PeacePlayers South Africa Storybook FINAL - Flipbook - Page 41
more traction. Menzi was developing a sense of belonging and loyalty to Playing for Peace
because of his impact, so much so that he began to store hoops at his mom's house. "Mom,
tomorrow morning they will pick them up," Menzi recalls telling his mom. Overnight, the
hoops the staff was renting for clinics couldn't stay on the courts, so someone had to make a
plan.
Over time, Menzi started to realise that participants were looking at him as a role model.
He viewed himself as an ordinary guy, but the participants didn't. Menzi remembers when
one participant said, "I want to be like you." Menzi asked, "Why?" - the kid responded - "you
are the easiest to talk to, and I wish I could have an older brother like you." This moment
was the first time a participant made Menzi cry. After that, the kids saw a mentor in Menzi,
and his friends saw him transform. Parents, grandmothers, and kids began coming up to
him to tell him he was doing great things.
Menzi's involvement with Playing for Peace led to many tears derived from positive
moments. The second time he recalls getting teary-eyed was when his LDP team took a trip
to a nursing home. "The older kids were tasked with creating activities that would prepare
them for adulthood and teach them how to be responsible. So, my team in Umlazi decided
to visit a nursing home to see what advice the older generation would give." Menzi says. As
two young LDP participants' conversation evolved with an older lady, they began to
pamper her and do her nails. Once Menzi noticed Gogo crying and asked, "Why" - she
responded - "I wish my kids would do this for me. These kids see me as a human being, not
just an old person." Menzi recalls the LDP participants saying, "older people are not just
regular people, but a tree of knowledge." Every time Menzi goes past the home, he thinks
about that moment.
When asked how Menzi's Playing for Peace days help him in his current work as a senior
technician, Menzi said: "Don't ever judge a book by its cover. Instead, give people time to say
who they are and get to know them. Growing up, I was given rules that you don't talk to
people you don't know, let alone people who don't look like you. So, I had to learn to talk to
people and express myself positively."
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