HE recently disclosed that his mother is a person living with HIV in a newspaper interview that gave an insightful description of his life before he became a superstar.
HE recently disclosed that his mother is a person living with HIV in a newspaper interview that gave an insightful description of his life before he became a superstar.
As a young boy he was sent from pillar to post because his family was poor and homeless. He depended almost entirely on his mother's love. After all she did not have much else to offer.
Along the way, in his young, explorative and hopeless life, a couple of angels came along in an attempt to rescue the uneventful life of a gifted black child.
Some fell along the way, others did not have the necessary patience, tolerance and unconditional love to run the whole treacherous race.
His childhood was synonymous with abuse and pain and confusion and unwantedness. He was ill-treated by family and the community and he was considered to be an illegitimate child who would end up as a nonentity.
Perhaps this in-depth description of the unfavourable circumstances under which the revered and most popular football player in the country today, Tsholofelo Teko Modise, grew up is nothing new to you.
I am certain you have seen worse and heard of more gruesome outcomes to such an unbecoming upbringing.
So it is not the tragedy of our future that our young people are having to spend days and nights not knowing where their next meal is coming from? Is it not scandalous that children travel for kilometres on the side of their unpolished and battered shoes because there are no schools within their vicinity? Is it not shamefully unforgivable that children die because their parents cannot afford treatment in an enabling and healthy environment?
I have more respect for this highly talented Orlando Pirates and Bafana Bafana midfield genius than I had before. Not because he had the courage to publicly disclose his mother's health status but, more importantly, because he has literally risen from the dead. Like a true champion it did not matter how many times he fell. He beat the damning count every time, without fail.
As you read this column, think of any young person's life that is on the brink of condemnation and subsequent collapse.
Spare a thought for that young soul that is on the verge of drug addiction, think seriously about the leftovers that are thrown away at restaurants and save them for a povertystricken child.
I am passionate about the welfare and wellbeing of young people. This is precisely why Teko's life story has touched my infected soul because I have seen many promising young ones turned into brutal murderers, rapists, addicts and statistics of absolute failure.
Teko is a living icon showing that poverty and deprivation should be a driving force and an eternal motivation towards bettering one's life and, of course, the lives of those who might be less privileged than ourselves.
Hail King Teko, I am truly inspired and I sincerely hope that other youngsters can learn from your background and your ultimate success.
God bless you, my young brother.
hail King Teko for beating the odds
HE recently disclosed that his mother is a person living with HIV in a newspaper interview that gave an insightful description of his life before he became a superstar.
HE recently disclosed that his mother is a person living with HIV in a newspaper interview that gave an insightful description of his life before he became a superstar.
As a young boy he was sent from pillar to post because his family was poor and homeless. He depended almost entirely on his mother's love. After all she did not have much else to offer.
Along the way, in his young, explorative and hopeless life, a couple of angels came along in an attempt to rescue the uneventful life of a gifted black child.
Some fell along the way, others did not have the necessary patience, tolerance and unconditional love to run the whole treacherous race.
His childhood was synonymous with abuse and pain and confusion and unwantedness. He was ill-treated by family and the community and he was considered to be an illegitimate child who would end up as a nonentity.
Perhaps this in-depth description of the unfavourable circumstances under which the revered and most popular football player in the country today, Tsholofelo Teko Modise, grew up is nothing new to you.
I am certain you have seen worse and heard of more gruesome outcomes to such an unbecoming upbringing.
So it is not the tragedy of our future that our young people are having to spend days and nights not knowing where their next meal is coming from? Is it not scandalous that children travel for kilometres on the side of their unpolished and battered shoes because there are no schools within their vicinity? Is it not shamefully unforgivable that children die because their parents cannot afford treatment in an enabling and healthy environment?
I have more respect for this highly talented Orlando Pirates and Bafana Bafana midfield genius than I had before. Not because he had the courage to publicly disclose his mother's health status but, more importantly, because he has literally risen from the dead. Like a true champion it did not matter how many times he fell. He beat the damning count every time, without fail.
As you read this column, think of any young person's life that is on the brink of condemnation and subsequent collapse.
Spare a thought for that young soul that is on the verge of drug addiction, think seriously about the leftovers that are thrown away at restaurants and save them for a povertystricken child.
I am passionate about the welfare and wellbeing of young people. This is precisely why Teko's life story has touched my infected soul because I have seen many promising young ones turned into brutal murderers, rapists, addicts and statistics of absolute failure.
Teko is a living icon showing that poverty and deprivation should be a driving force and an eternal motivation towards bettering one's life and, of course, the lives of those who might be less privileged than ourselves.
Hail King Teko, I am truly inspired and I sincerely hope that other youngsters can learn from your background and your ultimate success.
God bless you, my young brother.