A Life Restored: Andile’s Education Journey

The Start: Humble Beginnings

On 15 January Andile officially started High School at Hillcrest High! It was a monumental day for Andile and for the Village in terms of education. It symbolized years of perseverance and dedication to achieve the seemingly impossible.

Andile came to Ingane Yami in 2012 when he was just six years old. He was rescued from quite an abusive background. Before Ingane Yami he never had the privilege of being exposed to any form of formal education.

For the first two years, Focus on Itemba bridged the education gap. This gave Andile the foundations he needed to start Grade 1 in 2014. It was at this time that Ingane Yami hired our first teacher, Debbie; thus taking the first steps towards onsite education. Debbie began teaching Andile one-on-one out of one of the homes. Eventually a few of our younger children joined and the boardroom was converted into a classroom to accommodate the growing class.

In 2016, as Andile was entering Grade 3 we employed our first qualified teacher, Gabriella Thomas (Gaby). This allowed us to move from a ‘Home School’ in to what is now Ingane Yami School. In the June of that year there was celebration all around, as our Ingane Yami School moved in to our new permanent classroom facilities!

Working Hard to achieve the impossible 

Andile has always been a star pupil; always respectful and diligent. He has never complained about being the oldest amongst a throng of children who were all at least two grades below him. He has shown an incredible hunger to learn and grow despite having had a late start with formal education. Last year, in 2019, Andile pushed hard to catch up to his age appropriate grade. He set more ambitious goals in his schoolwork, took on more homework and managed to complete half of his Grade 6 syllabus and Grade 7 in one year!

Our long term education plan is to have our very own High School at the Village. However it was not practical to create a High School solely for Andile. Thus, the decision was made for Andile to continue his schooling at an established high school.

Needless to say he was both extremely excited and extremely nervous about the transition. He entered Hillcrest High School with his head held high in January this year, after receiving a lot of mentorship, counselling and preparation.

Looking Ahead: a Life Restored 

We couldn’t be prouder of Andile. His story of restoration did not come quickly or easily. It took years of hard work on his part, a loving mom and family, dedicated teachers and other role players to see him rise above the start he had in life and walk in to all God has destined him to be.

We look forward to seeing his story continue to unfold, as he develops his confidence, leadership and sense-of-self in this new “world”. No doubt God is going to use him mightily, as his testimony ignites hope in the hearts of everyone who hears it. Check out our child sponsorship program to learn more about how to personally become part of Andile’s journey.