Using a painful experience to help children in need

HE LOST his mother when he was 16 years old, was homeless for three years and understands the feeling of hopelessness in poverty.

Bongani Xaba, the adopted son of actor Sello Maake KaNcube, is using his experience to help others, particularly in KwaZulu-Natal, in the wake of the floods and storms.

After his mother’s death he lived with his uncle, who kicked him out and left him homeless three years after matriculating.

A woman who lived in the same street was kind enough to provide him with a place to stay for a few months. While recycling paper from schools to make ends meet, he was fortunate enough to get a coaching position and rented a back room.

His involvement in helping the flood victims is deeply personal to him since he knows the devastation that comes with being homeless.

Xaba visited an area called Tshelimnyama in Durban the previous month to assist children with life skills activities and felt a connection with them. Now he is stepping in again to help develop children’s life skills activities, especially those who no longer have homes and who are housed with their parents at community halls and churches.

“I was strongly convinced to go back to Durban and do more for those children because of the emotional pain of not having a home or a mother at such an early age. When I was at Tshelimnyama, I felt a deep connection. I saw myself through those children, and I felt like I needed to do more for them,” says Xaba.

Reflecting on his life journey and where he comes from, Xaba also adopted five children at a Vosloorus primary school in 2019 and promised them they would be cared for until matriculating. He describes them as his own.

As part of Xaba’s visit to KZN today, Polar Ice Cream has sponsored him with 500 litres of ice cream, which will be sold to raise money to buy uniforms, food parcels, and toys to add to those already collected.

Xaba will visit Inanda, Tshelimnyama and other surrounding areas in Durban that were affected by the floods. If anyone wishes to donate something, he can be contacted at 068 422 4420.