If persevering through tough times builds character, then this person you're about to meet is a saint, however he wasn’t always righteous. At one point in his life he lacked passion, drive, and direction. 20-year-old Anthony Mackey is six years removed from being an Albany gang member.
“I felt like I was always around them. I felt like that’s all I knew. I grew up around them, so I’m like why not, my friends are in it, so I might as well join. The first day I joined the gang I had to fight, if I can remember, two minutes or what not and that time, like man I do not want to do this, but I felt like I had to because of the pride that I had and I didn’t want nobody calling me a simp, simp meaning scary or a punk or what not. I just felt like it needed to be done, but at certain times, yes I felt I shouldn’t do this.”
But recently Mackey turned his thug life, into a thoughtful life, wanting more.
“It was Mr. John Watson. He was consistent. Even though I was bad, he was the one person, when he first saw me, even though they told him don’t bother me, aint no changing that boy, aint no helping that boy. He was just that type of person that was always there and showed me that there’s more to it in life than just being on the south side of town.”
John Watson is an employee who works with WorldVison an organization that helps kids. He says he was just in the right place at the right time when he met Anthony.
“The biggest change he had in his life is when he changed his mind. When you begin to change your mind that’s when you truly begin to enter into that process to doing better. I just happened to be there when he changed his mind. All I was able to do was provide opportunities for him. It was up to him to accept those opportunities and make the most of it.”
As Anthony mentioned back when he was a gang member you could catch him fighting and disrespecting pretty much everyone he came across; now you can catch him helping his community at WorldVision.
“World Vision is an organization that is basically world wide. We help kids that need clothing, food, or anything of that nature. I teach them what can they take from inside the community and take it to Washington in a way that Washington can see what’s going on with us and help us out and show them that there is hope inside our community and that we can change and get the kids off the street.”
Anthony is viewed by the students as a great role model; and this role model has a very important message to young people.
“Joining a gang is suicide. You’re not going to do anything but get yourself caught up into a life where you’re not going to want to be. My advice to you, gangs are not serious. You might see it now whether you’re at middle school or high school but as you get older you will see the true meaning of life.”
By Jeff Abeln
http://www.mysouthwestga.com/news/news_story.aspx?id=282836
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