Cape Town - Reformed gangster and Heideveld resident Shewaan Jumat, also known as “RichInMind”, is using his experience with digital resources to help educate the youth and Cape Flats communities – particularly through video and music as many of the youth at risk had an aversion to traditional forms of education.
Jumat sought to educate them on the consequences of their decisions and the importance of education in the face of gangsterism, substance abuse and violence in their communities as their cries for help against gangsterism have fallen on deaf ears.
Jumat’s road to gangsterism started as a 14-year-old when he and six others decided to be tagged as the “Timberlands” at school.
This eventually escalated and led to years of his young adult life being lost to drugs, gang wars and violence.
This all took place as Heideveld was gripped in a war between the Americans, the Junkie-Funkies and the Cat Pounds.
However, he has now turned his life around and is happily married with two children while working to educate the youth through his videos.
In the past two to three years, Jumat has made more than 40 videos on YouTube and Facebook documenting the cry for help against gangsterism in the Heideveld community and the larger Cape Flats – all with the intent to educate, inform and uplift youth and communities exposed to gang life.
Cape Flats Stories founder Stanley Jacobs said it was unfortunate that people did not always support these types of initiatives – as he experienced first-hand when working in these areas.
“Parkwood has a high unemployment rate and recently we made free education available to our youth, but getting them to register is the biggest struggle.
“We need 180 youngsters to start the academy.
“However, only 50-plus have registered so far.
“This is the issue almost everywhere on the Cape Flats. We need to become hungry for education and opportunities,” said Jacobs.
Jacobs said the most recent incidents of gang violence in the Cape Flats was in Manenberg, Seawinds and Hanover Park, where shootings took place over the same issue – gangsters fighting over turf so they could sell more drugs.
“The sooner we as the people of the Cape Flats realise that we need to change and that we have the power to do so, the sooner the Cape Flats will become a better place,” said Jacobs.