An uplifting story from one of our ‘old girls’, Nokhanyo, pictured above on the day she graduated with her Master’s degree in Population Studies

When Nokhanyo was 6 years old, her mother died, leaving 5 children behind. Their father then became an alcoholic and abandoned the children. They had nothing but sorrow and poverty. But Nokhanyo tried her best to love and care for her siblings.

Their world changed for the better when they were placed at the Durban Child and Youth Care Centre. For the fist time Nokhanyo experienced how it feels to be loved and nurtured.

“I didn’t have parents, yes,” she says. “But I went to one of the most prestigious schools. And the love and care I received gave me the gift of childhood. I had the freedom to dream, and to believe in myself and the wealth of potential within me.”

Heart warming love and support

“I’ll never forget the love and congratulatory messages I received from the office staff and child care workers when I was awarded trophies and merit certificates in primary school. They were so heart-warming. I also remember my first laptop and a R1000 gift voucher I received from a lovely sponsor, in recognition of my hard work.

As a result of the support and opportunities I received, I matriculated from Durban Girls’ High School in 2014 with a bachelor’s pass and two distinctions.”

While many kids from her high school had options, Nokhanyo knew she had to get the best results in order to go to university. And, knowing that her siblings were being well cared for allowed her to concentrate on her studies.

First in her family to matriculate

She was the first in her family to complete matric and to attend university.
She wanted to be a Psychologist, and was accepted to study at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

After graduating with a Bachelor of Social Sciences in Psychology and Sociology, she did her Master’s in Population Studies. Now aged 27, Nokhanyo has this advice for today’s youngsters at DCYCC:

“I learnt that life doesn’t give you what you deserve but what you fight for. We might come from poor, broken families and our parents might have failed us. But wealthy, stable, united families can come out of us. Broken crayons still colour and give meaning to a drawing. No matter how broken we may have been in the past, the little we still have left in us can change our lives for the better.”