#ByTheBook
This is not a fact file or a profile but rather an astute observation of one man doing his bid to changing young lives.
Many things have been said, will be said and still are said about one Sbusiso Leope but one thing you don’t hear a lot of, is his efforts to give back to the township through educational projects, founded by himself and a number of other young people that where once at the helm of his mercy.
A lot of the things you will read about him on the tabloids are; how he is bankrupt or broke, how he doesn’t adhere to procedure and how his life is falling apart. Granted. Some of these stories you read might be true, if at all they came from a reliable source which could only be the man himself.
What worries me though, not that you care, is the fact that half these writers don’t verify their stories, they read a tweet or an Instagram post and they take whatever suits them unpack it creatively and run with it.
“Sometimes the lies get millions of views” – Chance the rapper
I was first introduced to DJ Sbu back in 2005 at the Yfm studios at the zone in Rosebank. I was invited to speak about a charity drive I’d been doing with a friend and the invite was to his drive time show “Sbu on the Y-lens” to ask his then Yfm listeners to pledge towards a course we’d been doing for a girls home in Sunnyside, Pretoria.
Since then I’ve learned that this man, not only was a radio host. He was also amongst other things an award winning artist, DJ, TV presenter businessperson, philanthropist, author and social entrepreneur.An accomplished individual in every sense of the word.
What was most amazing about this guy is not what he’s achieved in such a short space of time but the amount of people he yearned to help achieve their own goals. I’venot only had the pleasure to meet these people but to know some of them as individuals, their lives have now changed forever because of one man’s vision.
Yet, you don’t see any breaking news or stunning pieces outlining such incredible milestones where every year for 10 years he finds ways to send severely underprivileged township kids to higher learning institutions and then takes the time to walk the journey with them to graduation day.
There’s too many to mention but I guess what I’m saying is; one child assisted out of poverty is a giant step for a family that continues to struggle financially.
In my opinion this guy could just go about his business, keep winning in life, take long vacations and Instagram the hell out of that life, but instead every January we are reminded that even the most talented individuals in the industry are not only about themselves but the rise of others.
Why won’t we give credit where it’s due? The whole flowers while they can still smell them issue.
The purpose of this article is to indicate that when you’re busy asking: what is DJ Sbu doing? Remember one thing. He is making sure kids in schools that do not facilitate extra mural activities or art classes to motivate learners. An unsung hero and his troops wake up every morning to tell them “black child it is possible”.
Go support the SLEF bursary drive here and help a kid get an education :
Site – slef.co.za
Twitter – @SLEF_SA