An incredible foundation is helping South Africans in need just by telling their stories!
“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 Casper… a young determined child who is ready to make a difference in South Africa.
Casper Maseko is only 15 years old. 2 years ago his Zimbabwean grandmother sent him and his siblings to South Africa to live with his mom and her husband.
“My granny couldn’t look after us anymore. I was 13, my twin sisters were 10 and my little brother 8. My mom and her husband run a shebeen, and I came to South Africa to help serve customers for 6 hours every day. Here in South Africa, no schools would take me and my sisters, and so I only finished grade 7.”
While in South Africa, Casper met Caroline, an incredible South African who is helping empower the kids in her community that have been left behind or trampled by the system.
For the past 11 years she has been reaching out to the community in Kya Sands and taking in kids to educate. Last year her foundation bought a license to the Impaq curriculum which caters to kids from grade 1-12 and is designed to enable individualized learning in schools and at home.
Impaq provides a comprehensive set of educational products based on a CAPS aligned curriculum for Grades R – 12. Their curriculum and related solutions are designed to enable individualised learning and are used to educate learners in schools and at home.
Caroline currently has 38 children that she is teaching ranging from age 2 to Grade 7 but she has also been helping Casper to finish school and with the help of a colleague (Tulani), who have been meeting the determined young child every day from 9:30-12:00 for lessons.
“He’s a good boy, but he’s going to fall through the cracks if we don’t do something.
He’s 15, helping out at a shebeen, with his education cut short. His whole life he has been used to village life, planting seeds, tending the garden, and then as a teen he gets sent to Joburg, ends up in an informal settlement with nothing to do but serve beer.
He’s the eldest boy in the family… the weight on his shoulders is huge. He feels the responsibility for his sisters and younger brother.”
Casper continuously feels worried about the future but knows that he has the power to empower himself.
“I am worried about my sisters. I am worried about their future. I would like to learn some kind of skill so that I can work and look after them. I don’t want to end up like the boys I see addicted to Nyaope. I don’t take drugs. I have a little garden that I look after and grow some vegetables. I can do gardening work and have had some piece jobs doing gardening. “
And the “I have a name” foundation have helped Casper, just by telling his story!
A lot of great responses came in (after the story was posted) and we had a look at what would be in Casper’s best interest and give him the best chance for the future.
I’m so happy to be able to tell you that he started work for a family. He will be given room and board and a salary.
His working hours will be kept down to 5 hours per day so that he can use the remaining time for studies or courses. He will also be given a bicycle so that he can move around freely.
He will be close enough to Kya that he is not completely ripped from his familiar surroundings and family.
I’m very excited for him! Thank you all!!
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