Reaching goals is the desired outcome of any achievement we strive for in various
aspects of our lives, whether academic or personal. Achieving goals usually requires much effort or sacrifices, but the benefits are endless.
Kelvin Leon Fynn grew up in Durban and lived in a block of flats with over 200 units. He said, “I befriended the outcasts and started to smoke weed with them, but I quickly surpassed them and started using drugs. I was only 13 years old at the time! I used drugs for almost the most significant part of my life – daily. On weekends, I went to Club Zoom, basically a club for young children, which started at half past ten at night and continued until six the following day. Our flat was in the city centre, and things happened there quickly. Drugs, alcohol, sex, and gangsterism were the order of the day, and I was part of that fast life. Those things were every day to me.
“By the age of 17, I was a gang member and had to draw blood to earn my status. My instruction was to stab a group of people, and I had to do it to survive. They told me it was now payback time, and I owed them. You can say I was a habitual criminal, but in the gangs, I had a rank. I was working at the harbour at one time. I impregnated my wife when I was only 17, and she was 15. I was in prison when she gave birth to my first child. We got married along the line, and I was also in prison when my second and third children were born. I was so far into drugs that I was not there for my wife or my children.
“Things started to change for me on Friday, the 13th of January, 2023. By then, I had suffered severe paranoia as I had not slept for a very long time. I started hitchhiking to KwaSizabantu in Kranskop as I thought it was just around the corner. When I saw the place, the beauty of it captivated me. The landscaping, neat gardens and houses, the rondavels – all looked well maintained. I felt so touched at the 10 O’clock church service but also confused. I could not believe these strangers could welcome me so openly and with love. I was not used to being loved so unconditionally. While at the service, I had tears in my eyes for the first time. I chose to stay here after I finished the CYPSA programme.
“The people at KwaSizabantu accepted me. They fed me good food, and I started to gain weight — I was so skinny most of my life because of the drugs. KwaSizabantu restored my dignity and that of my family. They are doing God’s work, and you can see it; everywhere you walk on KwaSizabantu soil, you can see God is at work here. I have a twinkle in my eye again and am happy for the first time.”
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Image credits: All pictures provided by KwaSizabantu
