READ | Surprise

Surprise definitely lives up to her name! Her bubbly personality and positive spirit are highly infectious.

She is in her final year at Fons Luminis Secondary School in Diepkloof and is convinced that she would have never been able look into such a promising future ahead full of opportunities if it had not been for READ.

I can tell immediately that she is very well educated by the way she speaks. She loves to read deep and meaningful books and has big plans for her life!

In order to fit all these attributes into one photograph we chose to shoot at her school where I wanted to focus on “learning” and “studying” and to portray her beautiful self-confidence without losing her positive, bubbly personality.

“READ to me is my life, it is who I am today. It makes Surprise Mathebula the proud, confident and mature lady in the making that she is today.

READ was my ladder to success. I can read, write and speak in public without any doubts or low self-esteem.

I use my imagination without any limits. The books that they issued me have helped me a lot, they have also motivated me and given light to my thinking mind.

READ has taught me a lot, if they were a vital organ they would be my heart. They have taught me how to love, how to use my anger or other emotions to channel them into a story or a poem, they also taught me how to turn my emotions into motivation.

READ would also be my brain as they rejuvenate my mind, give birth to my thoughts, dreams, achievements and knowledge. READ is my vital organ; they control my imagination and also my confidence to reach for the stars!”

This is one of six documentaries I was commissioned to photograph for the latest annual report of the READ Educational Trust. Each of these person’s life was touched by READ and their dedication to help people with a hunger for learning, a desire to better their own and their children’s lives through education. These documentaries are witness to the cause.