Every Bead Holds a Story
There are some children who grow up knowing exactly where home is. I wasn't one of them. My name is Nomhlekazi Valentine Dube , and for much of my childhood, home was something that kept changing. I moved between families, carrying my belongings from one place to another, never knowing what it felt like to grow up with both of my parents under the same roof. Like many children, I longed for the simple things—a mother's embrace, a father's guidance, the certainty that someone would always be there. That certainty never came. There were days when loneliness felt louder than hope. School became one of the few places where life felt steady, but even there I struggled. I was grateful for the opportunity to learn, yet I didn't achieve the results I had dreamed of. For a while, it felt as though the future I imagined was slipping further away. Then I made a decision that would quietly change my life. If I couldn't change where I had come from, I could decide what I would...