Through the great beauty and godly mountains of Amathole, whispering waterfall full of allurement, the dark-coloured mist portraying theory of beauty, and the beautiful scenery as the angel figure. That was Hogsback and that is where Phil was born. Phil was an ardent boy with an acquisitive figure and adroit mind along with a beguiling smile. The boy was ably and affable to many people.

He was attending a school called the Royal Academy School, which was one of the best schools in the whole Eastern Cape. The school produced several reputable young men and women who have changed the direction of South Africa and made it brighter; it was the best school accredited and behind the school’s success, were people like Phil. Phil was one of the best students the school has ever produced, and according to the teachers there, he was the only student in the school’s history who excelled to the heights he did.

Through his academic abilities, Phil went to several places worldwide such as, London, Paris and California. His school saw his travels as little achievements in comparison to his academic achievements. Phil was fortunate enough to take part in worldwide academic competitions and he took part in the Intel ISEF and came in the third position. He also took part in the Siemens competition along with one of the best teams at his school. And lastly he went to the Premium International Mathematic Olympiads and came in first place. He was the best secondary education student in South Africa in his time at school. However, with all his achievements, Phil didn’t have any friends.

As a child while growing up, Phil was bullied by other children in his community; they called him names and pranked him wherever he went. He promised himself then that he would go far in life. He knew he was smart and also that that was the reason for the other children bullying him. In his early school years he had his parents to talk to about the other children’s treatment toward him. But when they died in a car accident in the middle of his primary school career, he found solace in loneliness. He had to go live with his sister, Rose, as all his other relatives had their own children to raise. It seemed to Phil that his life just became worse than. Rose was an alcoholic and reckless spender.

Their father had been the CFO of the company where he and their mother worked at before their demise. He left his shares for Phil to inherit, but had assigned Rose to be Phil’s executor until he turned 21. With access to so much money, Rose spent Phil’s entire inheritance on alcohol, clothes, men and parties. Phil could do or say nothing because he had nowhere else to go. He would go days without food because Rose didn’t buy any food unless she herself was at home and hungry.

With no one to turn to, Phil became depressed by the situation he found himself in. His marks at school decreased and his attention towards his education was limited to. He began bunking school and went to the streets to find a way of making money for himself. He offered to wash motorists’ cars once he started making money he then washed cars and sold on the go, fast food, which many of his customers loved. His teacher, Mrs Rollins, began to realize that Phil was bunking school and he no longer had time for his books. She tried calling Rose but Rose never picked up her phone. Mrs Rollins was worried about Phil and decided to pay him a house visit.

Fortunately, when she arrived at Phil’s home, he was there but was on his way out to go to work. She stopped him at the door and asked him where he was going and why he hadn’t been in school. Phil told her about his situation at home and what he now did for a living. Mrs Rollins was so shocked to hear about how Phil had been living and his sister’s treatment of him. She had always assumed that his sister took good care of him. She felt sorry for Phil and although she could possibly take him in and offer him a place to stay with her, she also had her own financial woes.

Unable to come up with any other way to assist Phil, Mrs Rollins suggested that Phil contact UNICEF and tell them about his situation. She knew that UNICEF was an organization dedicated to promoting the education and children’s rights, and hoped that they would assist Phil. Phil agreed with Mrs Rollins, but didn’t want to get his sister into any trouble. He told Mrs Rollins that he would think about writing or approaching UNICEF in the meantime.

Mrs Rollins felt bad and sorry for him, but left Phil’s house thinking of how she could help him. She then went straight to her friend, Chantal’s house and told Chantal all about what Phil was going through. Chantal then came up with a solution; she told Mrs Rollins that she could take Phil in to live with her. She knew him because she was the owner of one of the most successful science companies in SA, Creature Holdings, and Phil had impressed her with his academic achievements.

Mrs Rollins agreed that it was a good idea for Chantal to adopt Phil.

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Tell us what you think: Do you think Rose should be held accountable for ruining Phil’s life?