{"id":48426,"date":"2022-10-13T10:18:09","date_gmt":"2022-10-13T08:18:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/former-drug-user-who-burnt-school-on-mission-to-educate-20221011\/"},"modified":"2025-03-20T23:42:40","modified_gmt":"2025-03-20T21:42:40","slug":"former-drug-user-who-burnt-school-on-mission-to-educate-20221011","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/former-drug-user-who-burnt-school-on-mission-to-educate-20221011\/","title":{"rendered":"Former drug user who burnt school, on mission to educate"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>A man from the Zwelitsha locality in Mqanduli who set fire to the admin block in Holomisa Senior Secondary School in Mqanduli in 2014, is on a mission to educate youth about the dangers of using drugs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sonwabile Jara said it breaks his heart to see learners from this school using containers as their classrooms because of his behaviour. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhat is more painful is that I am working just next to the school now, and I see their situation every day. I am not proud of what I did. Every day it breaks my heart. Even though I was released by COVID-19 parole in 2020, I still have no guts to go and apologise to the school management, community members and learners,\u201d said Jara. He confirmed that he is now a born-again Christian at Amamorians\u2019 Apostolic Church in Zion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He said that, before the incident, he started using drugs, which led him to change his behaviour. He had been involved in different crime activities because he wanted money to buy drugs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jara said he had no reason to burn the school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI burnt it just for fun because I did not have a problem with anyone at school or even in the community. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBut now I want to teach other young people to stay away from drugs because they are very dangerous, and you become a like a zombie when you are using them.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He said he is planning to start Kungawo Amandla Akhe Prison Ministry with the aim of changing other people\u2019s lives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A man from the Zwelitsha locality in Mqanduli who set fire to the admin block in Holomisa Senior Secondary School in Mqanduli in 2014, is on a mission to educate youth about the dangers of using drugs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":48428,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_linkdex":"","_yoast_wpseo_content_score":"","_yoast_wpseo_inclusive_language_score":"","_yoast_wpseo_is_cornerstone":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image-id":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image-id":"","newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","_crsspst_to_novanewscoza":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozabloemnewsexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozacityvision":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozadistrictmailhelderberg":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaeikestadnuus":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozahermanustimes":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozakomani-karoo":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozakougaexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozanoordkaapbulletin":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapaarlpost":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapeexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapeoplespost":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaswartlandgazette":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozatygerburger":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaudexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozavistanews":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozavrystaatkroon":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaweskusnuus":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaweslander":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaworcesterstandard":false,"_EventAllDay":"","_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":"","_EventShowMapLink":"","_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":"","_EventVenueID":"","_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":"","_VenueShowMapLink":"","_application":"","_batch_id":"","_company_name":"","_company_tagline":"","_company_twitter":"","_company_video":"","_company_website":"","_custom_id":"5c2ff23d-573a-4357-88fc-c77c28a2a8d4","_EventDuration":"","_EventOrigin":"","_EventTimezoneAbbr":"","_featured":"","_filled":"","_job_expires":"","_job_location":"","_media_credit":"","_media_credit_url":"","_menu_item_menu_item_parent":"","_menu_item_object":"","_menu_item_object_id":"","_menu_item_target":"","_menu_item_type":"","_menu_item_url":"","_menu_item_xfn":"","_navis_media_can_distribute":"","_navis_media_credit_org":"","_OrganizerOrigin":"","_provider":"","_pum_built_in":"","_pum_default_theme":"","_pum_form_conversion_count":"","_remote_id":"","_remote_name":"","_remote_position":"","_report_frequency":"","_report_reference_dates":"","_send_attempts":"","_site_id":"","_sitemap_exclude":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","_sitemap_priority":"","_source_url":"","_subscription_period":"","_subscription_period_interval":"","_subscription_price":"","_tec_slr_enabled":"","_tec_slr_layout":"","_template_type":