Peer Educator of the Month: Sifiso Dlamini

Sifiso Dlamini is a Senior Peer Educator (Year 11) at Siqongweni Secondary School which is located near Pietermaritzburg. He is 20 years old. Sifiso is known in his school community for being a respectful, committed and hard working student.

Sifiso strongly believes that everyone has the power to change their own lives.  He knows many young people around him who have many challenges to overcome in their lives, but he always encourages them to work through their problems and strive for a better future. Sifiso loves the GOLD program because it equips him to instill this hope into all young people he comes across. He believes that GOLD is creating a generation of young leaders by helping youth create and achieve their life goals.

Sifiso’s school and community are located in a semi rural area.  He feels that absenteeism, teenage pregnancy, lack of tables and chairs, and a shortage of library materials are the biggest problems facing Siqongweni. As a GOLD peer educator Sifiso feels he is doing a great deal to address these problems.  Recently he ran a lesson delivery with other students at Siqongweni. The session was called “Why do we date sugar Daddies and Mamas?” In Sifiso’s community it is a common occurrence that younger girls will date older men who have money to provide the girls with things like mobile phones and nice clothes which are desirable for teenagers. This is one of the causes of teen pregnancy and contributes to the spread of HIV/AIDS. Sifiso felt that he was able to reach the students that attended the class, and he felt they really learned a great deal in the session.

Sifiso is a proud citizen of South Africa and sees much hope for the country’s future. Sifiso loves that South Africa is a rainbow nation which is a home to native South Africans, Indians, white people and all kinds of others. He would like all people who visit his country to appreciate its special qualities and unique history. He feels that if all the nation’s citizens are able to work together to address the challenges, the future will be bright.

The message that Sifiso would like to share with all young people of the world is that “there is no end to human potential, and we all have so much to learn!”