Lerato in Nyanga, Cape Town
The idea of spending a weekend with FCCB Group at first sounded just great when David Harrison told me about them, when I started commnicating with Paul about travel arrangements I got even more excited. When I met the team I realised that this was just an awesome experience of my life, not only for the fact that I had a weekend away from my normal routine or spent a weekend with people from the states but I learnt quite alot about individuals in South Africa and the States also how different life experiences on the differnet parts of the world can be.
I am a 22 years old young lady from Orange Farm, furthest south of Johannesburg in South Africa. I stay with my mom and 3 little brothers, and they my pillars of strength, they are the reason I wake up everyday and motivate me to be a better person so that I can create a better life for all us. I work at New loveLife Trust in Sandton as a National loveLifestyle Coordinator, having started as just a Mpintshi (friend/volunteer) when I was still in school, grade 10 in 2004.
loveLife is an HIV Prevention Campaign for young people that promotes healthy lifestyle amongst young people and our target market is young people who are between the ages of 12 to 17 to keep them HIV megative by teaching them about issues that might just influence their decisions on sexual issues. These are issues such as alcohol and drug abuse, lack of parental communication, peer pressure, sexual coersion and so much more, we call these drivers of HIV. Reality is that young people know about HIV/AIDS and they just tolerate risk because of the circumstances they find themselves in and loveLife with it's powerful (even when I say so myself - I do because I am the existing evidence of what loveLife can do a young person) group of 1200 grondBREAKERS (also known as Peer Educators) each year has found the most easy way to pass around messages around positive living, identity, sex, sexuality, HIV/AIDS, etc.
I have grown from being just a Mpintshi at the loveLife Youth Centre in Orange Farm to being a groundBREAKER and now a staff member, a youth leader in my community and I have been through a few challenges in my life, being abused by my step dad when growing up, fighting a battle to be understood by my own my mom that I needed to join loveLife and be part of a moving generation, attacked and raped in December 2007 and again February 2010 in my own neighbourhood, the same place that is supposed ot be home to me. Being a loveLife generation provides young South Africans with possibilities of a new future despite all the trials and tribulations and believing that God is always with you helps alot.
Now meeting with the FCCB Group has also taught me alot of lessons when it comes to personal development and atending to social and environmental issues. I think it's great that at church one is regarded as family, a sister, a broither, a father, a mother, a friend. Dinner at Rondebsch Church with the team was an eye opening for me as a young person who is passionate about youth development, HIV and social issues affecting young people. The team speaks well of the work that loveLife does, and I believe it is great that the organisational work had this effect on people, it really motivates us (young people) to do more and better.
I would love to thank David Harrison for putting me in touch with such a warm hearted elderly group that made me feel at home, the first night in the house with them was like I have known them forever. Food is one of my favorite things in the whole world, and yes they fed me, we sang together and I was so happy and open to share with them as they also were. The singing at the choir practise was just awesome, we learnt a song that goes Akekho o fana noYesu (There is no one like Jesus) when we sing and read at the same time, it's so easy but when you take the papers away, all you hear is humming, hilarious.
FCCB Group, South Africa 2010 ROCKS - like I would say in my South African funky way, AYOBA FCCB AYOBA........
I believe that our paths will cross again.
Regards and many thanks
Lerato Patricia Mahoyi
Lerato, you are an INSPIRATION!! Keep up your amazing work, and God go with you!
ReplyDeleteWith much love,
Julie, an FCCB member in the U.S.