I live in Soweto and attend Anchor Secondary School. I live with my grandmother and two cousins. Life hasn’t been easy, there’s not much for young people to do after school and most of the time, we just hang out on the streets. That’s where I started feeling pressured to do what everyone else was doing. My friends started drinking on weekends and said it made them “forget their problems.” I didn’t want to be left out, so I joined them.

When Altus Sport started the programme at our school in January, I only joined because I liked soccer. But I realised it was much more than that. We learnt about respect, fair play and taking care of our bodies. During one session, our Youth Sport Leader, Tshepiso spoke about underage drinking and decision-making. She said, “Your choices today shape your tomorrow.” That really hit me. I started thinking about how much time I was wasting, and how I was copying others instead of building my own future.

Now, I play sport almost every day after school and help with the younger learners during activities. I’ve stopped hanging around the wrong crowd. The biggest change for me is that I have learned self-respect. I can say no when I need to and I don’t feel bad about it. I’ve realised that true confidence is not about being popular; it’s about knowing who you are and making choices that help you grow.