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Aged 20, Grade 10
J
abulani’s 30m2 family home in Duncan Village in the Eastern Cape has two rooms painted green. The first is just big enough to fit his mom’s prized floral couch, along with a cabinet, stovetop and fridge. In the second, he shares a single bed with his 16-year-old brother, Siya; his mother and youngest brother, Thando, sleep in the double bed just next to them – the one his mom and dad used to share.
For weeks following their father’s death, a much younger Jabulani and his brothers would climb into the bed with their mom at night – their small bodies filling the space where their dad used to lie. Jabulani was eight when their dad died. His dad finished school in 2001, not long before Jabulani was born. He then worked as a shelf-packer, and later as a cashier at Shoprite. Jabulani remembers his dad always teaching him something new: about how rain was made, or South Africa’s Struggle Heroes, or how to signal a taxi. At night, his dad would tell him stories, or they would read together from Jabulani’s schoolbooks. Jabulani’s father always said that Jabulani would be the first in his family to go to university. With an education, he believed his son could do anything. Losing his dad was heartbreaking for Jabulani. It also meant his family struggled financially. As Siya and Thando were still young, his mom couldn’t leave home to look for work. Jabulani often felt sad and anxious, and started falling behind in his classwork. He failed Grades 3 and 4. Jabulani remembers the shame and sadness of watching his friends progress to the next grade, while he was left behind. But he kept going, hoping to make life easier for his mom and his siblings, and to make his dad proud.
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