Abandoned at birth, Lwazi Xinwa (24) spent his first five years growing up in a children’s home in Uitenhage in the Eastern Cape. Adopted by loving parents, Lwazi spent the next eight years thriving in a stable household. However, at age 13 his life turned upside down once again. His father was diagnosed with a terminal illness, and Lwazi’s parents revealed to him that he had been adopted. “I was so angry, so many mixed feelings,” says Lwazi. “I was so upset that my father was sick but I felt angry at the same time.”
Following the death of his father and mentor, Lwazi became a rebellious teenager, but his mother continued to encourage him and guide him through life. At age 18, Lwazi’s mother became very ill and couldn’t work anymore. “I graduated matric and had to find a job immediately so that I could support my family,” says Lwazi who ended up doing packaging for R20 a day. “I just kept praying that there was something else out there for me. I needed to find some hope,” says Lwazi. “My life was really a mess after school. I even thought about joining a gang and robbing people. I got mixed up in the wrong crowd and I am just grateful that the opportunity for Umzi came along when it did, because all of my former friends joined a gang and most of them are now dead.”
