Well-known award-winning South African actress Lerato Mvelase recently reflected on how far she has come.

 

 

 

In a recent interview on DJ Fresh’s WAW (What a Week) podcast, she was asked when things were tough, how tough they were, and the actress instantly went to her childhood.

“You know my nature is that of handling things , so I handle things myself and that’s just who I am. My mom raised me like that and I suppose having to take care of my family from such an early age, you have to be strong. You have to grow up very quickly. As a kid I remember at Sacred Heart specifically, we didn’t have money at all at home and I would miss school, and I couldn’t afford to miss school because I couldn’t speak English.

“I was there with Madiba [former president Nelson Mandela] and [Walter] Sisulu’s grandkids. It was that school, and I’m just this kid whose mom worked at a factory as a seamstress. I used to get R5. What do you buy for lunch at Sacred Heart with R5? So I spent most of my lunch days in the bathroom because what are you going to eat?”