It was a Saturday evening. The shadows were covering the Mlengana Mountains at Mgwenyane. It was evident that it was the end of the month, as people were rushing to pay points and there was a buzz throughout Diphini village. It was November. The year was coming to an end and it was showing in the trees with their green leaves. The livestock was fat and the grass was green. An 18-year-old Dingindawo was chatting with me, his friend, Mzoli Mavimbela, about the highs and lows of his life here at Diphini flats. We were preparing for the final matric exams. We were eating brown bread and drinking water with sugar, and were planning to go to the river nearby to do our washing.

Later that night Thandazile Thambodala, the one who was also called Dingiswayo, suddenly woke up. After lighting a lamp, he kneeled in front of the bed that he shared with me and prayed.

His prayer went, “In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. God have mercy on me, give me the strength to get through these Grade 12 studies and protect me from those who are trying to prevent me from going to school. I know, Lord, that there are those who are jealous of the fact that I am always a top student and that I am a prefect. It’s been a tough journey in the previous grades because of my health issues that emerged unexpectedly but because you are with me, Lord, through me glorifying and praising You, I survived the devil’s sharp nails. Nevertheless, I pray that you change those who have ugly thoughts and turn them to goodness and faith. Amen!” He concluded his prayer in that manner and he was in tears as he stood up and got under the blanket of that oak bed that he shared with me. There and then, the legend started snoring!

You would never see girls around him because he valued himself, saying that girls would waste his time, and time was something that he did not have. He also said that he had grown up under difficult circumstances, being ill-treated, and he therefore did not want to waste time. To him, school was a place of learning, not a place of engaging in love relationships, and he would speak up like that when he wanted to give a piece of his mind to boys who were distracted by girls.

Tell us: As a learner, what would you say you are known for — or were known for — at school or at home?