“When you see all the things that are not there – like water, food or even sanitary pads – something happens inside of you.”
This is what led to Wintonia Jacobs, a Grade 10 learner at Hottentots-Holland High School, being selected for the City of Cape Town’s 2026 Junior City Council (JCC) – a non-political initiative promoting youth leadership and civic engagement among Grade 10 and 11 learners.
Behind the remarkable selection lies an equally remarkable story.
Jacobs’ path to Hottentots-Holland High School was not a straightforward one. Having moved around and attending various schools throughout her childhood, she experienced the kinds of challenges that many young people face but few speak about openly, including bullying.
It was at HHH where she finally found her footing.
Yet just as she found stability, her Grade 9 year brought its own battles as she faced heavy mental health challenges. “Last year was a really tough year,” Jacobs recalls.
But it is not her struggles that define the teenager; it is what she chose to do with them.
It was this journey that made her realise she had a greater purpose. When a family friend introduced her to the JCC, she took her chance.
“At first I thought, what if there are better people than me?” she explains. “A total of 929 people applied and they only chose 50 – there was no way they would choose me.”
To her surprise, her story resonated with selectors, and on Friday 13 February she received the news that she was a junior councillor.
“I really couldn’t believe it. For the next few days I kept re-reading the email word for word,” she recalls.
Now as part of her duties, she will play an active role in JCC activities and attend sessions each month in which she will receive leadership training and learn more about local government –something she admits she knew very little about.
Jacobs is also responsible for developing two projects during her one-year term, both rooted in her lived experience.
The first, Bridging the Gap, will see her visit schools to help Grade 7 learners prepare for the social and emotional realities of high school.
“The other project truly touches home,” Jacobs says. “A lot of people think that when learners reach high school, they don’t need food hampers, but as someone that received the food, I quickly realised that you need it more in high school.”
To protect their dignity, hampers will be distributed by teachers privately at the end of each term.
“We’re going through a sensitive period in our lives and I am not going to do it in front of the whole school like a charity event where everyone can see.”
Jacobs is proof that dynamite comes in small packages – and with a year left to complete her projects, she needs the community behind her.
“I sometimes feel they made a mistake with the JCC, but then I realised that in order for me to help others, I have to help myself first by believing in myself. And no matter what the result is, it’s in God’s plan.”
. To assist Jacobs in her projects, contact Jabez Moses via email on jabezmoses09@gmail.com, or Monet Benadé on MBenade@hhhschool.co.za
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