Lunga Sam is a firefighter at the Molteno Team who was recruited in 2015. The 29-year-old had to leave school in 2007 after doing Grade 11 due to financial difficulties.

“Getting a job was not easy because I did not have matric, a qualification or skills. But I had hope,” he says.

Sam says that he went to every recruitment that took place for the Stutterheim and Hogsback Teams in the hope of being recruited as a firefighter, but he was not successful.

“I never gave up and I had hope that one day I would get something that would change my life,” says Sam.

It was only in November 2015 when a new base was opened in Molteno that Sam finally got his chance. Many young people pitched up on that day and did the fitness tests as well as interviews.

“The selection was very tough and everyone did their best. When I was told that I had been selected to be part of the Molteno Team I could not hold my tears,” says Sam.

He says, “We were taken for training and when we came back I promised myself that I would work hard to get other opportunities within the programme.”

After five months as a firefighter Sam was selected for driver assessment because he already had a driver’s licence. “I was then appointed to be a driver for the team and that brought me more happiness and my life became better,” he says.

He advises young people to work hard and never give up in life. “Working on Fire has changed my life within a short period of time and I am thankful for that,” says Sam with a smile.