Life on the streets a tough challenge for talented student
"It has not been an easy journey, its still not easy as you can see my current state."
“I’M studying at CFAD, please donate with anything you got,” reads a poster hanging around the neck of Musa Goba as he stands at the corner of Cleaver and Che Guevara Road in Glenwood. Goba’s demeanor is not that of a “student,” his clothes are old, dirty and look too large on his small thin body and his worn out shoes look like they are about to give in anytime soon. It is his art bag, slung over his shoulders and few of his drawings hoisted in the air, that collaborate with the statement on the poster.
The softly spoken Goba says he is a second year student, studying animation at the Centre for Fine Art Animation and Design (CFAD) in Durban. With his disarming smile, he tells the Berea Mail that his journey from begging on the streets to getting into the school, started a few years ago, when a journalist wrote an article about him and prominent Durban cartoonist and the principal of CFAD Dr Nanda Soobben, saw it and offered him a 3-year scholarship.
“It has not been an easy journey, its still not easy as you can see my current state. My clothes are old and I don’t know how many times I have super-glued my shoes. I am sure even some of my classmates don’t feel safe studying with someone who looks like this, but there is nothing I can do about that. I have to keep telling myself that every person has a different journey and mine, as unpleasant as it is, I have to do everything in my power to look past that. I want to be a graphic designer after completing my studies or become a cartoonist for the newspaper, anything that will help me hone my skills” he said.
Goba, who currently stays at Dalton Hostel, pays R580 every month for rent and says while other students are at home relaxing, he has to beg or try to sell some of his artworks to raise money for rent and groceries.
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“The scholarship only pays for my studies, the rest I have to figure out. It is very difficult because I sometimes go for a week without any food and have to rely on soup kitchens around town. At times I am not able to come up with rent money and my landlord gets angry, but he’s always understanding of my situation. Sometimes other beggars come here and accuse me of invading their begging spot, so I have to constantly move for the sake of peace,” said Goba.
During the hour the Berea Mail spent standing an the traffic light with Goba, not a single motorist or pedestrian purchased or gave him anything, which meant that he had to spend another night with an empty stomach. Before we part ways with Goba, he makes a passionate plea. “Please help me with some clothes and shoes if you have. I really need them, even if you no longer use them, I just have to change these clothes, I have been wearing them for a long time,” he said.
To those wishing to help with clothes, food, rent money, art supplies, contact Goba’s brother Mfanafuthi on 073 670 0083 or you the school at 031 207 2350.
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