Monwabisi Masoka, casually known as Cosmo among friends, is a young man. He and his mom live in a tiny shack in the informal settlement called Nomzamo in South Africa’s biggest township, Soweto. Cosmo says that he was a very troublesome son. “I and a circle of friends gambled and used recreational drugs. I used to steal items from home and use them to settle gambling scores and I would sometimes arrive home late or not even sleep at home at all.”
His academics suffered a lot. His relationship with his mother and God were strained and he felt more alone. He then decided to join the Courage Youth Movement (CYM) group at his school. He heard about the CYM groups at his school and was invited to attend.
“Courage Youth has really changed me from the inside, out. The CYM group is like a new family where every learner feels special, there are no favourites because we are all special”, he says. “I was able to find new friends, people I can do schoolwork with, people I can dream about a better future with. Before CYM, I had a lot of anger issues and was very aggressive. But since participating in CYM and being able to talk about the challenges I face on a daily basis, I am less angry and not violent anymore.”
“My one hope and prayer is for parents to support their children. The youth are very careless and there is a lot of underage drinking. But if parents can be involved in their children’s lives and support the activities they participate in, such as sports or arts, it will really help future generations.”
Comments