How a Cape Town teen ditched street life for school grounds

Dudley Hendricks used to do what many teenagers do in Mitchell’s Plain, a township riddled by drugs and gangs. A few months ago, the 16 year old decided he’d had enough. Rather than roaming the streets and causing trouble, he began teaching youngsters right from wrong.
By Miriam Mannak, Cape Town
“Life in Mitchell’s Plain is hard,” Dudley says. “There is a lot of poverty and unemployment here...” He speaks with his eyes locked onto the ground, which is dusty and littered with plastic bags, bottle caps and broken glass.
“I started hanging out with my friends on the streets after dropping out of school. It is what everyone does here,” the teenager says shyly. “My friends did a lot of bad things. Drugs. Drinking. Gangs. Stealing from their parents. Robbing people.”
Dudley slides his hands in his pockets, not wanting to answer questions about whether he has done something wrong. But recalling past acquaintances, he says: “I did not want to end up like that.”
Role model
For the past two months, Dudley has been helping coaches at Alpine Primary School with their after-school sports programme. He focuses his time on talking with the kids. His aim is to make them realize that crime does not pay.
“I tell them they have to stay in school and why they should stay away from drugs and gangs,” he says. “I tell them about [how] what I have experienced on the streets is not something they want. I want to be a role model.”
The programme falls under the umbrella of Run4Schools. Set up in 2004 by Dutch marathon runner and personal trainer Leslie Pangemanan, the organization raises funds to establish after-school sports activities in Mitchell's Plain.
General manager André Hugo can recall meeting the recent convert. He says: “I saw a group of youngsters hanging around on the street. I approached them, asking whether they wanted to get involved. Dudley agreed.”
Crucial hours
According to Hugo, Run4Schools ensures that each week 3,000 kids across four different schools spend their free time in a safe, supervised environment.
“In this part of the world, the hours after schools close until parents come home are very dangerous,” he says. “Because neither the schools nor the parents have funds for aftercare programmes, thousands of school kids have to fend for themselves after school – while being preyed on by drug dealers and gangsters. While some want to recruit the kids, others want to rob them.”
Hugo recalls when Dudley’s worksite was targeted. “Gangs often break into schools, to steal everything from sports equipment to metal,” he says. “Three years ago, Alpine’s sports materials were stolen. They broke in through the roof. We were devastated.”
Then there are the gang shoot-outs, as Dudley recollects. “Sometimes, gangsters jump over the fence and start shooting at each other. Last week, a shooting happened just outside Alpine. One child was killed in the crossfire. It was very scary.”
The rampant gang graffiti and their tags – territory-marking signatures – are proof.
“They leave them everywhere, even on school grounds,” Hugo says, pointing at a wall emblazoned with a ‘27’ – the trademark of one of the most notorious prison gangs.
Proving himself
In his mission, Dudley is no doubt swimming against the current. As a volunteer, he gets no pay. Yet as Hugo put it: “At the moment, it is all about him wanting to do the right thing. He needs to prove himself, basically.”
One day Dudley hopes to become a Run4Schools coach. “I want to make a difference in kids’ lives, keep them safe and teach them right from wrong. I want to be the best person I can be. And I would like to finish school one day, if I get the opportunity.”
Hugo believes that with the right attitude, Dudley can “climb up” within the organization, adding “so far, we are very happy with him”.
Although this career change, so to speak, has meant dropping ties with some people, Dudley seems proud of the decision.
He says: “They were not my friends anyway. They only wanted to make me do bad things. I don’t have friends anymore. The only people in my life are my mother, grandparents and girlfriend. It is lonely sometimes, but life is better.”