Every year around Christmas, Gasant Abarder marvels at the sheer tenacity and determination of a man that society condemned and didn’t give a chance to.
Magadien Wentzel, a former high-ranking prison gang leader, today celebrated 20 years of being crime-free with his 19th annual Christmas goody bag event for the children of Manenberg.
There was little cheer to go about this Christmas as food prices and the cost of living have caused us all to pull in the reins on festivities this year.
But sheer will always trumps the challenges placed before one Cape Flats man around the time of the year.
Magadien is no ordinary guy. He bucked a system designed to keep criminals going back to prison despite finding himself deeply entrenched in the number gangs as a high-ranking member of the 28s.
Pollsmoor was home for a large chunk of his life but a tornado that hit Manenberg in 1999 changed all that.
Magadien was inside when he got a call that tragedy had struck the suburb, which is usually troubled by gang violence.
This time, Mother Nature had her say, as the freak weather event killed five people and destroyed hundreds of homes and even a school. Magadien was relieved to hear that his family had survived the worst and he was convinced it was a sign.
He started a journey of rehabilitation that would eventually see him leave Pollsmoor. This year, he celebrated 20 crime-free years, 19 of which have been spent treating children in Manenberg to treats on Christmas.
His path to redemption has been littered with boulders. It was tough to find meaningful work. Magadien told the story of his journey to leave the Numbers gang in the Jonny Steinberg book The Number. Speaking about the prison gang system is an offence punishable by death but Magadien’s kept moving forward with his focus squarely on intervention programmes for young people at risk.
Around 2015, following years of frustration while using football as a vehicle to get young people away from gangs, Magadien joined a peace ambassador training programme in Kensington. Ninety-nine peace ambassadors were deployed to help youth at risk in the suburb. But Magadien, peace ambassador number 100, wanted to work with homeless people in the Cape Town CBD.
Soon, he and his team of homeless workers were delivering farm-to-plate produce and selling it to top restaurants while creating employment.
Over the weekend leading up to Christmas Day, Magadien and his elves were putting together the Christmas goody bags from donations from individuals and businesses that he has become so well known for in Manenberg.
My own journey with Magadien started around 2005, during my time as a working journalist. We became friends and, in that time, he has never asked me for a single thing for himself. The only time Magadien asks for donations is for his Christmas goody bags.
Last year, Magadien was able to give to 250 children and he was hoping to top that number this year.
‘I want to prove to society that Manenberg isn’t at all bad. People on the Cape Flats can also do something to make a difference in ways that those in more privileged positions haven’t even thought about. I saw that a lot of children were just hanging around at Christmas time and would ask for money. Others were more privileged and received gifts like big toys. I saw the envy in the children’s eyes and that sparked this Christmas thing for me. I want to give to as many children as I can cater for,’ he said.
‘It makes me feel good to see a child smile on Christmas day. One of the children who always got a goody bag is now a second-year university student. I’m not trying to play Father Christmas but there are many father figures missing here in Manenberg. With a little bit of effort, we can do small things that can lead to bigger things.’
At 63, Magadien is living proof that the harsh system that kept him imprisoned can be beaten. I have never seen such determination in a human being to be a force for good to redeem himself and to make a difference when no one else gave him a chance.
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Picture: Supplied