The Moment That Changed My Life

As these three women learnt, just one event can change the course of your future, often with unexpected results

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Mbali zondo, 30, is a PR account manager and lives in Northcliff. after watching her childhood home be repossessed by the bank, Mbali vowed to one day have her own property to call home.

My childhood home was a beautiful, four-bedroom house in Westville, KZN, where I lived with my parents and sister. I have many fond memories of that time, running around with a bunch of friends in the neighbourhood. Summer days were spent around our swimming pool, with extended family joining us for the holidays. My favourite place was my bedroom, where I would look forward to retreating after a long day at school.

But all that changed when I turned 14 and my parents got divorced. Suddenly it was just me, my sister and my mom – and we had to say goodbye to our house. The bond was in arrears, and because my mom couldn’t afford to make any of the monthly repayments, the bank ended up repossessing our home.

TURNING POINT

Life became unpredictable after that. My mom, sister and I moved around quite a bit – some months we’d stay with family, or spend a few weeks with friends. When we could, we rented a place for six months at a time. But as soon as I settled in a new home, it was time to move again. I envied my friends who lived with both their parents in a house, and I wished I could invite them over to my home for a visit or sleepover. To my horror, at the end of each school term the teacher would call me aside to ask which home address should be on my report.