Set alight by jealous classmates, Qaphela Gobodo’s promising rugby career and life were put on hold so he could recover, but he is now ready to rise above it all.
Cape Town, South Africa – Qaphela Gobodo was in Grade 8 at Bergrivier High School in Wellington when he earned a rugby scholarship for a prestigious school in Pretoria. He was a rising star and had a promising career ahead of him.
Then one horrifying day, he was attacked and set alight, left to burn alive. At the age of 15, his life was entirely changed by a group of jealous classmates. Qaphela faced the hardest time in his life, his body was recovering from painful burns, he was mercilessly bullied at school, and his dream of becoming a Springbok drifted away. He underwent twenty surgeries to repair the damage of the third-degree burns he sustained.
Qaphela couldn’t handle the bullying, so he dropped out. We first heard Qaphela’s story when Nthabeleng Likotsi Tweeted about him. She hoped to help him get back on his feet. Her main focus being, to get him back into school.
He is now 18-years-old, and as much as Nthabeleng tried, schools refused to admit him as he was too old. She never gave up and was happy to announce in August that they managed to register him for his Grade 9 certificate at an online school for 2020.
We have great news to report 🙏🏾🙏🏾
We have successfully registered Qaphela Gobodo to continue his Grade 9, we will support him for as long as God enables us, the story of his classmates burning him because of jealousy could not be the end when we his brothers & sisters are here pic.twitter.com/Cj9t8BPvc8
— Nthabeleng Likotsi (@MissNthabeleng) August 7, 2019
Qaphela was also blessed by a major sponsor of the 2019 Rugby World Cup. He has left his home province for the first time to watch the semi-finals between New Zealand and England, and South Africa and Wales.
HEINEKEN South Africa came to know of the young man’s plight from social media, where a good Samaritan Ms Nthabeleng Likotsi was raising awareness about his story and lobbying for donations to make “a rugby-related dream” come true.
“Qaphela’s story really inspired us; this young man has experienced much adversity, but refuses to give up or let his circumstances get him down,” says Millicent Maroga, Corporate Affairs Director at HEINEKEN SA.
“He might not be on the field in this Rugby World Cup, but we hope the opportunity to watch his rugby heroes battle it out on the sport’s biggest stage will inspire him to have the courage to pursue his ambitions,” says Maroga.
Qaphela will watch the semi-finals where the strong Springboks take on Wales and the epic battle between New Zealand and England.
While his whole life was changed by a few jealous people, it is on the right pathway now, thanks to so many more good people. Much like a Pheonix, Qaphela is rising from the ashes and is inspiring people with his bravery and heart.
His dreams are not over, watch this space, given the chance we know Qaphela will go on to do extraordinary things!
“Sometimes we feel overlooked, undervalued, forgotten. These times of isolation, where you’re not being celebrated, are extremely valuable. Nothing is changing on the outside, but something is happening on the inside. Your character is being developed. You’re learning to not depend on people. You’re gaining experience, maturity, strength that you’ll need to go where God is taking you.” – Qaphela Gobodo
You can follow his inspiring journey via his Facebook page here.
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