by Buziwe Nocuze
CAPE TOWN, May 9 (Xinhua) -- It was a quarter loaf of bread filled with ingredients that brought robbers and drug users to the right path in Khayelitsha, a large township in South Africa's Cape Town.
Like some of his young fellows living in the area reserved for non-white people during the apartheid era, 29-year-old Daluxolo Nkonyana used to rob people to get money for drugs.
Due to the high unemployment rate in the local community, their living condition was difficult. Under the influence of others in the community, they started smoking cigarettes, exploring dagga and eventually getting addicted to drugs, which exacerbated crimes.
Nkonyana, fortunately, had a chance to break the cycle of crime. Last year ex-convict Loyiso Basso gave him a job at his Kota shop in Khayelitsha, which he opened in 2017. This South African street food popular in townships is made with a quarter loaf of bread filled with chips, sausages, sauces and other ingredients.
"Selling Kota is the best decision after so many failed attempts, and the community has been supporting my business. They love what I am selling," said Basso.
The 33-year-old was arrested in 2006 for attempted murder and possession of an illegal firearm. He spent eight months in prison but continued doing the same thing until he decided to stop doing the crime. However, having a criminal record made him struggle to get employment as no one wanted to hire him. So he had no other option than to start his own business.
"I decided to leave a crime life because I could see that I would get killed one day. So I had to change my ways and stop abusing my community," said Bosso.
He did cleaning work for the community to gain a living and the trust of community members before opening a restaurant. He had to work extra hard to convince others that he had stopped committing crimes, as he had been a troubled person for a very long time.
His restaurant was not successful and was forced to close down, however, the Kota business thrived with between 35 to 50 kotas being sold per day.
Bosso currently hires two people, including Nkonyana and another ex-criminal Siphelele Dikwana. He believes that if there are role models in their township, it would not be easy for young people to become criminals.
"I know that when you are not working and have too much free time on your hands, it is easy to commit the crime. Hence, I opted to employ people standing at the corner of a street robbing people of their belonging and hard-earned cash," Bosso said.
It was due to this small business that the two young employees' life changed. The 24-year-old Dikwana had never thought of going back to school until he met Bosso, who advised him to continue studying and help other young people change their lives in the future.
Dikwana had applied for an electrical engineering course and would work on weekends while attending school on weekdays. "Had I stayed far away from drugs I would be a professor somewhere. But it is not too late, I am changing my life," he said. ■