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_ticket_start_date":"","_tribe_aggregator_allow_multiple_organizers":"","_tribe_aggregator_content_type":"","_tribe_aggregator_file":"","_tribe_aggregator_finalized":"","_tribe_aggregator_hash":"","_tribe_aggregator_import_id":"","_tribe_aggregator_import_name":"","_tribe_aggregator_interactive":"","_tribe_aggregator_origin":"","_tribe_aggregator_post_status":"","_tribe_aggregator_preview":"","_tribe_aggregator_source_name":"","_tribe_aggregator_type":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_hide_attendees_list":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":"","_tribe_ticket_version":"","_type":"","_VenueOrigin":"","_wp_attachment_context":"","_wp_attachment_image_alt":"","_wp_font_face_file":"","_wp_old_date":"","_yoast_wpseo_estimated-reading-time-minutes":"","_yoast_wpseo_focuskeywords":"","_yoast_wpseo_focuskw_text_input":"","_yoast_wpseo_keywordsynonyms":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_block-catalog":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_job_listing_type":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_nova_retailer":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_publication":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_tribe_events_cat":"","_yoast_wpseo_videositemap-duration":"","_yoast_wpseo_videositemap-rating":"","_menu_item_classes":[],"_tribe_modified_fields":[],"_wp_attachment_backup_sizes":[],"_wp_suggested_privacy_policy_content":[],"_yoast_post_redirect_info":[],"_yoast_wpseo_video_meta":[],"activation_date":"","archive_insertion_is_repeating":"","archive_insertion_posts_count":"","article_feature_media":"","article_feature_type":"","article_main_image_caption":"","article_media_icon":"","article_template":"","author_byline":"Babalwa Ndlanya","background_color":"","block_editor":"","byline":"","cmplz_hide_cookiebanner":"","competition_end_date":"","contact_advertise_email":"","contact_advertise_phone":"","contact_editorial_email":"","contact_general_email":"","contact_general_phone":"","contact_office_hours":"","contact_physical_address":"","enabled":"","featured_image_custom_caption":"","featured_video_url":"","fields":"","font_body":"","font_header":"","frequency":"","headline":"","hide_border":"","icon":"","is_wp_suggestion":"","issuu_download_url":"","issuu_embed_url":"","language_version_url":"","large_border":"","name":"","nm_contact_name":"","nm_contact_number":"","nm_date_lost":"","no_overlay_background":"","node-url":"","obituary_born_date":"","obituary_died_date":"","obituary_memoriam_text":"","origin":"","overlay_color":"","overlay_opacity":"","overlay_size":"","placement":"","plural_label":"","post_author":"","post_id":"","post_language":"en","secret-key":"","sponsored_utm_campaign":"","sponsored_utm_content":"","sponsored_utm_medium":"","sponsored_utm_source":"","sponsored_utm_term":"","start_date":"","utm_suppression":"","video_embed_url":"","wp_pattern_sync_status":"","data_version":[],"enclosure":[],"pongrass_image":[],"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_newspack_byline_active":false,"_newspack_byline":"","newspack_content_restriction_is_exempt":false,"scaip_prevent_shortcode_addition":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"publication":[],"class_list":["post-48426","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.8 (Yoast SEO v27.8) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Former drug user who burnt school, on mission to educate | Mthatha Express<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/former-drug-user-who-burnt-school-on-mission-to-educate-20221011\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Former drug user who burnt school, on mission to educate\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A man from the Zwelitsha locality in Mqanduli who set fire to the admin block in Holomisa Senior Secondary School in Mqanduli in 2014, is on a mission to educate youth about the dangers of using drugs.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/former-drug-user-who-burnt-school-on-mission-to-educate-20221011\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Mthatha Express\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MthathaExpress\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-10-13T08:18:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-03-20T21:42:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/ef2f847d6daf4375a89fc14bb8a4fc39.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"608\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"432\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Babalwa Ndlanya\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@EP_Media24\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@EP_Media24\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mthatha Express\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/former-drug-user-who-burnt-school-on-mission-to-educate-20221011\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/former-drug-user-who-burnt-school-on-mission-to-educate-20221011\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Mthatha Express\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7e2772c1748d510e0433368691b50bb1\"},\"headline\":\"Former drug user who burnt school, on mission to educate\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-10-13T08:18:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-20T21:42:40+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/former-drug-user-who-burnt-school-on-mission-to-educate-20221011\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":263,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/former-drug-user-who-burnt-school-on-mission-to-educate-20221011\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/ef2f847d6daf4375a89fc14bb8a4fc39.