SPORT FOR LIVES

Kwanda was born in Manguzi, in the far north-east corner of KZN, and a very poor area of South Africa. With no running water or electricity he remembers struggling to afford the fees of his first school, which at the time was R10 a month.  After his father passed, life became even harder and living day to day became a reality. 

Moving in with his grandmother while his three sisters stayed with his mother, his new high school was even more difficult to afford at R210 a month.  

Through working on a smallholding poultry farm, selling things for his mom, and the generosity of his church and others in the community, he somehow managed to make ends meet.  The teachers at the school motivated Kwanda to keep pushing, and with that he received a bursary to go to UKZN -The start of an incredible journey and truly life altering path. 

From beginnings at a rural school in KZN, he is now a Science teacher at Hilton College.  Reflecting on how hard work and people's help changed his narrative, Kwanda is now on his own mission to give back and help change someone else's story.  

Kwanda’s first goal is to help two children who were given some of his grandmother's land as they had next to nothing. No one in the family has a matric and Kwanda would love to see them get a quality education and be empowered to change their own lives and that of their family, as well as many more in the future.