Donovan Solomons

Donovan was thirteen years old when Isabelle selected him for the Born in Africa programme in 2003. He was a student at Harkerville Primary which is a very small rural school situated in the forests of Harkerville. Donovan was one of the first 40 children selected on the Born in Africa programme. Isabelle remembers visiting his home which was made from wooden planks and situated under the trees. There was no electricity, running water or ablution facilities and Donovan grew up very poor. He never knew his father and his mother struggled to feed their household. She had the odd job now and again but was unemployed most of the time.

Their house was very barren with no furniture and Donny shared a bed with his mother. They used to cook outside on a fire and the only bit of entertainment they had was listening to a radio which ran of an old P9 battery. Inside the shack consisted of one room where the family slept.

After completing his primary school under such testing circumstances, Donny went on to high school at Plett Secondary where he obtained his Gr 12 diploma. After school he enrolled at South Cape College where he completed one year of Hospitality training.

He soon came to realise that he preferred the retail industry and it just so happened that Isabelle had a contact at one of the local sport shops. The owner was so impressed with Donny’s excellent people skills that he employed him immediately.

Donovan has been permanently employed at Plett Sports for many years now and is still going strong. He recently acquired his Code 10 drivers license which enables him to drive heavy vehicles and will stand him in good stead in his future career. All of this happened thanks to his godparents and Born in Africa’s support.