16-02-2014, 06:28 PM
Mcebisi Nxedlana’s parents never had the opportunity to go to school and many times the 20-year-old himself wanted to drop out so he could get a job and help his struggling family.
Mcebisi is now a 3rd-year biotechnology student at the University of Witwatersrand and he cannot wait to complete his qualification so he can find employment and start changing the situation at home.
The youngster is a beneficiary of the Jacob Zuma RDP Education Trust. The Trust has since 1995 helped thousands of young people from rural areas stay in school. At least 60% of those disadvantaged learners were female.
Every year the Trust awards several young people scholarships to enable them to study at renowned tertiary institutions in a variety of courses.
“I used to be shy and ashamed, but today I am able to stand up and be proud of who I am because of education,†said Nxedalana.
The Jacob Zuma Trust, which started its work in KwaZulu-Natal, has helped Mcebisi and another 20 000 children just like him from mostly from rural areas with bursaries over the years.
The initiative has now extended its footprint into the Eastern Cape and Limpopo provinces.
On Friday night, Mcebisi and other beneficiaries of the Trust got an opportunity to meet President Jacob Zuma, who has this year raised over R10 million through the Presidential Golf Challenge.
The Presidential Golf Challenge is held a day after the State of the Nation Address and is aimed at raising much-needed funds for charities chosen by the sitting President.
Zuma told a dinner at the Cape Town International Convention Centre which was a culmination of the golf challenge that one of the things he had learned during the struggle for a free South Africa was that education was the only weapon to defeat the apartheid government.
“We always had this belief that if we armed ourselves with education and knowledge, we would be able to defeat the apartheid rulers.
“I wanted to go to school but I couldn’t because my parents could not afford to send me … I had an ambition to become a teacher or a lawyer but I couldn’t afford to became any of those.
“When I established the Trust I knew that at least we would make an impact in society and I think that has happened,†said Zuma.
Zuma thanked those sponsors who had supported the initiative over the years, adding that he was encouraged by the huge support this year's event had received.
“We continue to grow every year and I would like to thank every one of you for your support, no matter how small. It makes a difference to someone’s child,†he said. – SAnews.gov.za
Mcebisi is now a 3rd-year biotechnology student at the University of Witwatersrand and he cannot wait to complete his qualification so he can find employment and start changing the situation at home.
The youngster is a beneficiary of the Jacob Zuma RDP Education Trust. The Trust has since 1995 helped thousands of young people from rural areas stay in school. At least 60% of those disadvantaged learners were female.
Every year the Trust awards several young people scholarships to enable them to study at renowned tertiary institutions in a variety of courses.
“I used to be shy and ashamed, but today I am able to stand up and be proud of who I am because of education,†said Nxedalana.
The Jacob Zuma Trust, which started its work in KwaZulu-Natal, has helped Mcebisi and another 20 000 children just like him from mostly from rural areas with bursaries over the years.
The initiative has now extended its footprint into the Eastern Cape and Limpopo provinces.
On Friday night, Mcebisi and other beneficiaries of the Trust got an opportunity to meet President Jacob Zuma, who has this year raised over R10 million through the Presidential Golf Challenge.
The Presidential Golf Challenge is held a day after the State of the Nation Address and is aimed at raising much-needed funds for charities chosen by the sitting President.
Zuma told a dinner at the Cape Town International Convention Centre which was a culmination of the golf challenge that one of the things he had learned during the struggle for a free South Africa was that education was the only weapon to defeat the apartheid government.
“We always had this belief that if we armed ourselves with education and knowledge, we would be able to defeat the apartheid rulers.
“I wanted to go to school but I couldn’t because my parents could not afford to send me … I had an ambition to become a teacher or a lawyer but I couldn’t afford to became any of those.
“When I established the Trust I knew that at least we would make an impact in society and I think that has happened,†said Zuma.
Zuma thanked those sponsors who had supported the initiative over the years, adding that he was encouraged by the huge support this year's event had received.
“We continue to grow every year and I would like to thank every one of you for your support, no matter how small. It makes a difference to someone’s child,†he said. – SAnews.gov.za