LOOK TO LUKE FOR INSPIRATION

A young adult in the crime-riddled area of Ocean View in Cape Town has started an organisation, Kids are Kids, to steer children away from gangsterism and drugs. Katherine Graham had the privilege of speaking to him.

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Luke Koeries knows what it’s like not having enough. At the age of nine, his policeman father died and his mother was left to fend for four children. Luke, the youngest, remembers asking his mother for things she couldn’t afford. ‘It was tough,’ he confides. ‘But there was more to it than that. I knew other kids just like me were also facing poverty.’

SMILES FOR A CHANGE
For Luke, just seeing one life changed makes it all worthwhile. ‘When I see a smile on a child’s face at one of our events, that’s enough reward for me,’ he says. ‘It inspires me to keep going and help more children.’



IT STARTED WITH EASTER EGGS…
Recognising the hardship faced by children in Ocean View and wanting to follow in his father’s footsteps, Luke started Kids are Kids in 2017. ‘I had an idea to do an Easter egg hunt because many of these kids had never received an Easter egg before,’ he says. Like most teens, he took to social media and within a few weeks had received the support he needed. ‘It was a big success and it spurred me to carry on.’



… AND GREW TO A LEARNING CENTRE
With the help of business partners and individual donations, Luke has been able to continue his work, feeding children on an almost daily basis and organising sports events and hikes. When a Wendy house was donated to him, Luke turned it into a learning centre where children could do their homework after school. ‘We have quite a few Grade 10 students who volunteer at the learning centre as part of their community service, which is a big help,’ he says.



DREAMS OF A MINIBUS AND EXPANDING HORIZONS
The biggest challenge Luke faces is getting funding. ‘I’m still in the process of registering Kids are Kids,’ he says. ‘Until then, it’s chaos to get funding without an NPO number.’ He would love to buy a minibus to take children out of Ocean View and show them the beautiful sights of Cape Town. ‘Some of them have never left the township before,’ he says.

But despite the obstacles, he’s confident about the future. ‘There’s so much I still want to do,’ he smiles. ‘I’d love to expand into the Western Cape and uplift more communities. At the moment, I’m just doing the best with what I have.’ And no doubt he will continue to do so, inspiring change with one child’s smile at a time.



LOVE, GUIDANCE AND GOOD ROLE MODELS
Luke often visits under-resourced schools to speak to children. ‘I want to show them that there is a path out of poverty that doesn’t involve gangs and drugs,’ he says. He believes that children are drawn into gangs because of an absence of parental love and support. ‘The parents are getting drunk and don’t look after their kids,’ he says. ‘Then these youngsters see gangsters wearing nice clothes and driving nice cars and they want to follow them.’ He believes that by giving children love, guidance and good role models, they will have a chance to live better lives.

To find out more, visit Kids are Kids on Facebook at facebook.com/kidsarekidsov/