Dumped by his mother, on a doorstep of a father who didn’t want him. This South African is determined to be the best he can be, no matter his circumstance.
“I have a name” is an incredible photo series showcasing everyday South Africans in the most phenomenal way. Proudly South African… one story at a time.
The stories are told by the incredible South Africans… raw & unedited. It’s a showcase of humanness, a reminder that behind every face, is a name.
Meet Sipho… a determined dreamer who is creating his own second chances.
J, the creator of “I have a name” received a message from her friend Sam and immediately knew that this was a story she wanted to cover!
“This man is from another time, he is just the most magical wonderful human. Please can you listen to his story.”
J met with Sam and Sipho last week Wednesday as the storm clouds started to rumble, just before the heavens opened.
“My name is Sipho… dumped by my mother, on the doorstep of a father who didn’t want me. My story starts at the gates of Kids Haven in Natal.”
He was 4 or 5 when he arrived at the orphanage. Sipho had no memories of his biological family.
At the age of 13, he was handpicked by a sponsor to attend CBC, Christian Brother’s College in Kimberly – a top notch private school.
“I stuck out like a sore thumb!”
A penniless orphaned black kid being schooled with the cream of the crop rich kids. Sipho was teased and bullied at first… but was determined to prove himself and gain the respect of his peers, as well as my teachers.
“I threw myself into my studies, sports and anything I could get my hands on.”
The determined dreamer learnt to play 9 musical instruments: Guitar, piano, sax, most wind instruments, trombone, drums, tenor sax, and the bagpipes… he was a provincial and national bag pipe player and third best in South Africa! Besides music, Sipho also excelled in sports and Public Speaking – making the Junior SA swimming team and took part in public speaking where he had the opportiunity to travel and speak internationally.
He also speaks all 11 national languages in South Africa and was chosen as the Headboy at Christian Brother’s College in Kimberly
“After school I was offered a bursary to study at Vega – as part of the Imagination Lab and from there followed an internship at TBWA Hunt Lascaris. They were very impressed with my musical knowledge and ear, I was also given an opportunity to intern at 5 FM where I was known as ‘DJ Sipho’ the Intern.”
He was on a great path… it looked like he had it made.. but then something changed.
The family who had been sponsoring Sipho all those years, and who had embraced him as part of their family, immigrated to the UK in 2006.
“Even though they didn’t reject me… the result of their move left me facing my demons… feelings that I had long buried and pushed away…”
“Feelings of not belonging, feelings of being inadequate, feeling of being unloved, being alone, being uprooted … it overwhelmed me.”
“I had lost my identity, fell into a pit of depression, became suicidal, completely lost the plot, lost my job, and let a lot of people down.”
During the interview, Sipho looks down, his eyes… full of pain.
“In an attempt to pick myself back up again I decided that the only way to heal myself was to give back… it was a very conscious decision.”
He decided he would give back 5 years of his life by working in shelters.
He chose the shelters that needed the most help, and for 5 years worked as a child and youth worker in various shelters, teaching drama, art, and music.
“At the end of the 5 years I was completely broken… I had worked with refugee child soldiers, heard stories that still haunt me today, and witnessed the big, bad and ugly side of NGO work.”
“I felt used, disillusioned and hopeless.”
He officially ended up on the street 5 months ago… and met Sam while on the streets, doodling in a notebook outside a grocery story on Scott street in Waverly. She walked up to him and asked to see what he was drawing.
He had no idea that she was an artist.
A few days later she brought Sipho a big plastic bag full of art supplies… He was so excited!
He had done art at school, but had been so busy with so many other things that he never really focused on it.
“As I started sketching… blending colours…. watching the brush move across the page… I felt a thawing inside.. the start of healing… Sam kept coming back… encouraging me… and asked me to assist her with some large wall murals.”
He has quickly become a leader of their little band of homeless brothers and organizes weekly meetings.
“We also realised that our names together mean “My Gift” “Sipho Sami ” which just blew my mind, as really he is such a gift!”
“I’m starting to live, heal, dream and hope again…” says Sipho with a twinkle in his eye.
“One day I want to own my own art gallery, and have a place where the homeless can do art therapy to face and conquer their demons… but the first step to getting there is to get employment and get off the street.”
Sam can’t contain her excitement when she speaks about Sipho!!!
“Over weeks and months, I watched Sipho transform in front of my eyes… I could see how art was a form of therapy… and he noticed it too. He has now been passing on his skills to a group of homeless guys living under Corlett bridge.”
“Sipho has a stellar CV… he is completely computer literate, has invaluable experience in radio/ sound /advertising, speaks all 11 national languages and is a musical genius. Here is a young man who has SO much to give back… He is the epitome of the New South Africa, but is living on the street and needs to be given a second chance.”
“I am happy to send Sipho’s CV to anyone who might want to help him. You can contact me on samanthadivett@gmail.com”
“I Have A Name” is a space where an anonymous photographer (we’ll call her J) is taking photos of everyday South Africans to showcase their incredible stories.
How do we bridge the great South African divides? Black vs white, young vs old, rich vs poor, men vs women? The divides that keep us from making eye contact with the beggar standing on the street corner, or the stranger in the lift.
CS Lewis said, “There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations – these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit – immortal horrors or everlasting splendors. This does not mean that we are to be perpetually solemn. We must play. But our merriment must be of that kind (and it is, in fact, the merriest kind) which exists between people who have, from the outset, taken each other seriously – no flippancy, no superiority, no presumption.”
Come with me on a journey…the stories and names behind the faces of everyday South Africans living their life in your neighbourhood, on your streets.
I think you will discover that we have a lot in common.
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