Youth for Understanding South Africa International Youth Exchange
1. What are your goals/dreams in life? I am very disciplined and hard working. The subjects I pursue are physical science, mathematics, life sciences, geography as well as the compulsory ones. My dream is a challenging one in which I hope to change the situation I live in. I also want to have good habits and be a good role model to the people around me. I’ve found that I have a talent for swimming and singing. I have already made a demo tape in which I recorded 3 tracks of music using a friend’s equipment. Since I can remember, my family and I have just been fighting to survive so I do not have the means to get somebody with experience to advise me and take this further and become an artist, if I’m good enough. I am also seeking assistance to study further after matric. I hope that there are some kind people out there who will help me to make my dreams come true. It is so hard to live the way I live now. Somehow I will rise from dust to gold. 2. What would you do with your money when you one day have a good job that pays a good salary? I will first help my family with food and clothing and then start building us a proper house made of bricks with a proper roof instead of the thatched roof one made with mud and wood that has a dirt floor covered with cow dung. I will help the poor and orphans by starting feeding schemes. I will do whatever I can to help improve my community. This will benefit all members in my community. 3. Tell me the things that you like and dislike about your culture. In my Swazi culture we have to obey all our ancestor’s beliefs and live the way they lived. I like the way we dress and dance. Our traditional food is wonderful. I also like our customs and how we handle certain situations. I think that paying a dowry (lobola) to your future bride’s father is good and proper but I dislike the rules and regulations about it. 4. Are you happy with the life you have now? No, I’m not. We are poverty stricken and lack the means to venture forward and bear fruit in life. The only way forward is through education and I really, really hope and pray that someone will help me.
8 Youth For Understanding South Africa Newsletter Cultural Exchange