Growing up in Venda, I did almost everything a rural kid would do. We had a mud house and you could see the poverty; it was there. You know, a simple thing like bread was very scarce, so you would only get to enjoy a loaf of bread once or twice a year. You would survive on pap and morogo and cabbage.

So you grow up without anything; we could not afford toys to play with. If you played soccer, you played with your bare feet as we could not afford soccer boots. I would even go to school barefoot during the winter. But back then we thought that was a normal life. Most of the things we experienced were things that other families experienced. We didn't care much about it then, but when you look back you realise a lot of things were a challenge.

In school, we didn't get treated the same as someone who was from a family that was better off. I remember my three best friends, we all shared the name Lufuno. They were not beaten or sent to the principal's office. But others like me, they were beaten and even made to do manual work like scrubbing the floors or watering the garden. It is what inspired me to become involved in community debates.

When I was in standard six, I realised that we were not being treated well by the teachers; sometimes they would just skip a class and sit outside. I organised a strike that lasted the whole week.