Mpho Kitchin

I once worked for an IT company in Sunninghill, Sandton, where I became friends with a Venda guy named Takalani from Tembisa. One of the kindest and most humble guys I've ever met. Coming from a very disadvantaged background, I never minded buying amagwinya in the morning and sharing them with friends. Takalani loved mogodu and beef stew. Every Monday and Tuesday, he'd buy a plate, and we'd share it. When I was about to leave the company, he told me he was going back to Venda because he was tired of Johannesburg. I asked him what he was going to do there. His answer shocked me. He said he'd just chill with his siblings and look for his family's business. Then he dropped the bombshell. Apparently, he hadn't come to Johannesburg looking for greener pastures. He had run away from university, and his parents were so angry that they sent him to Johannesburg as punishment to go and learn about life. His father owns farms, and his mother owns a law firm! 😭😂 Meanwhile, I was sharing amagwinya with a man whose family probably had more assets than the entire street I grew up on. Life has a sense of humour. You really never know what someone is going through or where they come from. 😂