Equip African Teens to Succeed

Banolo is a soft-spoken 21-year-old who has been an Infinite Family Net Buddy for 7 years. He is the sole surviving member of his family, so he lives in a group home on the outskirts of Johannesburg. The thought of graduating high school and going to university never crossed his mind. But that changed when he met Jennifer, his Video Mentor, and his ideas about what might be possible for him changed.

Jennifer and Banolo spent most their time together talking about school especially when Banolo found out he needed to repeat a grade. “I felt like this was the end of everything. I felt like I had to stop everything,” he says. Jennifer thought differently. “She motivated me, and told me why I needed to stay in school rather than drop out.” Banolo took his Video Mentor’s words to heart, so much so that at the end of the grade he repeated, a challenging one for him, he earned an award in history. “I have Jennifer to thank,” he says. “She told me not to give up.”
 
Banolo also went on to be elected to the school’s Learners Representative Council. “When one of the kids doesn’t like something, I talk on their behalf,” he explains. He also got a part-time job at a logistics company, further honing his leadership skills. Now, Jennifer is helping him research universities that will enable him to pursue a career in logistics. “Through Infinite Family, I met people who care about me and my life. They allowed me to have hope.”

Banolo would have given up and dropped out of school – instead of becoming a student leader - without the weekly encouragement of his international Video Mentor. Your generous support made this possible! Thank you for making it a priority to help South African teens overcome life’s obstacles and build a better life for themselves. Infinite Family Net Buddies don’t just dream of a better future; they achieve one because of you.