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LIFE BEGINS AT 50!
Self-discipline, drive, dedication, perseverance and having a dream can take you a long way. Against all odds, John Mathebula, a 50 year old photographer and a communications intern of the Bekkersdal Renewal Project, has made it. He made a point of taking the first step instead of waiting for someone else to come up with a plan for him.
He was born in 1958 at Hekcotospruit, a small village in Mpumalanga. He is the first born of the late Ms Sarah Sengwane, and Mr July Mathebula. Mathebula did not get much schooling, he dropped out in grade 5 due to his parents' separation. He started working at an early age because he had to take care of his mother and his siblings.
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John Mathebula, the Bekkersdal Renewal Projects 50 year old intern |
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Mathebula worked at various places, including a farm, a florist shop, a sugar factory, and a few gold mines. He discovered his life dream in 1987 in photography and he immediately began capturing photos of people and anything else that fascinated him. He fell in love with the camera and decided to take a course in photography from 2000 to 2002. His career really took off when he was hired as a photographer for the Bekkies community newsletter.
John Mathebula does not have time for prophecies of doom. The word ‘cant’ does not form part of his vocabulary. He believes in the theory that everyone has to change their own lives, to keep going and to do something constructive each day.
Seyoni, as he is affectionately called, was appointed on 1 July 2008 as a communication intern in the Bekkersdal Renewal Project. His next goal is to learn how to use a computer and also to study Adult Based Education and Training (ABET). His secret to success is taking a dream and breaking it up into smaller, manageable goals, and rewarding himself when he achieves each little goal.
Despite the fact that he didn't have a permanent job, Mathebula made a commitment to change and to break the habit of focusing on the bad. His main aim is to be living proof that, regardless of any situation you may have gone through in your life, you can still make it.
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