Blessing is an achiever, a leader and the kind of learner who instantly lights up any space, all this despite facing the loss of his mom, instability and hardship as a child. He’s come so far, held his head high and now shines as Camps Bay High School’s 2026 Head Prefect!
Camps Bay, South Africa (25 November 2025) – When the announcement was made at a special assembly, and Blessing Manguno’s name was called as Camps Bay High School’s 2026 Head Prefect, he described the moment as “surreal.”
“It took a few seconds to sink in,” he reflects.
“I didn’t expect it at all. The most special part was that in that moment, I suddenly remembered how far I’ve come. Everything I’ve faced… and how I’ve kept going. It was overwhelming in the best way.”
For many at Camps Bay High School, the news felt absolutely right. Blessing is the kind of learner who instantly lights up a space, not because he tries to – but because he can’t help it. His warmth, kindness and effortless ability to connect with people have made him a beloved figure on campus.
He is also one of the school’s most remarkable achievers. In Grade 11, he achieved a rare triple win at the Jan van Riebeeck Arts Festival, taking first place for the highest marks in Creative Writing, Drama and Singing.
He maintains a consistent A aggregate. He dances, he sings, he writes, he leads, he gives. He serves the school through involvement with the Interact Society, the Catering Team, the PR Team, and in countless quiet ways people often don’t see.
And he has done it all with a resilience shaped by a childhood that demanded more strength than any young person should ever have to muster.
A Journey of Courage
Blessing’s life changed forever at age seven when he lost his mother, his greatest source of love and security. In the years that followed, he faced instability and hardship that no child should have to navigate.
At 13, after bravely confiding in a Grade 7 teacher about what he was experiencing at home, Child Welfare intervened. Blessing was placed in the South African Children’s Home, one of Cape Town’s oldest child and youth care centres.
“It taught me that the world doesn’t revolve around me,” he says thoughtfully.
“There are so many children there, and everyone has their own needs and struggles. I learned to put others first, to be patient, to be kind… to do everything with love. My mother taught me that too. Even now, I try to honour her by living that way.”
Blessing has remained focused, hopeful and extraordinarily driven.
“I always told myself: I want to make my mom proud. And one day, when I have a family of my own, I want to give them the life I didn’t have. That’s what keeps me going.”
Finding His Voice at Camps Bay High School
Arriving at the school in Grade 8, Blessing stepped into a place that would allow him to grow, flourish, and be seen.
There was a defining moment in Grade 9 that nearly made Blessing shrink himself. During the dress rehearsal for his first dance showcase – held on a Saturday – he was changing in the boys’ bathroom. Because there was a rugby match on campus that day, the changerooms were being used by boys from another school.
One of his costumes for the performance involved a dress. As he walked out of the bathroom after changing, he heard one of the players mutter the F-slur. He didn’t look back. He didn’t need to. The word landed heavily.
“I just felt like the world had sunk,” he recalls.
Shaken, he turned to the one person he trusted: Ms Thimna Tibisono – Camps Bay High’s 2018 Head Prefect, then completing her teaching learnership at her old high school.
“I spoke to her about it and she sat me down and told me there’s never going to be another Blessing,” he says.
“If I spent my life trying to hide who I was, it would be a waste. She reminded me that not everyone is going to like you – and that some people didn’t like me even when I was trying to be an inauthentic version of myself. So I might as well be me.”
It was a pivotal moment. From that point on, he stopped holding back. After the showcase, he was invited to perform in the Grade 11 Fashion Show – even though he was only in Grade 9.
It was the beginning of a pathway that now includes a full tuition scholarship to study the four-year professional performing arts programme at the Waterfront Theatre School.
Dance is his home. His language.
“Through dance, I can express emotions without speaking. Everything I’ve ever felt – pain, hope, joy – I can turn it into something beautiful, something that might inspire someone else.”
Leading a School Where Everyone Can Shine
The school’s Prefect system is learner-driven. After teachers, Grade 11s and outgoing prefects vote for the Prefect Body, the newly elected team goes on Prefect Camp, where they choose their own Head Prefect and Deputy Head Prefects through a confidential vote.
Blessing arrived at Prefect Camp prepared with a carefully written speech. But minutes before he walked in, he abandoned it.
“It felt too rehearsed – too perfect. And I didn’t want people to see a performance. I wanted them to see me.”
So he spoke honestly, openly, and from the heart. It wasn’t polished. It was real. And the prefects trusted that.
Ask him why he thinks people voted for him, and he smiles shyly.
“I guess people feel comfortable with me. I try to treat everyone the way I want to be treated. I listen. I try to be kind. Maybe that’s why.”
Leadership, he says, is about humility and lifting others up.
“It’s not about being in the spotlight. It’s about helping other people shine. Camps Bay is full of students with incredible potential. I want every learner to feel they can be authentically themselves – without changing who they are to fit in.”
Blessing’s message to the incoming Class of 2026 is simple and powerful:
“Be yourself. Truly yourself. In Grade 9, I tried so hard to be someone else, and it was exhausting. Life became easier the moment I stopped trying to be perfect and just became me. So don’t change who you are for other people. You are enough.”
After matric, Blessing will continue his journey at the Waterfront Theatre School, completing the four-year performing arts diploma and an Associate qualification that will allow him to teach.
“I want to share my talent,” he says.
“I want to inspire kids who feel scared to be themselves, or scared to dream big. Wherever life takes me, that’s my purpose.”
If he could speak on any stage in the world, it would be the United Nations.
“I’d talk about acceptance. And how people think being gay is a choice – but it isn’t. I want people to understand the impact their words can have. Everyone deserves dignity, safety, and the freedom to be who they are.”
As for the legacy he hopes to leave behind:
“When people hear my name, I don’t want them to think I was popular or well-known. I want them to think: he helped people. I want to be remembered as someone who made life better for others.”
Blessing’s story embodies everything the high school strives to be: a place where every learner – no matter their background, identity or journey – can find a home, discover their gifts, and shine in their own extraordinary way.
He is not just a Head Prefect.
He is a reminder of the power of courage, authenticity, and community.
He is, in every sense of the word, a blessing!
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