The young leader among us

Local youth, Wandile Billings, wants you to know that you are more powerful than you can imagine.

He shares with us why he thinks we are all better people than we may think and what he has learned about himself from his own experiences.

Here is what he had to say:

I want you to know that we all have something amazing to offer and we can make this world the place we want it to be. It all starts with making the hard choices.

At 14 years old I took a hard look at my life after I was offered the opportunity to move away from my family. Along with the allure of fake power, bad influences, and false applause to find myself out of my comfort zone in an effort to become a true leader who would influence the growth of those around me in many different ways.

At this point I stood at a crossroads, my gang encouraged me not to care about anyone but myself, to be irresponsible, and take anything I want by force. But a woman I met spoke different words into my head. She offered me a life built on hope, not destruction. The youth she empowered were telling me to choose responsibility and service. Not to be sold lies but to face life honestly.

I’m grateful that I chose to take the narrow road of discipline and accountability and to move out of Eldorado Park into Northcliff and enter Roosevelt High School where five years later I became deputy head boy.

After I finished school in 2021, having built myself academically as well as on the sports field, spiritually and emotionally, I took the next step on the growing champions pathway, where I chose to lead change in a place where I had felt pain in life.

When you know the pain, you learn what the antidote for it is and you can become the healing balm so as to not let all that pain just take from you. Being in a community where there is so much violence, children are often not seen and not given the love they need so they feel invisible and unsafe as their basic need for food is not met.

Since 2022, my team and I have set out to change that for the kids of Kliptown. We run the Growing Champions Community Kitchen in co-operation with the local community directed by Peter Billings. We feed the little tummies of the kids. We also help paint their crèche, making it look and feel like home for the kids. We work tirelessly to get sponsorship to help with books, toys, food, and anything they are in need of at any given time. We notice, we care, and we make sure they feel the love.

Our community kitchen allows volunteers from all walks of life to come together to give to those less fortunate. It’s so amazing to see how many people come and give up their time to help others in need and stand together even though we don’t know each other. It’s one beautiful sight. We became an instant blended family where a unique touch of each person touches the lives of the kids and adds light into the lives of others and most definitely mine too.

The biggest blessing, I take from doing this is the way the kids express their gratitude. Even though I should be the one doing the giving I have received so much more from their warm smiles that just brightens the world.

I thank all those who have come forward to serve and all of you who will in the future. You are welcome to join my team and me as we change the lives of others and give back in any kind of way.

As Mahatma Ghanaian said, ‘The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.’ God bless.