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/former-drug-user-who-burnt-school-on-mission-to-educate-20221011\\\/#respond\"]}],\"copyrightYear\":\"2022\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/former-drug-user-who-burnt-school-on-mission-to-educate-20221011\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/former-drug-user-who-burnt-school-on-mission-to-educate-20221011\\\/\",\"name\":\"Former drug user who burnt school, on mission to educate | Mthatha Express\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/former-drug-user-who-burnt-school-on-mission-to-educate-20221011\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/former-drug-user-who-burnt-school-on-mission-to-educate-20221011\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/ef2f847d6daf4375a89fc14bb8a4fc39.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-10-13T08:18:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-20T21:42:40+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/former-drug-user-who-burnt-school-on-mission-to-educate-20221011\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/former-drug-user-who-burnt-school-on-mission-to-educate-20221011\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/former-drug-user-who-burnt-school-on-mission-to-educate-20221011\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/ef2f847d6daf4375a89fc14bb8a4fc39.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/ef2f847d6daf4375a89fc14bb8a4fc39.jpg\",\"width\":608,\"height\":432,\"caption\":\"Sonwabile Jara. Photo: Supplied\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/former-drug-user-who-burnt-school-on-mission-to-educate-20221011\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"News\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/news\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Former drug user who burnt school, on mission to educate\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/\",\"name\":\"Mthatha Express\",\"description\":\"To Inform, Engage and Empower Local Communities\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Mthatha Express\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/mthatha-express-site-icon.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/mthatha-express-site-icon.png\",\"width\":512,\"height\":512,\"caption\":\"Mthatha Express\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/MthathaExpress\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/EP_Media24\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/express_newspapers\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/@expressonline3000\"],\"description\":\"Mthatha Express has been the eyes, ears, and voice of Mthatha and surrounding towns and villages for almost a decade. Established with the goal of keeping our community informed, we have grown into one of the most trusted local news sources in the region, with 70,000 free copies delivered across the former Transkei area every week. It is also distributed once a month in East London.\",\"email\":\"mthathaexpress@novusmedia.co.za\",\"telephone\":\"+27472932973\",\"legalName\":\"Novus Media (Pty) Ltd\",\"foundingDate\":\"2025-01-01\",\"vatID\":\"4100318916\",\"taxID\":\"2000\\\/018234\\\/07\",\"numberOfEmployees\":{\"@type\":\"QuantitativeValue\",\"minValue\":\"51\",\"maxValue\":\"200\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7e2772c1748d510e0433368691b50bb1\",\"name\":\"Mthatha Express\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/16bf7f093f8719629b4d16068cd9ee79b087e706ae5cedc7dd95db655da066a3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/16bf7f093f8719629b4d16068cd9ee79b087e706ae5cedc7dd95db655da066a3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/16bf7f093f8719629b4d16068cd9ee79b087e706ae5cedc7dd95db655da066a3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Mthatha Express\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/author\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Former drug user who burnt school, on mission to educate | Mthatha Express","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/former-drug-user-who-burnt-school-on-mission-to-educate-20221011\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Former drug user who burnt school, on mission to educate","og_description":"A man from the Zwelitsha locality in Mqanduli who set fire to the admin block in Holomisa Senior Secondary School in Mqanduli in 2014, is on a mission to educate youth about the dangers of using drugs.","og_url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/former-drug-user-who-burnt-school-on-mission-to-educate-20221011\/","og_site_name":"Mthatha Express","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MthathaExpress\/","article_published_time":"2022-10-13T08:18:09+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-03-20T21:42:40+00:00","og_image":[{"width":608,"height":432,"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/ef2f847d6daf4375a89fc14bb8a4fc39.