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THE JOURNEY OF A THOUSAND MILES BEGINS WITH ONE STEP Realising that life itself is a discoveration of the unknown…From the time I was born, through all of my days, trying to catch my breath , out of the womb and into the flames searching for the neon path, one foot in the shadows, one foot on the breaks, one foot towards the gallows where its quiet and safe. With each step that I take, I don’t know if my foot will land perfectly or I will stumble and fail or twist and break my ankle. I hail from the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. I grew up below the poverty line, in the dusty streets of the Eastern Cape. I thought I’d seen it all until I relocated to Johannesburg’s Alexandra Township in South Africa. Alexandra is commonly known for its overcrowded single-room shacks, extreme poverty, high rate of unemployment, shocking living conditions, high level of AIDS infection and crime. Most young people in Alexandra are vulnerable. Children do not have access to adequate sanitation, they live in households where no adult is employed and overcrowding makes them vulnerable to diseases, abuse, crime, violating their right to safety. These conditions have affected them in many ways. Some of them have real anger issues; they find it difficult to trust people within their community. Working with young people in Alexandra, I have been able to build a supportive relationship with many young people, which has led them to open up to me about the challenges they are facing. In me they have someone they can share their stories with. Being able to see Alexandra in a positive way through their eyes shows me these children are not going to let challenges stand in their way. There is much more hope for the future. Even in the face of extreme poverty, the children are smiling, laughing, and living a life filled with the profound joy that they experience. Coming from the same disadvantage as they do, I have been personally transformed by gathering the stories of childhood and youth in Alexandra. What inspires and motivates me is the development that I observe in them. I believe in giving back and helping out in the community, I believe that the measure of a person’s life is the effect they have on others.