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360º PERSPECTIVES | ISSUE 7 | 2020/2021
Achieving his academic goal » Youngsters growing up on the Cape Flats are no strangers to adversity as violence, gangsterism and drugs, among other social ills, are rife in the area.
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WENTY-TWO-YEAR-OLD RENALDO LEANER,
who hails from Elsies River, has had to keep his wits about him to ensure that he did not become another statistic of youth succumbing to the pressures of his surroundings. “Growing up, I was naughty and would chill with my friends and smoke but I was never part of any gang. I distanced myself from anything that I felt was not good and my parents were also very strict.
“Most of the time, it’s difficult when people ask me whether I am really from Elsies River,” he says. “It’s not easy; there’s a lot of gangsterism. I remember times when I could not go to training because shootings were taking place in my area.” Leaner resisted negative peer pressure by finding refuge in football, following in the footsteps of many of South Africa’s greatest footballers who grew up in similar Cape Flats neighbourhoods. He says that their achievements showed that diamonds can be found, polished and made to shine even in the toughest, most dangerous fields. “The football bug bit me at a young age and the funny thing is that in my street, I was the