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Babalwa Ndlanya","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@EP_Media24","twitter_site":"@EP_Media24","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Mthatha Express","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/former-drug-user-who-burnt-school-on-mission-to-educate-20221011\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/former-drug-user-who-burnt-school-on-mission-to-educate-20221011\/"},"author":{"name":"Mthatha Express","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/#\/schema\/person\/7e2772c1748d510e0433368691b50bb1"},"headline":"Former drug user who burnt school, on mission to educate","datePublished":"2022-10-13T08:18:09+00:00","dateModified":"2025-03-20T21:42:40+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/former-drug-user-who-burnt-school-on-mission-to-educate-20221011\/"},"wordCount":263,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/former-drug-user-who-burnt-school-on-mission-to-educate-20221011\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/ef2f847d6daf4375a89fc14bb8a4fc39.jpg","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-ZA","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/former-drug-user-who-burnt-school-on-mission-to-educate-20221011\/#respond"]}],"copyrightYear":"2022","copyrightHolder":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/#organization"}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/former-drug-user-who-burnt-school-on-mission-to-educate-20221011\/","url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/former-drug-user-who-burnt-school-on-mission-to-educate-20221011\/","name":"Former drug user who burnt school, on mission to educate | Mthatha Express","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/former-drug-user-who-burnt-school-on-mission-to-educate-20221011\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/former-drug-user-who-burnt-school-on-mission-to-educate-20221011\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/ef2f847d6daf4375a89fc14bb8a4fc39.jpg","datePublished":"2022-10-13T08:18:09+00:00","dateModified":"2025-03-20T21:42:40+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/former-drug-user-who-burnt-school-on-mission-to-educate-20221011\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-ZA","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/former-drug-user-who-burnt-school-on-mission-to-educate-20221011\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-ZA","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/former-drug-user-who-burnt-school-on-mission-to-educate-20221011\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/ef2f847d6daf4375a89fc14bb8a4fc39.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/ef2f847d6daf4375a89fc14bb8a4fc39.jpg","width":608,"height":432,"caption":"Sonwabile Jara. Photo: Supplied"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/former-drug-user-who-burnt-school-on-mission-to-educate-20221011\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Former drug user who burnt school, on mission to educate"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/#website","url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/","name":"Mthatha Express","description":"To Inform, Engage and Empower Local Communities","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-ZA"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/#organization","name":"Mthatha Express","url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-ZA","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/mthatha-express-site-icon.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/mthatha-express-site-icon.png","width":512,"height":512,"caption":"Mthatha Express"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MthathaExpress\/","https:\/\/x.com\/EP_Media24","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/express_newspapers\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@expressonline3000"],"description":"Mthatha Express has been the eyes, ears, and voice of Mthatha and surrounding towns and villages for almost a decade. Established with the goal of keeping our community informed, we have grown into one of the most trusted local news sources in the region, with 70,000 free copies delivered across the former Transkei area every week. It is also distributed once a month in East London.","email":"mthathaexpress@novusmedia.co.za","telephone":"+27472932973","legalName":"Novus Media (Pty) Ltd","foundingDate":"2025-01-01","vatID":"4100318916","taxID":"2000\/018234\/07","numberOfEmployees":{"@type":"QuantitativeValue","minValue":"51","maxValue":"200"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/#\/schema\/person\/7e2772c1748d510e0433368691b50bb1","name":"Mthatha Express","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-ZA","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/16bf7f093f8719629b4d16068cd9ee79b087e706ae5cedc7dd95db655da066a3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/16bf7f093f8719629b4d16068cd9ee79b087e706ae5cedc7dd95db655da066a3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/16bf7f093f8719629b4d16068cd9ee79b087e706ae5cedc7dd95db655da066a3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Mthatha Express"},"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/author\/mthathaexpress\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/ef2f847d6daf4375a89fc14bb8a4fc39.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":46451,"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/pageant-finalist-donates-toiletries-to-rural-school-girls-20230912\/","url_meta":{"origin":48426,"position":0},"title":"Pageant finalist donates toiletries to rural school girls","author":"Mthatha Express","date":"15 September 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Onjengaye Jara (13) became the latest Miss Golden Heart finalist to successfully complete her charitable cause by donating what she calls \u201cdignity packs\u201d to Grade 12 learners at her home village school, Tandanani Senior Secondary School, in Lotana Vi","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/43dad43bd3f8498cb16fe26295d19284.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/43dad43bd3f8498cb16fe26295d19284.