OUR FERTILE GROUND
"People are like bicycles. They can keep their balance only as long as they keep moving forward." -Albert Einstein
Siya Baleni
“Together we stand, divided we fall”
Siya was born in the Eastern Cape in a village called Dimbaza. In 1991, after completing his lower grades of education he moved out and completed his middle grades and high school education in Cape Town.
Forming life skills through sports and partnerships with Hoops for Hope and the HIV answers program of The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) Siya brings a wealth of experience to Fertile Ground camps.
In 2005, he met Jawaya and Robert with the Fertile Ground Organization at an HIV prevention march in Hout bay and started volunteering at the camps where his skills, energy and charisma soon had him appointed as Camp Director by his peers. Volunteering with Fertile Ground, he gained information about HIV, substance abuse, gender, and inequality leading him to seek opportunities to affect change in his community. Siya has an exceptionally good rapport with adolescents and children who look upon him as a great older brother figure and mentor.
