Mr Tebogo Patrick Mpufane (42) is currently the Project Manager at Life Changing Projects in Akasia. Life Changing Projectsis a homeless shelter for males, most of whom are recovering substance abusers. As theproject manager, some of his roles include ensuring that the shelter is running smoothly. He also meets with stakeholders who will help with skills development for the residents of the shelter. One of those stakeholders is the University of Pretoria, who have, in previous years, awarded him for attending a short course in Site Management for Temporary Homeless Shelters during Covid-19 as well as attending a programme in Leadership in Urban Transformation. Tebogo is what many would call the paragon of a success story. He suffers from a chronic condition known as Baastrup’s disease or colloquially, “kissing spine syndrome”.

In his case, there is no cartilage disc between his L5 and S1 vertebrae, resulting in bone to bone friction, causing chronic back pain. Due to this condition, Tebogo left home (in The North West province in South Africa) at a young age to the City of Tshwane alone to seek medical help. However, the funds he had saved up ended up depleting and he became homeless for 11 years from 2001 to 2012. The excruciating back pain from his condition led him to alcoholism to lessen his pain while still living on the streets.

It was only after losing his father and only being informed months after it occurred, that he started to rethink how his life was unfolding. He pulled himself from a state of being lost. This became the turning point for his alcoholism and homelessness and he made a covenant with the Lord that if He changes how he was living his life, he will serve Him forever. He has now been sober for over 13 years and has dedicated his life to the Lord and to helping other people.

Mr Mpufane has done extensive work for several NGOs that assist other people struggling with homelessness and substance abuse. Some of these roles include:

• Being chairperson of the regional Drug Action Committee (RDAC),
• Member of the Tshwane Homelessness Forum Executive,
• Coordinator of Homelessness and Drug & Substance Abuse programmes at Kopano Mayano
• God the Founder Centre for Homeless,
• Director of Centurion Haven of Hope, among others

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