Colani Mabaso

In high school I formed a group called ‘Black Street Boys’ with three of my friends and we were invited to sing at many functions.

In 2006 I joined Thembelathu as the drama team coordinator. We used performing arts in schools to teach life-skills and about HIV and AIDS.

In 2009 I went with the first team of Ambassadors to England. This was a great, BIG experience for me. We performed at 40 shows including schools, churches, and at festivals. We taught the English children about HIV and AIDS.

I was very surprised to see that in England, there was almost no AIDS and the children had never been affected by it, and I wondered why we had such a big problem in Nkomazi. It seemed to me, that their life-styles were more focused on getting ahead in life, whereas the youth here seem to be more interested in pleasure.

I organized many festivals here in Nkomazi such as ‘Wanna-be-Stars’ and I went around scouting for musical talent. We taught about HIV and AIDS during this time. In 2011 I joined Triad and we still continue to teach life-skills through the art of drama.

Am I very happy to see that the youth in Nkomazi are taking better control of their lives and are not messing around too much. Also the stigma of HIV has decreased so people are willing to test. I run a DJ business where I continue to show-case the local musical talent and give the youth a chance to pursue their music careers.

Working at Thembalethu changed my life and gave me a solid foundation to build on. Thanks Thambalethu – I’ll always be part of the family!