Siphelele Nketo

LEAVING school at the tender age of 13 to respond to an ancestral calling turned out to be the worst decision for an Umzimkhulu teenager. Alungile Radebe (18), of the rural village of Kokshil, said that accepting an ancestral calling to become a traditional healer brought her nothing except pain and loss.

She said her dreams to become a news reader on radio were shattered the day circumstances forced her to drop out from Grade 8 to pursue a journey towards spiritual healing. She said, at the time, she was sick. 

“I was sick, and at age 13 I was told to undergo a formal training process to become a sangoma. I completed the training when I was 16 years old, and a traditional ceremony was conducted,” she said. She added that another decision to return to school at age 16, to pursue Grade 8, brought on more pain of abuse and bullying from school. 

She was called names until she ended up dropping out.

She described her life at the training to become a sangoma as the most painful, claiming that she was beaten, tortured and sometimes forced to sleep outside.

She said she recovered after she returned home. In January this year, she said she registered a cleaning company called Radis Traditional Project and Trading to make a living.

The company is responsible for cleaning yards at events, homes, offices and driveways, and also does painting.

“My intention is to grow the company to employ more people and also offer a variety of training courses to unemployed youths,” she said.

To fulfil her ambitions, she needs cleaning material and equipment support.

To support Radebe, contact 064 467 6609 or email: radebealungile2@gmail.com