Former Add Hope youngsters return the favour in the name of education
JOBURG – KFC continues to give young people a shot at an education and a future through its Add Hope initiative.
Many stories have been told about young people who benefited from the KFC Add Hope initiative who were able to break out of the cycle of poverty.
Tebogo Maby and Sinanziwe Ndlovu are some of the recent beneficiaries of the programme who are now giving back to help other kids.
“Times were tough after we lost my mother, as my sister struggled to take care of her own two children and my siblings on her own. There were many times that I had gone to bed hungry and I nearly had to give up school,” said Ndlovu.
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With the help of Afrika Tikkun Uthando Centre, Ndlovu is now a university student working towards a diploma in public relations and communications at the University of Johannesburg. She also completed a learnership in child and youth care development at Afrika Tikkun and now works as a library facilitator, helping young people with reading skills, public speaking and homework support.
“I come from a family of less educated people, I am the first to finish high school, get a qualification and even the first to set foot on the soil of America.
“I want young people to be inspired by my journey and gain hope for their own lives despite difficult circumstances. This is what Add Hope means to me – allowing children to dream again.”
Born to lose but built to win, Tebogo Mabye was born in Hillbrow to a single mother, surrounded by gangs and crime. Fortunately, he found meals and a safe place to go to after school at MES, a partner of Add Hope that is funded by donations that KFC customers make every day.
“When you give a child a meal, you tap into their heart,” said Mabye. “You show that child that you care about them and you earn the right to influence that child. Add Hope gave MES a ticket to get into my world so that they could understand, love and influence me.”
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Mabye now works for the MES team in Hillbrow as a coordinator of the youth enrichment programme. This programme has given him the opportunity to be educated and also be protected from the outside dangers that loom on the streets of Hillbrow.
“I could have been one of the kids I see on the streets, kids in gangs, dropping out of school, taking drugs – but MES has helped me to turn that around and actually become a role model. And that is the change I want to be for a child there today. I want to help those kids that are exactly like we were before it’s too late.
“If you need proof that Add Hope works, we are living proof. Initiatives like this… have a lasting effect on the future of the kids in this country. I see it every day.”
