By LINDA BINZI
Clouded with a background filled with hardship and adversity, Sibusiso Klass looked beyond her circumstances and found her horizon.
Born and raised in a small town, youngest of five kids and one guardian. At only the age of 13, she was tasked with the responsibility of taking care of her family.
Always having the role of an adult, young Sibusiso Klass never got to be a kid. A single mother struggling to support five kids off R800 a month was one situation that forced her to want to assist. She never attended school trips or events. She missed her matric ball; some might say a rite of passage, a once-in-a-lifetime affair.
Now 28 years old, PhD student, still tasked to take care of others before herself. Three roads, three different lives. A soldier, a nurse, a journalist. Choosing the latter led her to this version of her life. Her journey is not led by choice but rather by circumstance.
She became a warden because she needed accommodation – accommodations she could not afford. But she also fell in love with the job, being an older sister to young women. Although a rollercoaster at times, she manages and always tries to give it her all. She usually puts others’ needs before her own. “It helps that the girls love me as much as I love them; we share a relationship of mutual respect and kindness,” she says.
Sibusiso Klass still takes the time out of her days to host a community boot camp two days a week. Hoping to inspire people to become their healthiest selves, her goal is to break fitness stereotypes within the black community. She wants to turn this programme into a full NPO. She is an inspiration.
