Mrs Mashaba and Mr Mashaba had actually broken up a long time ago, what was keeping them together was Mr Mashaba’s refusal to sign the divorce papers. Not to forget that they were married in community of property, Mr Mashaba all along was saving his assets and his children.

The Mashaba family would often go to the restaurant for a family dinner, it was part of the family’s tradition. The only thing they did together as a family. Mr Mashaba insisted that they eat together once in a while as family.

Thabiso started to realise that rich didn’t mean problem free. Even when you are rich, you needed to continue making sacrifices for your family and yourself. You needed to sustain yourself; you needed to fight back against competition. You needed to establish yourself higher than everyone else and most importantly you needed to fight hard to remain on top.

Another lesson he learned was that, what people post on social media was not a true reflection of their lives and that you can have all the money in the world but problems will always follow you. Being rich takes you out of poverty, something that Thabiso wanted to come out of.

Thabiso continued minding his business and work. He could not afford to lose the job despite what he had heard or seen.

He had a choice, to either turn the blind eye or leave. Do poor people have choices when they have to choose between what is morally right and feeding their family? Only you can answer that question.

Obsession for the Mashaba’s family started to fade away slowly. Thabiso focused on making sure that he wasn’t forced to eat cabbage and can buy the food of his choice.
There are lot of Thabiso’s out there in the world, people who have to choose between what is morally right and a better future. People who have to think about family before they think about themselves, people who are fighting hard for a decent job and a decent meal.

While others are busy building riches, others are busy fighting for a decent meal. Thabiso told himself that once he has accumulated enough money he would go back to school to continue with his study, build his brother a house and continue living the best life.

Appearances may be deceiving and some things may seem perfect from afar but once you get closer, you see the difference; you see the imperfections. A lesson Thabiso learned from working for the divided and full of problems Mashaba family. A lot of things happened at the Mashaba’s but Thabiso continued to act as if he did not see anything, he continued with his job and started to do well, he even started saving money to register at a university. What mattered to him was building a better life for himself!

Tell us: What matters to you the most? Money or the truth? Motivate your answer.