“I still remember when my mom first told me that I was starting school. It was the best feeling ever,” says Divine, now 22-years-old.
She was seven when her family left the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to come to South Africa. They arrived in June 2006 and struggled to find places in public schools. Divine, who was supposed to be in grade 3 at the time, spent the rest of 2006 and 2007 at home – “watching my neighbours go to school,” she says.