Written

Depression made me feel weak

When Anela’s depression became more severe, she thought that suicide was the only option. She recounts the story of how it brought her to a halt, and how, eventually, she survived.

I was abandoned at birth

From the time he was abandoned at birth, to when he eventually found his family, Innocent has struggled with belonging and identity.

I made the right choice

When her stepfather and mother got a divorce, Daniella’s life nearly fell apart. It affected her health, and all of a sudden, she had to fend for herself.

My career looks different to what I'd imagined

Using the skills she learned in the corporate world, Koinonia Baloyi found a way to live out her passion for community development and begin something that is not only changing her community, but her too, for the better.

Failure made me a better person

Harrington’s desire for a better life has been fight after fight, but he has hope that his future will be different.

Residences were only for white students

When I applied to Rhodes University I was told there was no accommodation for me – their residences were for white students only.

Motherhood brought me home

Motherhood brought with it a gift of love, but it also brought Morongoa necessary, tough lessons about life. When she became a mother, she began to understand her mother’s perspective.

Pregnant at 17: All I wanted was to be free

Falling pregnant at age seventeen seemed to be the end of Nontokozo’s world. Her dreams had to be put on hold, and a degree seemed like a distant possibility.

I lost my daughter to cancer

Dear O, I miss you dearly, it’s been a while but I will be fine. Days are getting better, and everyone is doing just fine. Mommy is imagining a 20-year old you, in varsity and living your fullest life.

Mitchells Plain exposed me to gangsterism

A potentially fatal eye operation and growing up in a community often notorious for drugs and gangsterism could not stop Lance from achieving his goals.

I have been through all the cancer meds

Radiation, chemotherapy, a mastectomy - and medication for life. What more could one woman have to face? Nava shares her brave story of living with and battling cancer.

I was dead for 45 minutes

After a heart attack left her without a heartbeat for 45 minutes, Zhaunine’s journey to the other side of death and back gave her new purpose and hope for her life.

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