The tear-jerking tale of a former prostitute

She was 19, kept afloat by her university bursary, a young woman finally on her way out of a disadvantaged community, but then things took a turn for the worst.

“Like other students, I too wanted fancy clothes and to be able to brag about my successful parents,” said Nolwazi Magidigidi. But the financial constraints she experienced didn’t permit these things – she had barely enough money to keep body and soul together.

For the first time, she had to make decisions on her own. It occurred to her that reselling stolen items seemed like a good solution to her money problem. “I got caught stealing a student’s laptop but wasn’t prosecuted, so I didn’t stop.”

For a little while, selling stolen goods enabled her to achieve her goals, but soon she wanted more. Her constant partying had created a hole in her pocket.

There was only one thing she could think of to fund her habits – prostitution. “For a while it seemed like a good way to make money,” she said, but the emotional strain she was under required her to find a coping mechanism. She reached for the most accessible drug to ease her troubles.

One fateful afternoon, after seeing an older client, she was forcefully removed from his car and left on the street. She had no money and her constant lack of attention to her studies had left her without a bursary, and no education.

Her stealing continued, leading her to a life behind bars. Nolwazi was arrested and served several months in jail before being released back into her mother’s care – in a shack in Bekkersdal.

Fortunately, her time in jail served as a wake-up call. After her time behind bars, she went to rehab and subsequently found herself a job. An opportunity presented itself at Amazon, where she started working as a call centre agent. She later went on to write a book about the trials in her life, with the aim of encouraging disadvantaged first-year students to prove they too can have a bright future, no matter what their background.

Nolwazi is now going back to university on 12 July to study communications. “This time I am older. I know the dangers of trying to be someone else. Going that route will only keep me from being what God created me to be. Your background doesn’t have to determine your path. I didn’t realise that I was steering so far off course, but thankfully, this only postponed my successful future, it wasn’t the end of it.”

Nolwaze’s book, The Cover Up is now available on Amazon books.

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