22 Jan 2026

In Takatokwane, a sobering message is echoing through the halls of Mahupu Unified Secondary School that one’s child might not be who you think they are.
At home, they are the helpful daughter or the quiet son.
But once they cross the school gates or disappear around a street corner, a different persona often emerges.
This masquerade of good behaviour was the central theme of a recent disciplinary bootcamp, an initiative spearheaded by the Total Man Organisation and Journey of Life, aimed at rescuing a generation from the social hurdles threatening their academic futures.
The keynote speaker, a social worker, Ms Maureen Lefifi, did not mince words and challenged parents to look past the surface, which revealed a startling reality that many learners were effectively living three separate lives.
“There is the child you see at home, the learner seen at school and the person they become on the streets,” Ms Lefifi explained.
Such fragmentation often creates a dangerous blind spot for parents.
When a school calls to report disruptive behaviour or truancy, the common parental reflex is one of denial, ‘Not my child. They are so well-behaved at home’.
Ms Lefifi warned that such denial was a luxury parents could no longer afford.
“Ignoring these reports does not protect the child. It jeopardises their future and puts the parents in a position of risk they never saw coming,” she warned.
However, the bootcamp was not just about warnings but about empowerment.
As the sun beat down on the Takatokwane campus, Mr Leatile Mphee-Mompoloki of BOSETU addressed the learners directly.
He spoke of ‘engines’, not the kind found in vehicles, but the internal drive of personal responsibility.
“Responsibility is the engine of progress. It is what allows you to rise above your circumstances and actively chase your goals,” he told the hushed assembly.
His message took a modern turn when he addressed gender dynamics. While female empowerment is rightfully taking centre stage nowadays, he encouraged young girls to be unapologetic in their pursuit of independence.
To the boys, his message was one of partnership where they had to look at the success of their female peers as an inspiration, not a threat.
Perhaps the most poignant moment came from acting Student Representative Council president, also Letlhakeng District Children’s Consultative Forum chairperson, Ms Lelentle Sekatane, who reached back into traditional wisdom and invoked the proverb, ‘It takes a village to raise a child’.
However, Ms Sekatane’s tone was one of regret. She argued that the ‘village’, the collective watchfulness of neighbours, teachers and elders, was crumbling.
“We are seeing a rise in indiscipline because learners no longer heed guidance from anyone who is not their biological parent,” she said.
Such shift, she believed, had stripped mentors and teachers of their ability to guide the youth, which left learners to navigate complex social pressures without a safety net.
As the bootcamp concluded, the message to Mahupu UnifiedAs the sun beat down on the Takatokwane campus, Mr Leatile Mphee-Mompoloki of BOSETU addressed the learners directly.
He spoke of ‘engines’, not the kind found in vehicles, but the internal drive of personal responsibility.
“Responsibility is the engine of progress. It is what allows you to rise above your circumstances and actively chase your goals,” he told the hushed assembly.
His message took a modern turn when he addressed gender dynamics. While female empowerment is rightfully taking centre stage nowadays, he encouraged young girls to be unapologetic in their pursuit of independence.
To the boys, his message was one of partnership where they had to look at the success of their female peers as an inspiration, not a threat.
Perhaps the most poignant moment came from acting Student Representative Council president, also Letlhakeng District Children’s Consultative Forum chairperson, Ms Lelentle Sekatane, who reached back into traditional wisdom and invoked the proverb, ‘It takes a village to raise a child’.
However, Ms Sekatane’s tone was one of regret. She argued that the ‘village’, the collective watchfulness of neighbours, teachers and elders, was crumbling.
“We are seeing a rise in indiscipline because learners no longer heed guidance from anyone who is not their biological parent,” she said.
Such shift, she believed, had stripped mentors and teachers of their ability to guide the youth, which left learners to navigate complex social pressures without a safety net.
As the bootcamp concluded, the message to Mahupu Unifiedwas that they should see themselves as leaders of tomorrow, but leadership starts with the self.

By the end of the day, the masquerade was stripped away, replaced by the need for transparency between parents and schools and a demand for students to surround themselves with influences that enriched rather than distracted.

In Takatokwane, the village is trying to find its voice again and the question remains, will the parents be ready to listen to what it has to say? ENDS