Books saved me from addiction: The pavement bookworm

Walk along the corner of Gleneagles Road in Greenside and you will see some of Johannesburg’s trendiest residents dining at some renowned restaurants or sharing a beer or two. However, when you look closely enough, you will see a well-dressed young man perhaps standing under a tree seeking a shade away from the blistering sun. The bustle figure will at all times be clutching a handful of books.

Philani Dladla (24) fondly known as the pavement bookworm is a beacon of hope in his community. He has lived in the streets but now holds motivational talks and inspires people to read.

He has since attracted attention near and far because of his unconventional methods of making money while living on the streets.

Dladla started reading when he was 12.

“A man my mother used to work for gave me a book. This was my first birthday gift ever. He said if I read the book and tell him what it was about he would buy me another one.

It was so difficult because, growing up in a rural area, I couldn’t even read. I had to spend more time learning how to read than being with friends.”

When Dladla went to high school, he became a delinquent.

“I was a bully at school. I was actually a good boy until I decided to be cool and joined the coolest crew in our school. I did everything I could to impress them.”

Being ‘cool’ resulted in Dladla’s expulsion from high school.

“My mother didn’t have much but she saved money to take me to a college so I can write my matric. But I did the same thing at that college and I couldn’t write.”

After his second expulsion, Dladla attempted suicide.

“No one wanted to be around me. I was stabbed and was hospitalised for two months. I hung myself when I was 17 and my brother cut the rope.”

Walls seemed to close in Dladla’s life and he opted to move to Johannesburg, which was accompanied by money and temptations.

“I started doing drugs with the little money I had. With time, I started using every penny I had on different kinds of drugs and I lost my accommodation and my job.”

With the future looking bleak, nowhere to go and no one to turn to, Dladla’s last hope was finding shelter on the street.

“I started living on the street. I would sleep anywhere as long there was some sort of roof. I would sleep under the bridge, next to shops… Living on the street made my drug use even worse. I would sleep anywhere and whatever money I got I would buy more drugs.”

Dladla lived on the street for about two years until books changed his life.

“When I moved to the streets I had a few books that I sold. People started giving me more books and I would do reviews on them and sell them to buy drugs. Some people started giving me self-help books that made me think more about my future.”

The self-help books helped Dladla begin the first phase of turning his life around.

At this time he was staying in an abandoned building in central Johannesburg, where he opened a soup kitchen to feed those around him.

Watch Dladla talk about his life in a video by Tebogo Malope.

After a few months, he started a reading club for pupils. And the income he made from selling and reviewing books went to those projects.

“People are helping me so I have to help others. Everyone must be able to read so we can build a better society.”

Dladla has also written a book titled Chronicles of the Pavement Bookworm which will be launched on World Book Day together with his upcoming foundation that will raise educational funds for pupils.

He has kicked his drug addiction and has found accommodation in central Johannesburg where he continues to inspire those around him.