It isn’t uncommon to hear a plaintiff (and sometimes panicked) “Lindooo!” called out across the Axium office on any given day. A man who loves to fix things, Lindokuhle Magagula became one of the NGO’s resident IT crisis-managers over the course of his yearlong internship in 2017.
It is a role he takes in his stride with plenty of teasing and laughter: problem-shooting one minute, grooving to music playing through his large black headphones the next.
Although the IT team works as a unit, each individual oversees a particular department and this week we’re briefly getting to know Lindo and Lihle who power our office from their post in the corner. Lindo is the person to go to about Internet or installation issues. In an area where poor weather often affects connectivity and solutions must be found on site, this is a lot to juggle.
Originally from Mpumalanga, Lindo studied at Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) in Pretoria, specialising in Intelligent Industrial Systems. Theory is not his thing, but he loves working practically. “It is all about actions, the things that we build need to take action and work properly,” he said.
While working, Lindo needed to complete a project to finalise his degree and gave his time to developing a thumbprint device that could be used for monitoring attendance at universities. He graduated at the end of 2017.
It was a connection from university who suggested Lindo move to the Eastern Cape to dedicate his internship year to Axium. In his spare time, he enjoys reading comics and novels in the genres of manga and anime. This is something he has also found improved his English.