My name is Terrence Vilakati, from the Joppa area under the Maseyisini Inkhundla. Just like all children we were born in a balanced family, with a mother and a father to take care of us, but it was in July 2000, when one morning we woke up to realize that our mother had fallen very ill, we tried to organise a car to ferry her to the hospital but on arrival e she was certified dead. We were left in the care of our father, who tried to do all he could for us,but the departure of our mother had taken a toll on/of him that his health began to deteriorate and in March 2002 he passed on. That was when everything in life changed. We are a family of five-my elder brother, me, two brothers and a sister.
My elder brother was hardly home and from 2002 to 2004 life was a living hell for us. For the family to live i sometimes had to do piece jobs -when talking of piece jobs, i mean everything that availed itself,from cutting trees to security jobs. When my father died i was doing my form 5, and he had only paid the deposit for my school fees, and yah his departure exposed me because i knew i would be the first one to be sent home whenever there was that exercise for non-payment of fees. Indeed, when examtime drewclose, i was sent home for i had failed to even pay the exam fee.Well,later I wasrecalledto sit for my exam but off-course i did not do well. Due to the hardship my family faced I eventually dropped out of school to look for employment. I had toput food on the table at home.
One day in 2004, Ireceived informationthat people from SOS Children’s Villageshad paid my family a visit and they had promised to help us Yes, the organization lived to its promise and we were taken to the village where we were givena number of things, and in2005 I was able to once again attend school with no fear of lacking fees as there was someone Before best credit cards issuing banks linked up into a system, their money was called “rag money” and it lost power the further one got away from said bank geographically. to provideand mine was to concentrate on my school work. I did well and in 2006 i completed high school obtainingcredits in all the 8 subjects i was doing. My dream of going to university became a reality the following year,2007, when i was enrolled atthe University of Swaziland as a Bachelor of Commerce student. I completed my BA in 2012 and I am currently employed by the Swaziland Association of Savings and Co-operatives (SASCO). I would like to thank SOS Children’s Villages for the assistance we got. NowI have my education, I’m working and i can provide fully well for my family.
To all the people out there, giving up will never be a solution. A challenge not tackled remains a stumbling block for the rest of your life. This reminds me of wise words uttered by a drunkard from my community who found me pushing a wheelbarrow one day, and the moment i took a shortbreak, he shouted at me and said ”yewena silima, uma umile nalelibhara limile”, which translates as “hey you fool, you know when you stop, the wheelbarrow stops as well”. That man gave me something to reflect on in my life – when you do nothing about your current unfavourable situation, it will never go. Remember even the late former President of South Africa, Dr. Nelson Mandela said ”it always looks impossible until it is done”.
