“Change is hope and I am that hope” says Senzo ‘Mr President’ Madida, a young man whose story is a dose of inspiration for South Africans who need a reminder that life CAN change for the better and so can our country if we all play our part:
Johannesburg, South Africa (06 February 2024) — Today, Senzo Madida (whose nickname is ‘Mr President’) is a proud aftercare coordinator at the non-profit organisation MES (Mould, Empower Serve). But not all that long ago, he himself was under MES’s wing as a lost young man looking for hope.
Featured in MES’s Stories of Hope interview, Senzo shared his story.
Growing up in KwaZulu-Natal, he fondly remembers being raised by his grandmother who made the hardships of life “look rich”.
“What looks bad now, she made it look absolutely amazing,” he explains of her ability to make hard circumstances joyful.
After she passed on, Senzo needed to provide for himself and his cousin. Not knowing what else to do, he resorted to stealing food and gambling as a teenager to try and survive.
When it was time to do high school, he came to Johannesburg (where he was born). Here, he found out about MES’s aftercare programme.
It became a haven for Senzo who now had a place to do homework, get a meal and become inspired by the pastors and social workers who he shares “breathed life” into the young people attending their talks.
Of how much MES changed his life, Senzo shares:
“I was a responsible man. I was loving like my heart was amazing but I was lost in a way. I was broken I was lonely I was everything and they just restored all of that. And they gave me hope. They made me love my country so much that whatever breaks my country should also break me. That changed my whole life because I started dreaming more.”
He became inspired to work for things, dream bigger and believe that he could achieve what he wanted, from small treasures like getting a driver’s license to studying further.
“Because I was able to be inspired to do all of that, I have an opportunity to do that for my young people. For the young generation and making them see what I had to see…change is not just change in a shop it’s not just change for a marketing word that people use but change is hope, and I am that hope.”
Today, he is working and studying and hopes to become a professional social worker so he can touch young lives the way his life was touched.
But, Senzo also has big dreams for change in our country.
As Shentél du Toit of MES adds,
“[Senzo] has a very strong stance on voting in South Africa, and how everyone should play their part. Senzo registered to vote for the first time this year.”
He has encouraged those in his sphere of influence to vote and use their power to do something for South Africa, knowing full well that the power of hope is alive as long as we believe in it.
As he puts it best:
“I hope every time I wake up in the morning and I get broken by someone sleeping on the street, I don’t just pass by. I say: “can’t I do something?” because that’s the only thing that will make a difference in this world and in this beautiful country.”
And voting IS doing something!
Watch Senzo’s Beautiful Message About ‘Being Hope’:
Sources: Shentél du Toit
Don’t ever miss the Good Things. Download the Good Things Guy App now on Apple or Google.
Do you have something to add to this story? Please share it in the comments or follow GoodThingsGuy on Facebook & Twitter to keep up to date with good news as it happens, or share your good news with us by clicking here or click the link below to listen to the Good Things Guy Podcast with Brent Lindeque – South Africa’s very own Good Things Guy. He’s on a mission to change what the world pays attention to, and he truly believes there’s good news around us. In the Good Things Guy podcast, you’ll meet these everyday heroes & hear their incredible stories:
Or watch an episode of Good Things TV below, a show created to offer South Africans balance in a world with what feels like constant bad news. We’re here to remind you that there are still so many good things happening in South Africa & we’ll leave you feeling a little more proudly South African.