Mamelodi Sundowns assistant coach Steve Komphela has given a source of light and hope to juveniles at the Baviaanspoort Correctional Centre in Tshwane, reiterating there is life after prison.
Komphela was amongst dignitaries who attended the launch of the Twinning Project supported by FIFA, which was held at the Baviaanspoort Correctional Centre on Thursday.
READ: Why potential Zwane move to Chiefs won't be easy...
Other dignitaries included Sundowns chairman Tlhopie Motsepe, National Commissioner of Correctional Services Samuel Thobakgale, Twinning Project CEO Hilton Freund, and club legend Daniel Mudau.
New striker at the side, Lebo Mothiba, also made his first public appearance as a Masandawana player during the event.
Komphela urged the offenders to learn from their past mistakes and utilize the support from the Correctional Services, FIFA, and Mamelodi Sundowns.
"It's a privilege and honour (to visit the center). It's not very often that you find yourself in a group of young people who need to be given hope and reminded about the significance and importance of well-being. It also teaches me when in a position of privilege... freedom is a privilege," says the erudite mentor, speaking to KickOff.com on the sidelines of the event.
"Some of us are not free because of our own will but because of lack of the environment that gives us support and we also need to present that privilege to the folks to say we are here to be involved in your struggle, add a bit of influence and impact and also recognize that there is life beyond these (walls). We can only do that using sport because sport is powerful.
"You can imagine the level of fear, the level of anxiety, the level of different emotions that go on with the young men, and sports have a way of dealing with emotions because you get excited after kicking the ball, after winning a match and sometimes you get depressed. So, it's important that apart from their physical well-being, it's also their mental health," he added.
The former Bafana Bafana also emphasized that prisons are rehabilitation centers.
"Unfortunately, we are human beings, we have our own plans, we have our own little ambitions and agendas, but sometimes things can happen. My advice to them (juveniles), it's not the end of the world. This is an opportunity to sit back and reflect on where did you go wrong, I need to correct that. And nobody is perfect, we are just humans. But we can learn from our mistakes and I am trying to look at the beauty part of it and trying to find positives from the predicament because in every dark cloud lies a silver lining.
READ | 11 off for Downs: Football players are not machines
"In every silly joke or whatever, there is an element of truth and reality that can always give you a comeback out of a setback. They have age on their side, so what they can do is to utilise the age on their side, lean on the support provided by FIFA, Correctional Services, and Mamelodi Sundowns, and try to get better than bitter," he advised.
Komphela grew up on a farm in the Free State in a family of 11 children under the guidance of parents who were illiterate. The former Bafana Bafana captain remains grateful to former Free State Stars boss Mike Mokoena for helping him pay for his studies at tertiary.