Gone too soon: A tribute to Lwazi Matoni

Ukuthasa began implementing the GOLD Peer Education Programme at Simanyene Secondary School in 2009. We launched the programme by recruiting 30 Junior Peer Educators. This year, 22 of the original 30 completed their third year with the programme and graduated as successful Mentor Peer Educators. Lwazi Matoni was one of the 22 and would have received his certificate at the year-end school assembly had he not been brutally murdered.

On Sunday, 30th October 2011, a gang of intruders entered the home of 17 year-old Lwazi and his family. He was attacked in front of his family and died as a result of his stab wounds soon afterwards. Unfortunately, this is a tragic reality of life in the poorer communities of South Africa.
At his memorial service, his teacher said that the Peer Education Programme had really helped Lwazi. He had struggled with behavioural problems and the programme had helped him to re-evaluate his life and to make some informed decisions about his behaviour and the people he chose to spend time with. Lwazi was dedicated to the programme and regularly attended the training sessions and Ukuthasa events such as: camps, workshops, community events and interventions.
In September, we had asked him to write a success story about himself or one of the young people he had mentored through the programme whose life he had been able to influence in a positive way. He told a story about a four year-old little boy whom he had found lost and confused. He had rescued the little boy and taken him to the local Police Station. Two days later, the little boy’s parents came to visit Lwazi, to thank him personally for rescuing their son. He titled the story: ‘The day I did Big Help.’

The Ukuthasa team attended the memorial service and paid tribute to Lwazi, explaining how he had chosen to change his life; to turn away from gang membership and make a difference in his community by mentoring younger teenagers and contributing to his local community. The team presented Lwazi’s mother with his graduation certificate and Big Help story. “He will be greatly missed and we are all still desperately sad at the terrible waste of a young life that had such potential and promise.” said Charmaine Etson, Project Manager, Ukuthasa Peer Education Programme.