I was born 6 months premature on the 30th May 1995. I was nurtured by my mother who works as a domestic worker. I grew up in a notorious township in the Cape.
I started drinking alcohol from as early as ten years old. It all started on the so-called “Big Days” over the festive season but soon included even the ‘small days’. I would drink during the weekend and even on school days. This was made possible by the fact that when I was 12 years old my mother lived where she was employed during the week and would only come home for weekends. As a young boy I had the whole house to myself! All the freedom I wanted and no one telling me what to do and what not to do! Furthermore, she would give me money to buy anything I needed while she was not at home as well as pocket money for school. This money fuelled my growing habits.
When I finished primary school and started high school my mother was so happy that she said, “My son I am proud of you!” She even increased my allowance as incentive for me to be more dedicated to my studies. Little did she know what I did with that money. When I started high school it was a totally different environment. Gangsterism was at an extreme and one could be robbed in the classroom the second the teacher left. One wouldn’t dare to say anything because after school the teacher would not be there to protect you and the robbers would deal with you!
When I grew up I was a very shy young boy who liked to isolate himself. I was easily intimidated and this made me vulnerable to being robbed. I would bunk school for up to two weeks at a time so that instead of being robbed I could keep my money for myself. The pressure to fit in eventually kicked in and I thought that if I joined a ‘cool’ group I would be better off. I started to smoke cigarettes with my new friends. Within a short space of time cigarettes just didn’t do it for me anymore and I started to smoke dagga on Friday evenings. I then started to smoke it before school and eventually I even smoked dagga on the school premises.
As my smoking habits increased, my academic results declined. Consequently, for the first time in my whole life, I failed a term. It was the third quarter of my grade 9 year.
In grade 10, things were going so badly that I began to suffer from depression. I would lock myself in my room for the whole day without eating or talking to anyone. That is when, by God’s grace, I met with the Concerned Community Western Cape. They invited me to a camp in Wellington where I heard that they were based on a mission station in Malmesbury. That is where I learnt about the need to bring all the wrong things I had done into the open and make them right. It was then that I experienced the Lord making everything new!
Before I met with CYPSA, I used to get an average of way less than 40% at school. Two years ago I passed my matric with four A’s and three B’s and an average of 80%! I have now completed two years of a BCOMPT degree through UNISA. Furthermore, God changed this once shy young boy who could not stand up to speak in front of 30 fellow class-mates, into a bold young man who now enthusiastically testifies to more than 350 learners at a time! My brother, my sister, I guarantee you that the Lord can do the same for you if you give Him your whole heart! Come to Him and He will give you life in abundance!
* Places, names and identifying details of individuals have been changed to protect their privacy.
