The little giant from Centurion takes on life bravely.

A 32-year-old man who is just over one meter tall, weighs less than 30kg and has the appearance of a young child is determined to achieve his goals and make a success of his life, despite the many challenges he is faced with every day.

Bongani ‘Bongi’ Skosana, also known as ‘The Little Giant of Centurion’, wears children’s clothes and shoes. He was born with a rare growth-hormone deficiency, also known as pituitary dwarfism. Unlike other types of dwarfism which cause people’s body parts to grow out of proportion, Skosana’s body is in perfect shape, except for his height.

Skosana was born, as indicated in his ID, in 1982 in the small village of Kwaggafontein in Mpumalanga. He finished his matric there and afterwards completed a course in computer studies for which he earned a certificate.

At the age of sixteen, he realised that he was not getting any bigger or taller. “My friends were taller than me, but I am a cool man and accepted my fate. It was not a bad thing, it was a gift from God. Yet, it was a gift that came with challenges,” he said proudly.

One of Skosana’s biggest challenges is not to be able to drive a vehicle. “I wish that one day I could learn to drive and have my own car,” he said. All his life he had to depend on other means of transport, which did not always prove to be reliable.

Skosana also had challenges when he was searching for work. “No one believed me when I told them my age. They thought I was lying,” he said. Even Skosana’s voice had not fully developed into a low manly voice.

In his life of 32 years, Skosana has learned to speak eight languages by communicating with people from different language groups. He said he can speak English, Afrikaans and six other African languages.

Last year he decided to move to the big city to earn more money. He was first employed in Brooklyn, but when the work ended, he came to Centurion. According to Skosana, this is where all the trouble began.

Skosana became friends with the wrong people. He started smoking Nyaope, but he soon realised that it made him sick and he wanted to get out. “I was getting tired of the drugs. It made me sick and I was also wasting my money on it,” he said.

Skosana said the life on the street taught him a few valuable lessons. One of them was that ”it was very easy to get it into drugs, but it was difficult to get out.”

It came to a point that Skosana did not have a place to stay and he did not earn enough money to afford a place.

He was spotted by a resident on John Vorster Drive selling newspapers. Johan Lee initially thought Skosana was a small child and thought it was cruel that a child should work on the street. “As I gradually started to build a trust relationship with Bongi, I found out he was 32 years old,” Lee said.

As the owner of the Boeremark in Centurion, Lee offered him work on Saturdays.

However, one Saturday morning a month ago when Lee went to pick Skosana up at his usual place he was nowhere to be found. “Some of the guys in the area told me he was sleeping in ditch and that is where I found him.”

Skosana confessed to Johan that he was using Nyaope and asked for help. Lee’s good friend and founder of Moeggesukkel in Raslouw, Jacques Papenfus, offered to take Skosana in and assist with his rehabilitation.

Skosana said that he learned in the past month that people who want to be helped must not be scared to talk. ”Only when they speak out about their problems, can they be helped and healed.”

After a few days at the centre, he already felt better. His withdrawal symptoms were also less sever than anticipated. “I am surprised because it usually takes time to recover, but I am strong,” he said.

After he completes his rehabilitation programme, Skosana wants to go back to his hometown to his twin sisters. At the age of 19, they have finished school and are now enrolled for a post-matric course.

However, Skosana’s biggest dream is to begin his own company so that he could be his own boss. He said he would like to have an investment company or a company that transports food.