Prince Simphiwe Mazibuko fondly known as Prince Wako Pitori runs a teenager’s disciplinary camp called the DreamHub
He is like a superhero for the youth! He has transformed over 100 lives of young people in South Africa through his newly formed Teenage camps. Prince Simphiwe Mazibuko (31) fondly known as Prince Wako Pitori runs a teenager’s school holiday disciplinary camp called the DreamHub in Tshwane.
After seeing a spike in, drug use among teens, alcohol abuse, and the never-ending dilemma of teenage pregnancies, Prince joined forces with two friends to start Dream Hub this year.
The disciplinary camps run for five to 10 days during school holidays. They take on youth between the ages of seven years old and 21 years old who are so-called troublesome, and with behavioural issues such as low self-esteem, and low confidence, who have suffered from peer pressure, smokers, alcohol users, and those who need a boost in confidence. Dream Hub works closely with trained facilitators, a psychologist, psychiatrist for therapy. “Our programs are very strict but also gentle. We have a strict vegetarian diet. The programs include physical and mental challenges, which are designed to target and fix behavioral problems in both genders,” Prince says. “We tackle early-age smoking and drinking, substance abuse, peer pressure, inappropriate attitude, anger, lack of self-control, an association of bad friendships, back chatting, and many other issues. We facilitate physical, mental, and emotional activities together with motivational talks and one-on-one sessions with our psychologists to unearth the roots of these problems and eliminate them strategically.”
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Teenage stages are most crucial in the growth of developing happy, healthy adults who contribute greatly as adults. “We saw a spike in teenage issues such as pregnancies, drug use, alcohol abuse, youth being pressured by social media and dating older men, and pressured to have money,” he says. “We understand parents struggle to balance, work, and home life. Some parents are headed by single parents and kids struggle to find role models. So we started Dreamhub where youth can feel like they belong.”
He started training youth as part of another camp but we parted ways to start his own. “I started DreamHub with two friends who wished to remain unknown and I used my personal social media following to reach out to parents and families who needed help, and the response has been overwhelming,” he says. “We have over a million supporters, and we have helped hundreds of teens.” Born in Nelspruit, Mbombela. Prince’s father was murdered during a hijacking when he was a year old. “My siblings and I were raised by my mother and stepfather who also passed on in January 2021 due to COVID-19 complications,” he says. ” So I have always worked hard, passionate about healing past traumas and helping others through my own personal hurdles. After high school, I did a Paramedic course before being accepted at TUT to study film and television Production. I am also a creative, poet, storyteller, and motivational speaker.”
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It is very difficult to watch your teenagers spiral out of control. His goal is to groom confident, well-spoken, respectful dreamers who contribute positively to society. “All our facilitators have been trained. We have several clearances including the Child Protection Act and the outdoor adventure qualifications,” he says. “The facilitators and coordinators have first aid certificates, and something called an ARA certificate. For five days, we charge R1 500, for seven days is R2 000-, and 10 days costs R3 000. All our packages include uniforms and food, and exclude transport to the camp.”
Bongi Sikelo 