Exclusive: From SA to the World, Young Man Makes Dreams a Reality
- Marvel Mthembu is a young man who has been working since Grade 12 to achieve his dreams
- The 23-year-old started an organisation in SA that now runs in 37 countries to aid the youth
- Marvel spoke exclusively to Briefly.co.za about his journey to success through hard work and determination
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23-year-old Marvel M Mthembu is a young man with a bright future. Marvel started the organisation Crushing The Barriers (CTB) while still in matric. CTB currently runs in 37 countries after being started here in Mzansi by Marvel.
CTB has tailored projects in the education, arts, sports, media and technology fields. Marvel says they use these industries to impact the world. Through their education projects, they are able to work through back-to-school campaigns and they also have a virtual learning app.
Marvel shares his inspiring story from Mzansi to the world in this Briefly.co.za exclusive.
Source: UGC
Marvel spoke passionately about his childhood. From taking risks and exploring to reaching his highest potential, Marvel also managed to coach both the under-11s and under-14s at soccer while he was just 14. Speaking about his motivation, Marvel had this to say:
"When I was 15 my Pastor told me to give my focus to God, and that one day he will make me great beyond winning local leagues because we used to play even on Sundays so I would skip church, I took his advice and I became dedicated in ministry services, that's where my leadership stature was polished. I saw my life changing a transition from ashy to classy."
While thinking about his future plans at high school, Marvel's peers and schoolmates had doubts and believed it was all just a dream.
"I tell you they never believed but I believed it and not only did I believe in it, but I also had to put some work in. I even put a time frame to the vision that in 2020 CTB will run from Cape to Cairo.
"In 2018 we opened new branches in Nigeria, Namibia and France. We exceeded our boundary of what I envisioned."
Marvel has experienced a lot of success and tons of recognition. In 2019 he was invited to attend the United Nations Summit in Indonesia. This was followed by the World Youth Forum in Egypt, where he was able to network.
"The power of networking has taken CTB to where it is now. One of the biggest youth organisations. This is very inspirational to me as I always see this vision of growing. I'm forever grateful to my loyal representatives for always seeing the future ahead."
Source: UGC
Marvel has received tons of accolades throughout the years. He shared two of the amazing awards that made him proud to be a recipient:
"I have received many awards both nationally and internationally. Top100 LW Global Soul Winners is very personal as it means a lot to my spiritual life. I was honoured by H.E Rev Dr Chris President of LoveWorld among tons of people I was in the top 100.
"The second was the 2020 Diana Award, this is the best award I've ever received. Being honoured from the UK is something also I always hoped for. Surprisingly from all 184 winners across the globe, I was of the 6 Young people to be specially recognized by the Duke of Sussex HRH Prince Harry and Duke of Cambridge HRH Prince William."
To conclude Marvel's story, the young man shared some inspiring words:
"My words to young people will be that they should rise up and unleash their potentials by using their skills to be a blessing to their worlds. Sometimes to be a leader is not by starting your own thing. You can be a leader under a leader, the best competition they can ever come across is that man or lady they see in the mirror.
"The youth should minimise looking for competitions everywhere. Be you, do you and improve you. Over and above all believe in yourself. Indeed we will change this world and we won't leave it the same way we found it."
In other Briefly.co.za exclusive, a self-taught tailor inspired many with her drive for success. 21-year-old Andile Dladla is inspiring the masses with her unique designs. Using money she received from Durban University of Technology’s (DUT) Midlands Entrepreneurship Centre’s Seed Funding, she bought herself a brand-new sewing machine.
Dladla was born in a small village in Empangeni called Kwesakamthethwa. In February 2019, the Bachelor of Education student used pocket money to purchase a sewing machine. Through YouTube, she managed to teach herself how to sew.
Yearning to advance her skills, Dladla attained the help of a local tailor at a cost of R60 per day. She registered her company later in 2019 and now works from home. Dladla uses digital platforms such as Facebook to aid her with marketing and connecting with her customers.
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Source: Briefly News
