Connection and care for others a powerful combination

Saul Fox, a Yeshiva College matriculant, fondly remembers his introduction to high school life – his Grade 6 camp – when they were joined by the Grade 11 students who would be in matric when they joined high school.

“It was really powerful because it not only helped us integrate into high school, but those boys also ended up coming to our Barmitzvahs and becoming role models who we could interact with and ask for guidance,” Fox says. This experience came full circle when Fox became one of the mentors to a group of Grade 6s years later. “It gave me a feeling of being a part of something bigger and helping a new generation,” he says.

In his Grade 8 year, Fox’s sister contracted Tuberculosis. “She became quite sick and even today, isn’t fully recovered,” he says. “It was difficult. It changed a lot of my views about the world, what I could do, what I could achieve in it, and how I could be a part of it.”

During that trying time, Fox said, “I made some amazing friends and saw the beauty and power of friendship. But I also realised how friends can drift away in difficult times. Seeing those friends drift away wasn’t easy, but I feel all the stronger for it.”

Since his sister was immunocompromised, the COVID-19 pandemic was particularly challenging for Fox, who couldn’t return to school for almost an additional year after everyone else had done so. “I went back properly only at the beginning of Grade 11 (2022) when everyone else had been there for most of Grade 10 (2021),” he said.

“It was difficult being the only person still on Zoom and trying to keep up while not being able to see the board through the camera,” Fox said. “In addition, I felt like the only person in my class because I was no longer in an environment where everyone felt together.

“I was a bit isolated, but it wasn’t to the fault of any of my peers. I also learned the value of being there for someone, be it physically, in a message, or by helping them by holding a camera throughout a lesson. It taught me that sometimes what may seem a little thing can mean quite a lot to another person.”

Other highlights of Fox’s school career included planning a meaningful assembly at school about empathy as part of the environment and advocacy committee, as well as winning best individual speaker at the public speaking competition of the Speech and Drama College South Africa.

Fox is taking a gap year to study at a Yeshiva. Next year, he plans to study either biomedical engineering or astronomy and astrophysics. Throughout his studies, he plans to continue with his charitable initiative, HandPrintSA, which makes upper limb prosthetics for those in need, and for which he was nominated for the Rising Star category of the 2023 Jewish Achiever Awards.

He also plans to continue to be an integral part of the community. “I plan to keep in contact with my classmates and the students I befriended on their Grade 6 tour, and give back to others who have done so much for me,” he says.