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/43dad43bd3f8498cb16fe26295d19284.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/43dad43bd3f8498cb16fe26295d19284.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":50815,"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/new-school-uniforms-handed-over-to-mqanduli-learners-20211019\/","url_meta":{"origin":48426,"position":1},"title":"New school uniforms handed over to Mqanduli learners","author":"Mthatha Express","date":"21 October 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Indigent families in Mqanduli will not have to worry about buying new school uniforms for their children next year, after the Correctional Services Deputy Minister, Nkosi Phathekile Holomisa, together with financial services company, Old Mutual, hand","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/bd0248ea654745ada75bde1a036f3bdf.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/bd0248ea654745ada75bde1a036f3bdf.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/bd0248ea654745ada75bde1a036f3bdf.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/bd0248ea654745ada75bde1a036f3bdf.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":48146,"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/computers-donated-to-upper-ngqungqu-primary-20221129\/","url_meta":{"origin":48426,"position":2},"title":"Computers donated to Upper Ngqungqu Primary School","author":"Mthatha Express","date":"1 December 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"United Democratic Movement president, General Bantu Holomisa, donated 12 computers to Upper Ngqungqu Primary School in Mqanduli, last week.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/b5a4ec5353b94f0a993ce52246dd556e.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/b5a4ec5353b94f0a993ce52246dd556e.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/b5a4ec5353b94f0a993ce52246dd556e.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/b5a4ec5353b94f0a993ce52246dd556e.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/b5a4ec5353b94f0a993ce52246dd556e.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":46065,"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/grade-7-learners-given-words-of-wisdom-20231107\/","url_meta":{"origin":48426,"position":3},"title":"Grade 7 learners given words of wisdom","author":"Mthatha Express","date":"9 November 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Grade 7 learners from Mancam Primary School in Mqanduli were given words of wisdom by their school management and other stakeholders, as they will be going to further their education in different senior secondary schools next year.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/4409c80261e64899bd5a665b11a8b18f.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/4409c80261e64899bd5a665b11a8b18f.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/4409c80261e64899bd5a665b11a8b18f.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/4409c80261e64899bd5a665b11a8b18f.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":297209,"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/mncwasa-primary-learners-crammed-into-one-class-after-storm\/","url_meta":{"origin":48426,"position":4},"title":"Mncwasa Primary learners crammed into one class after storm","author":"Mthatha Express","date":"15 June 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"After repeated storm damage, Mncwasa Primary learners in Mqanduli are crammed into one classroom as parents plead for urgent intervention.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Desks","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/IMG-20260527-WA0124_92875.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/IMG-20260527-WA0124_92875.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/IMG-20260527-WA0124_92875.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/IMG-20260527-WA0124_92875.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/IMG-20260527-WA0124_92875.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":47315,"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/knowledge-brought-to-local-learners-20230516\/","url_meta":{"origin":48426,"position":5},"title":"Knowledge brought to local learners at career expo","author":"Mthatha Express","date":"18 May 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The secretary for Iphulo Consortium Non-Profit Organisation (NPO), Ntsikelelo Macingwane, confirmed that they had hosted the Career Expo in Dalibaso Senior Secondary School in Mqanduli, with the aim of bringing knowledge to learners of that area.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/f4cbd753cd184805bdff34e7bc840a37.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/f4cbd753cd184805bdff34e7bc840a37.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/f4cbd753cd184805bdff34e7bc840a37.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/f4cbd753cd184805bdff34e7bc840a37.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Mthatha Express","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48426","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48426"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48426\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48428"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48426"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48426"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48426"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=48426"},{"taxonomy":"publication","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publication?post=48426"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}