For many months, Elvis Makhoha, 15, stayed on the streets. Long after people had gone to sleep, he would scavenge in dustbins looking for food. The future had no promise, and every time someone threw a stone at him or shoved him away, hate boiled up inhim.
Life at home, before he decided to run away, was full of abuse. His only hope was in a nearby church where together with other street children, they would go to have a bath. “To my surprise, I learnt that the church had a hall where pupils would be taught. I decided to give it a try,” he says.