Making the right choices. This was the key message delivered to Kensington High School learners during a motivational talk held at the school on Thursday 18 August.
The event was organised by resident Dyllen Dolf who wants to plough back into his community by motivating young people and learners to stay away from criminals.
Dolf invited members from the Abakhululi Prison Ministry to address the learners.
Dolf says he is happy with how the start of his outreach initiative began.
“I believe the project that I am starting today made an impact and this won’t be the last time, they have invited us again for a next event. So next time we will go bigger.”
Dolf shared with the learners that he too made wrong decisions and encouraged them to not allow their circumstances to define them.
“I grew up without a dad and was 12 years old when my mom died. My twin brother and I had to raise ourselves. We had to leave Cape Town, but I always told myself I want to return and plough back into the community. Today I am a qualified male nurse and a political student.”
Capt Shaun Ruiters, Vispol Head from the Kensington police station, encouraged learners to not end up on the wrong side of the law. Emphasising that “prison is not a nice place to be”.
Ex-offenders addressed the learners sharing their life choices that led them behind bars.
Reagan Delaney from Ottery was 14 years old when he first became involved with gangsters.
“I would never stay at school past first interval. I never listened to my mother and teachers. I made fun in class, I thought I was funny. I chose to do it. People didn’t tell me to do it. One day I ended up in Wynberg Magistrates’ Court and they sentenced me to eight years imprisonment.”
Delaney encouraged learners to make the right choices.
“I want to encourage someone here today, if you want to become something in life, if you want to be the difference in your family, then start today to make right choices.”
Quintin Moos spent 20 years in prison. He was a member of the 26’s gang.
“If you want to realise your dreams then you shouldn’t copy what others are doing. I was a copycat too and that cost me 20 years of my life. Prison is not your parents’ house; there you have to wait for food. There they tell you when you must go to bed.”
Melvin Thompson was in prison for 27 years and 9 months. He encouraged learners to stand out from their friends. He explains how his life changed through divine intervention.
“I assaulted a prison warden, and I was separated from the other inmates and that is where God spoke to me. The God that I serve renewed and transformed my mindset to make me understand how bad I was.”
Brandon Frazenberg encouraged learners by saying “success will come but only if you discipline yourself”.
Graham Solomons ended up in prison at the age of 34. He believes “the choices you make in life will determine where you will end up”.
Hazel Manuels, Principal at the school, says she is grateful to the group who came and motivated the learners. According to Manuels they face many social ills at the school and says learners smoking dagga and bringing these to school remain a constant headache.
Manuels says she believes the testimonies of the men made an impact on the learners.
Michael Theunissen, Founder of Abakhululi Prison Ministry, says the organisation has been actively working in prisons and communities since 1994.
Theunissen says their core aim is to prevent young people from ending up in prison. He says that was the message they gave learners at Kensington High School.
“We want to prevent that they will end up in prison or become gangsters. We want them to fulfil their dreams and become the person that God wants them to be. I am happy with how the programme went here at this school. I believe there was change, you can’t see it with the physical eye but with a spiritual eye you can see by the reaction of the learners.”
Dolf says he hopes to reach other schools in the area.
