Ex-con flourishes as fashion designer

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He was only 21 years old when he was found guilty of hijacking and armed robbery.

He was sentenced to 30 years imprisonment, but is now out on parole for good behaviour.

At the age of 15 years, he left home and began fending for himself.

“My dad was a mechanic and he taught me how to fix cars. I left home and went on to work on fixing trucks,” he says.

His life of crime started at the age of 16 when he began stealing cars and truck tyres. This was also the start of his drug addiction.

“I started with dagga, and then moved to mandrax ‘buttons’ and ‘shining top’,” he says.

In 2000, his freedom was cut short when he and three other boys hijacked a truck and broke into a shop, stealing cartons of cigarettes.

The police caught them, and while the two other boys escaped, Ben and another suspect were taken into custody.

The other suspect soon turned State witness, as they disagreed in court over the details of their criminal activities.

“Our friendship ended. It was painful, but I was high on drugs and so I felt nothing,” he says.

Ben says that going to prison was a blessing in disguise, as he rediscovered himself and became a new person.

This process however took five years, and his life finally took a U-turn when in 2005, when he found himself in a hospital bed for nine months battling TB, ulcers, and throat cancer.

This was also the time when he learnt of the death of his father.

“In prison, your life can go two ways – you can either become better or worse. After my hospital release, I decided to make a change,” he says.

“The prison offered workshops on life skills, anger management, HIV, self-esteem, substance abuse and stress management, and they all helped me,” he adds.

Ben took up sewing and completed courses in fashion design, while he obtained his International Computer Driving Licence.

On his release, Ben became a peer educator, while also educating the youth against the dangers of crime.

Ben is now hoping to one day own a boutique and to sell clothing such as wedding gowns and suits. He is already in the process of registering a company called Turning Point.

In his attempt to give back to the community, he will be sewing clothes for orphans and street kids.