committed to her writing and is content with being behind the scenes when most women of her age want to be in front of the camera,\u201d says Banda.<\/p>\n
\u201cI encourage others young people to emulate her and seize opportunities and not wait for TV roles only. There are multiple functions behind the scenes that they can work on. Now we have an exceptional writer in T\u0161eli. She is doing really well and I am proud of her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sekonyela is responsible for 70 percent of the content on season two of Bophelo.<\/p>\n
Now the acting bug seems to be biting the writer.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t really say being on TV is my aspiration. I wouldn\u2019t mind being on TV one day. However, I am inspired by seeing female presenters on TV. My aspirations are all behind the scenes. I would love to have my own TV station and I have already started an online TV, Supremedia TV, which broadcasts on Facebook and YouTube but we stopped filming due to lack of funds. However, I dream of having a channel on platforms like DStv.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Supremedia TV, targets young people with shows like Entrepreneurship Acceleration Platform and Event of the Week. Both ran from June 2019 until December of that same year when finances dried up.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne show was entrepreneurial and we would invite entrepreneurs to stimulate the entrepreneurship spirit among the youth while the other was purely entertainment but also targeting the youths through content from social markets and events.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her parents have always backed her writing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey never chose a career for me; the ball has always been in my court. All they advised me was to be careful and not be taken advantage of,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Maseru \u2013 Growing up in rural Mokhotlong in Lesotho, Mot\u0161elisi Jesseica Sekonyela never imagined she would be at the heart of national television. YOU MAY ALSO LIKE Jimmy Dludlu pays tribute to Hugh Masekela \u2018Culture sector will gain from AfCFTA\u2019 Having started writing at just eight, she thought her destiny would lead her into being […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":87,"featured_media":827,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,4,7,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-826","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-culture-and-art","category-head-lines","category-homepage-english"],"yoast_head":"\n