Life is a journey that prepares us to be better people.

This is the same as when men go to initiation school. It’s a journey that each every boy must go through in order to be a man. I am a proud Sotho man and I always have my Sotho blanket, Lesolanka. It is important for all to learn; education, informal or otherwise, is key.

Back in high school there was a serious failure rate and it was a serious concern. I always criticized the community leaders for not intervening to solve the problems faced by that school. I believed that the community can’t just sit back while their children are suffering.

There were several interventions by the education department, although there was very little progress. But at least things were not the same as before and the pass rate is now much better than in previous years. I still believe that if the community leaders and the whole community get involved in the school programme, the situation will improve.

When I passed Grade 9 at Hebron J.S.S.S, I decided to go to Tholang S.S.S instead of Mphatlalatsane S.S.S. I chose that school because it had a good pass rate and I felt it would provide me with a challenge and also equip me with knowledge and good education. Although the school had a good reputation, it also had its challenges. One of the challenges was overcrowding in classrooms. In some classrooms, like the one that I was in, there were about eighty learners in one classroom. It was a serious challenge for teachers as we also had a shortage of equipment; desks and chairs. And the lack of textbooks was a nightmare.

But if you have a dream, are passionate, and persevering, nothing will hold you back from achieving your dream.

Attending school at Tholang taught me so much. The school had all these serious problems but they never allowed those challenges to hamper their progress. The still managed to get top rates.

The teachers inspired the learners to work hard and focus on their studies.

“The teacher can give you all the information in the world, but if you don’t use that information and not study, then you won’t gain anything in life, you are going to fail.” The teachers would always advise. The learners in Tholang were full of confidence. We were learning under difficult circumstances but you would swear we studied at the best school in Matatiele which had all the material it needed. We told ourselves that we were the best and that we are competing with the best schools and we are going to beat them.

I enjoyed my time at that school; it taught me that attitude is very important in life; if you have a negative attitude then you won’t achieve positive results. You have to be positive and not let the negativity that is surrounding you stand in your way. You have the power to do anything and it all starts with you believing in yourself. If you believe in yourself, then definitely confidence will not be a problem for you.

I spent most of my childhood at Matatiele. After I had passed my matric I was going travel to another place and meet new people and make new friends. This was exciting. I also wanted to make my parents proud. My parents were not that much educated but they made sure that I received education and they have always supported me.

I got accepted at the University of Fort Hare, East London Campus. When this became a reality, I was kind of not looking forward to it. I was very frustrated and did not know what to do. I have always wanted to do geology and now my dream was no longer going to be a reality. I decided to do law even though I did not like it.

I hated it during my first year. But I told myself that even though I hated it, I was not going to fail. I made sure that I passed every module that I was doing. When I was doing my second year, I became actively involved in politics and doing a law degree helped me a lot. Although I’m not doing what I’ll make sure that I finish it within record time and get that degree.

Studying something that you’re not passionate about is a serious challenge. It’s important to be decisive and do what you love in life. This is a lesson that I have learnt the hard way and now I try to make decisive decisions.