When our Net Buddy, Nkosinathi, first joined Infinite Family in 2021 at age 13, she was matched with a Video Mentor who was based in Cape Town, South Africa, while she lives in Johannesburg. She described the experience as good, though she added with a chuckle that her mentor “was a bit strict.”
But by mid-2023, things began to unravel. After being reprimanded by Infinite Family’s team for fiddling with the camera and eventually turning it off during a video call, Nkosinathi’s participation started to falter. She began missing video calls without explanation, which caused the mentorship to end.
“I was angry at the time and decided to leave the program to play rugby,” she shares. Her parents were deeply concerned about her decision to drop out. “They were worried that I was going to end up in the streets,” Nkosinathi explains. The situation was serious enough that, “I even went for counselling.”
A year later, something shifted. Nkosinathi realized that she missed Infinite Family and being at the LaunchPad with our team and her peers. She made the decision to return, though it came with conditions — she would spend the first several months under probation.
Initially, she hoped to reconnect with her original mentor, but was disappointed to learn she had been matched with another Net Buddy. After months of indecision, she finally agreed to be matched with a new Video Mentor in April 2025. The wait proved worthwhile. “I am very happy with this relationship and am not going to leave any time soon,” she says with conviction.
Her parents were relieved when she was again going to the LaunchPad after school. They had seen firsthand how the program’s absence negatively affected their daughter, and welcomed her renewed commitment.
Now in Grade 11, Nkosinathi has clear career aspirations post high school. She plans to pursue digital marketing as her starting point, then save money to venture into crop and animal farming. She believes that there are different pathways to success and that young people should not limit themselves to conventional careers. She is also excited that she will be able to create jobs for other young people.
Her gratitude to Infinite Family runs deep, and she’s already planning how to give back. “I will donate 5 cattle to Infinite Family because we are a very big family,” she declares, envisioning her future success as directly linked to the organization that supported her in her formative years.
This past August, when Infinite Family hosted visitors at the site, Nkosinathi stepped up in an unexpected way. She volunteered to deliver a motivational speech about peer pressure and the importance of good decision-making for young people.
She describes her motivation for the speech as coming from “seeing a lot of young people showing dedication to changing their lives despite the circumstances they are growing up under.” She acknowledges that teenagers are capable of making bad decisions and can learn from them, just like she did when she left Infinite Family.
The transformation in her thinking, she believes, comes directly from having a mentor in her life. “Sometimes I don’t know what happens in our brains as teenagers, but once you have a mentor, your way of thinking changes for the better.” Today Nkosinathi values having someone who provides “a safe space for her to open up about anything happening in her life because she knows the conversation will lead to solutions.”
For her the LaunchPad represents more than just a meeting space — it is a source of positive energy. She describes her time there as very rewarding because she is surrounded by good energy from her mentor, the Infinite Family team and her peers.
Despite describing herself as having a “dramatic personality,” she feels “loved and accepted” by our global community. This acceptance has been transformative for this young woman who once walked away in anger and frustration. Her wish is that Infinite Family can “grow and extend the services to more young people because whatever they are seeking out to do with young people, it is working.”
From a 13-year-old who struggled with boundaries to a Grade 11 student planning her future and inspiring her peers, Nkosinathi ‘s journey embodies the resilience and potential that Infinite Family nurtures in every young person we serve.
What a lovely story — and photo. And I have seen — as my wife has mentored 3 young women at IF over many years — how rewarding this program is for the mentors as well. We are grateful to all who work so hard at IF.