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SUCCESS STORIES World Changers Academy has helped to change thousands of lives in small and big ways. Below are just some of the lives that have been changed. Also see the quotations of some World Changers' students (click here) Vusi Kweyama - KwaNyuswa Vusi joined the first life skills course in August 2002, only two weeks after being released from prison. He had been in and out of prison more times than he could remember. Vusi was involved in the 26 prison gang and was a hardened criminal. One of his original intentions of doing the life skills course was to find a way of stealing the computers that were at the centre. Instead, he was so impacted by the teachings that he turned life completely around. Shortly after the course finished, Vusi started to coach
children in soccer and to teach them life skills. He also drew together a
number of his criminal friends to teach them life skills as well. As a re Shortly after he finished this course, he was asked to take over the KwaNyuswa training centre in July 2003. He has been running the centre ever since and has built up a team of about 10 workers (half are full-time) to run the activities of the centre, which include the life skills and computer training courses which were going prior to his involvement. However, he, along with his volunteers, have also started a number of other initiatives, including sports, drama and arts programmes, a community library, a regular bible study group, and several businesses, including a car wash (that employed 4 people for several years until it closed down) and a tourism company, VukAfrica Tours, which takes local and overseas tourists around the area. Vusi also does a lot of work in prisons and oversees an offender rehabilitation programme, which involves a partnership with the Pinetown Magistrates Court. Vusi has trained hundreds of people from the community and has impacted thousands of lives through teaching at many locations around Durban and through coordinating World Changers' radio programmes in May-June 2005. Click here to see a Sunday Tribune article about Vusi. Msizi Gumede - KwaNyuswa Msizi, like Vusi who is a very good friend of his, joined the first life skills course in KwaNyuswa in August 2002. Msizi was a drug dealer in the area until his life was changed through World Changers. Msizi was also chosen to do the first leadership course in March 2003 and was chosen as the Best Overall Student among the 25 students. Afterwards, he was selected by Youth With A Mission (YWAM) Belfast to do a 10-month Discipleship Training School (DTS) in Belfast, UK. He was selected because of his maturity and quality of character. After returning, he rejoined World Changers and at the beginning of 2005 he took the post of coordinating all life skills for World Changers. Later, he took over as the chief adminstrator of WCA, a precursor to the current post of Operations Manager. Currently, he is the Programmes Manager/HR Manager, and is part of the executive team of the organization of three members, which also includes the operations manager and the executive director. Msizi has come a long way from dealing drugs on the streets to now dealing a different drug - one with a message of hope, selfless service, and people empowerment - to thousands of young people. Mlungisi Hlongwane - Hammarsdale Mlungisi did the first World Changers leadership course in March 2003. Straight after the course, he was selected by Capacity to work at Rainbow Chicken in Hammarsdale. Within a short period of time, he was managing 100 people. Most of his workers were much older than him and questioned at first whether he could do the job effectively. However, he soon gained a good reputation and became a model to the employees and other managers. Mlungisi had no work experience before he took this job. Nombuso Dimba - Clermont/KwaNyuswa Nombuso did the first leadership course in
March 2003. Since then, many doors have opened for her. She did a
one year YWAM programme with Msizi in Belfast (see above) in 2003-2004.
Afterwards, she rejoined World Changers to coordinate the high school leadership
programmes. She has trained Patrick Msani - Mtwalume (Port Shepstone) Patrick was selected for the first World Changers leadership course in March 2003. He had been running a community youth organisation called Umsanzi. For his leadership course outreach, Patrick decided to run a mini-leadership course for the members of his organisation. Patrick has also endeavored to be a person of integrity in a world that often lacks it - politics. He has been the Vice-Chairperson of the ANC in his ward and has recently served as the Chairman of the ANC Youth League for his entire region. One day he hopes to serve as a political representative in Parliament or the local council. He served WCA for about 1 1/2 years between late 2005 and early 2007, first as overall life skills coordinator and then later as Chief Operations Officer. Currently, he is the youth development manager for the Umzumbe municipality on the South Coast. He has helped open the doors for World Changers to expand significantly into the KZN South Coast region, in partnership with the Ugu District Municipality (local government). Page last updated on 23 October 2008 |
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of his work, World Changers selected him to be a part of the first leadership
course in March 2003. 
well over 500 students through 7 seven-day leadership programmes. She has also
coordinated the marketing for two conferences for principals and senior
teachers. Additionally, she had the opportunity to travel to Australia as
an ambassador for World Changers and to solidify more WCA's partnership with The
Oaktree Foundation. Nombuso started and finished a degree in social work
through UNISA while working full-time with World Changers. She now works
with another organisation that World Changers partners with, Makaphuthu
Children's Home, as a social worker. However, she still feels very much a
part of the World Changers family.