The average 21-year-old might find themselves actively involved in their academics or the working industry. However, Stellenbosch University Law student, Luke Waltham (21) balances being an activist, chairperson of the United Nations Association of South Africa (UNASA) and his academics.
Apart from being a former writer for Huffington Post, Waltham writes for Celeb Mix, The Mighty and News24. He also boasts as a proud fanboy of Korean pop group, BTS.
Luke Waltham says he is looking forward to attending the International Youth Leadership Conference in Prague later this year and hopes to network more with young leaders. PHOTO: Marecia Damons
In the sunlit kitchen, a protea bouquet stands isolated upon the grey counter. Wearing a sky-blue shirt and denim jeans Waltham sits down at the kitchen table and begins to tell the story of where his journey began.
“I grew up in Durban. My family is originally from the UK, so I live in a pretty liberal family and was always given a chance to have open views, open to learning and growing. So, I must say I was quite privileged in that aspect of where I grew up.”
From the outside, Waltham’s family might have come across as perfect, however, his parents divorced when he was still young. This drastically changed the course of his childhood experience.
“It was quite different. I’ve obviously seen sexism and misogyny in front of my life, not necessarily with family, but also within the community. But as I grew up, I was always given opportunities and platforms. I was able to attend conferences, and get involved in things like debating, public speaking and I think that helped me a lot with becoming the person I am today.”
These experiences sparked the urge for Waltham to participate in activities that actively changed the lives of those who needed it the most.
“When I was in high school, I became the DA youth leader in Durban and I was very involved in trying to promote humanitarian work, but that didn’t go too well. My actual passion, which is human rights and to empower people, was not fitting in with being in a political party. So, I decided to leave that space and for a long time I remained just being an activist in my own space.”
The 21-year-old explains how his passion for humanitarianism did not end in high school. After commencing his studies at Stellenbosch University, he felt urged to be involved in activism.
“I don’t like the fact that I get to sit around feeling comfy every day knowing there are people even on this campus who go to bed hungry at night. That’s why I think that starting just from your local grassroots level is such important activism. You don’t have to be the president of an organisation or be this top leader, and you don’t have to be a celeb or anything. It’s just starting from scratch trying to help out in any way possible.”
Waltham admits that throughout his life, the one aspect he’s battled with the most, is his sexuality. He leans back into his chair while looking towards the small kitchen window. The outside wind fills the brief moment of silence before Waltham continues.
“I just turned 15 when I realised that I find both men and women attractive. The whole time I knew that women were attractive to me, but there was the one day where I saw a man and I was like ‘goodness he’s attractive’. And then I watched Lord of the Rings and my favourite character, Legolas, was very attractive to me as well. That’s when I came to the conclusion.”
He pauses while looking down at his hands upon the kitchen table.
“It was a battle for a long time where I was like ‘Why the heck am I this way?’ I initially thought there can only be gay and straight. But I realised that you know what, I can be bisexual, queer and proud of myself. Ever since then, I’ve accepted myself.”
Waltham’s battle with his sexuality was, however, not only confined to his internal struggles.
“My school was a toxic one, in the fact that people loved to gossip. I never necessarily came out to people because [they] already had these assumptions. But I didn’t like the assumptions that I must ‘only be gay’ type of thing. If people were incorrect about that, I made sure that they knew that I’m not gay, I’m bisexual because obviously, it erases part of my identity if you just say I’m gay.”
He places his elbows upon the grey table and neatly rests his chin in the palm of his left hand. Waltham explains how coming out as bisexual to those closest to him, is still a battle.
“I obviously came out to some members of my family, but some don’t know yet. I don’t intend to have this whole thing where I come out them, because I’ve come to a point where I realised if I need to come out to heterosexual people like this, it’s putting me in an inferior position where I will be judged. I’ve never wanted my queerness to be violated or dehumanised. I’ve always wanted to ensure that if I do need to come out, it will be in a space that is good for that.”
As a blogger for several online publications, Waltham felt the need to also start writing about mental health issues.
“It’s a very personal thing for me. I battled when I was younger with my queer identity [and] with my parents’ divorce. Back then I had depression and now at university, I’ve found that my anxiety has been getting extremely bad. Throughout that experience I realised that there isn’t a lot of support in terms of mental health care anywhere in South Africa; even on this campus, it’s still lacking a lot.
“I’ve always been that passionate person who wants to make people aware of it. I want to spread awareness about it, just so that I can destigmatise mental health issues on our campus and around society in general.”
Waltham admits that his journey to writing for well-known publications such as Huffington Post and Tumblr, started in a therapeutic manner.
“It was definitely a form of escape because I’ve always been someone to bottle up my feelings, my thoughts and how I feel about things going on in the world. I’ve always battled to figure out how to relieve the stress and the emotions I have. I realised [it] really played a role in downplaying and ruining my mental health. So, when it comes to writing, it helps so much with stress relief.”
Amid several positions of leadership, Waltham believes it is vital to uphold positive values to ensure that his position of power is not abused in any way.
“I still believe in the value of integrity. There are times where people can really lose themselves. But if you uphold your integrity, you will get through things and you’ll be able to achieve them with your identity intact. It also brings a lot of character to who you are so people don’t see you as a shady or snaky character. I want to be someone who has integrity, even though I know that people who have integrity are often taken advantage of.
“I definitely want to get involved in human rights law. I want to focus on social justice and fighting for people who are marginalised and don’t have access to justice. I’ll continue fighting for human rights and raising awareness about mental health.”
His smile turns into a shy giggle as Waltham ponders on the legacy he wants to leave behind.
“I’d like people to remember me being someone who is humble and passionate. I’m not here to insist on fighting for human rights and social justice, nor to put myself on a pedestal. I want people to remember that I am a humanitarian. I’m not perfect, but I’m always ready to continue learning and growing and uniting together to make this world a better place.”