Sitting in the corner of the brown-leather office couch, thirty-one-year-old Joshwin Taurijo does not know what to expect. However, his expression says otherwise; a strong poker face is on display – developed during difficult times and strengthened in moments when he needed to manipulate others. Fifteen years ago, he would not have guessed that he would be sitting in an interview. He would not have guessed that he would be sitting in his office. Nor would he have guessed he would be husband to his beautiful Charlene and father of two: a four-year-old daughter and one-year-old son.
Taurijo confidently lists his weaknesses, but almost whispers his strengths. He describes himself as an adventurer, a magician and a God-fearing man. Put in any room, Taurijo is a people’s person: good at motivating and drawing the best out of people. He believes he is a good dad and a hard worker. “I got that from my dad. My dad was never educated. He’s been working on a farm all his life. He still is. But that man has never skipped a day in his life. He’s a hard worker and I think I get that from him.”
He describes himself very differently fifteen years ago. “A lost soul,” Taurijo was a young man with a story that to this day, rings true for many in the Western Cape. “I was deeply on drugs. I was homeless when I was sixteen-years-old – not in school. I had just come out of my third or fourth juvenile prison. By that time, I belonged to a gang already.” Somewhere between describing this, he had grabbed onto the pillow that sat next to him. It now sat on his lap: his large hands folded over it.
At the age of nine, Taurijo left home. His tone shifts as he moves from describing his dream of becoming a fighter pilot, to his dream of escaping his father. At the age of eleven, he dropped out of school. He sighs. If there were one thing he would change in his life, it would be to finish school and to study. It is only now that he realizes the difference that education makes.
In fifteen years, a lot has changed for Joshwin Taurijo. He sits in his office – project manager of Inala. PHOTO: Aaliyah Davids.
He vividly remembers working for a drug-lord, who decided that at the age of fifteen, Taurijo was ready for his own gun. “I used to shoot people for him before, but when I was fifteen, I was regarded as man-enough to have my own.” As can be expected, this took its toll. Not long after, he was sentenced to ten years in prison, of which he served five.
Taurijo’s childhood saw him experience what can be described as abuse, whenever he did something wrong. This sparked a lifelong search for love and acceptance – something he believes he only received when he did something for others. He longed for a love that was unconditional and accepting. Ironically, he found this in prison.
When asked what the turning point was for him, he does not hesitate to answer – God. He smiles as he describes how Pastor Raymond, from Retreat, came to prison and preached once. The pastor spoke about a gift from God: unconditional love, in a sermon called “Bad Boys and the God who loves them”. Taurijo became enthralled with the idea of a God who loves people regardless of their actions; a God who forgives and offers another chance, repeatedly. Despite hating the idea of authority and being told what to do, God sparked a desire in him to want to change his life.
“I fell in love with the idea of God – with the idea of somebody loving me just as I am. Because by that time I thought, I was unlovable. I thought nobody would ever accept me because I’ve shot people. I have stabbed people. I’ve robbed people. I did a lot of things – bad things. So, I condemned myself to the point where I thought being in prison … I deserved to be there. I deserved to be shot in the head – in the face.”
Through determination and dedication, Taurijo has managed to change his life. He continues to change his life and the lives of many others, as project manager of non-profit company, Inala – something he considers his biggest achievement in life. Drawing on his own experiences and an endless supply of love to give, Taurijo aims to shift the lives and thinking of children with similar experiences to his own.
Still, he wants to do more. He wants to make a success of his life, aiming to have a degree. He wants to leave a legacy for his children and see his wife happy. He wants to reside in an area where he does not have to play loud music in order to drown out the sound of bullets flying. He wants to start living, where previously he feels he has only survived. He smiles at the prospect.