THE SUBLIME INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION

Gugulethu Banda

Director

Born and raised in Durban, I watched my family constantly changing as I grew older; from having two parents and two siblings (my sister and my late brother) to being raised by a single parent. My mother struggled and tried her best to give the best possible education, while teaching us to love, care for, and respect other people. When I was in high school I was given an opportunity to represent my school in one of the youth camps, hosted by the Durban Youth Interaction Committee (DYIC), which I am proud to say I became the president of six months after joining.

This exposure led to a great level of “acquired” self-confidence. I was no longer just an ordinary child who lived in a township; I was leading DYIC. I got involved in charity work, visited children's’ wards in hospitals, and went to old age homes. As much as these activities sound simple, they changed my life. I didn’t loiter the streets after school or during holidays; I always had something to do with my life. I never looked back. After I matriculated, I went on to study law, and later moved to the United States, and “God, was I blown away”!

I started drawing parallels between the lifestyles of our country and those of the United States. I drew even more parallels from people I grew up with and myself. What I realized was that we all have our wishes and dreams, and in most cases, they are all similar. The exposure that people get, however, makes them what they become. I also noticed that our youth needs to embark on activities in order to keep themselves from becoming victims of circumstance. It is also clear that resources that SA has can become useful if the youth can be exposed to them.

"With the right motivation from one young person to another, South Africa can become nothing short of a great nation."

Miss Maseko

Director

I was born and raised by parents who came from two different backgrounds. My father is from a township, in Gauteng, where I spent a good few years of my early childhood, whereas my mother is from a rural village in the northwest province of South Africa. They settled in a village pretty much between where they were both raised, and as a result my sisters and I were exposed to both the rural and urban way of life.

It is clear that the exposure in rural or local to urban or city has a vastly different effect on a person. I was fortunate enough to attend a few years of school in the local public school, but had to move on to continue the rest of my schooling in the city, where I graduated. The year after my grade 12 graduation my father suffered a cardiac arrest. After the ordeal I was the only person available to give him home assisted living until he got back on his feet. The following year I left the country in an attempt to study abroad. My parents couldn’t afford it, but I had to do whatever it took to see myself learning something constructive in a different country.

Fortunately I landed in the USA, specifically New Jersey, where I was offered the opportunity to audit a couple of courses on Broadway musicals at Princeton University. The following year I was accepted to pursue a nursing major at Mercer County Community college, also in New Jersey. Living, studying, and working in a different country gave me an opportunity to objectively look closely at the educational, social and economical situations concerning the youth in our country. I was able for the first time, to appreciate a lot of things about South Africa, and reflect upon what I could do to contribute, making SA a home for so many youth finding themselves in despair due to their circumstances.

I made a decision not to live just for myself, but to share what I have to offer and what I have learned, experienced, and lived with others. Now, more than any other time in my life, I feel a need to give back to those that are willing to receive. In this way, I hope to touch or encourage a soul to reach for higher and better things in life. I am not going to South Africa to try and save the world; I am going to do my part to contribute the best way I know how.

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