A beacon of hope in the form of Sandile

Sandile Mkhize (34) is best defined as humbly hopeful but still realising that life has ups and downs. Sandile has been focused on finding himself again after a tragic motorbike accident 10 years ago, while also bringing hope to individuals who are struggling with an incident in their lives.

Sandile grew up in Soweto. “We moved here [to Florida] after I finished primary school. From what I recall, we had already been here for about a year, and I went to Westridge High School, which is just up the road,” Sandile explained.

“I matriculated in 2007 and then pursued studies in computer sciences. I dropped out because I didn’t think it was my thing. Then I entered the entertainment industry and was involved in an accident. And now I’m back as a software engineer. So it’s all come full circle.”

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His passion for learning doesn’t stop there. He is working on his honour’s degree in business management while also learning to become a drone pilot.

This year marked the 10th anniversary of Sandile’s motorbike accident, and he took the opportunity to reflect on the time that had passed. “I was in a motorbike accident in January 2013. After that, I spent nearly two years in and out of hospitals and rehabilitation centres. And then, obviously, I returned home to rebuild and restart my life, and I’ve been living at home with mum since about the beginning of 2016, trying to make things work. I returned to school and completed my finance degree. Now this year I’m pursuing an honour’s degree in business management.”
He added that he wouldn’t have been able to do it without the support from his family and friends who ‘would not allow me to slip too deep into my own head’.

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Sandile got involved in the Wings for Life World Run in 2016. “At the time, I was seeing my occupational therapist. And, as you might expect, it’s been a few years since the accident. I’m still figuring out my identity, but I’ve been very sheltered and cocooned; I was very much in a bad space; didn’t want to be out in public. And then my occupational therapist just told me that there’s this race coming up and I should check it out,” he explained, adding that when he found out what it was about, he realised that there would be a lot of wheelchair users at the race.

“I told myself it wouldn’t be that terrible. I’m not going to stick out like a sore thumb. So, yeah, I ran the first race in 2016 and had a great time. I met some truly remarkable people. The atmosphere was incredible. Since then, I’ve done it every year.”

Sandile recalls that in 2017, they decided that the race was not difficult enough. “We had a team of 20 people. From Cape Town to Johannesburg, we ran and cycled for 10 days. And on the last day, we ended up perfectly timed with the start time of the Wings for Life World Run, which is pretty much the craziest thing I’ve done with that race.”

He also noted that while not strictly on a professional level, public speaking is something he’d like to take more seriously.

“Basically, I share my own story, but my themes in my talks are generally just about reinventing yourself and bouncing back from setbacks. And I’ve attempted to piece together what I’ve learnt over the years.”

This year, Sandile has been asked to kick off the Wings for Life World Run in Ruimsig. “Okay, so that’s going to be pretty cool; it’s just pure coincidence and serendipity that it’s the race’s 10th anniversary, but it’s also 10 years since my accident. So that synergy came together fairly nicely.”