Meet a Lombardy East father who is doing his matric at 65 and his son is in primary school
LOMBARDY EAST -– It's never too late to attain your matric certificate, says Lombardy East father, Frans Mpete (65), doing matric while his son is at primary school.
When Frans Mpete was 15 years old he fell on hard times that forced him to leave school. Fast forward 50 years and Mpete, now 65, is close to ending his lifelong regret of not having matriculated. The resident of Lombardy East in Johannesburg which borders Alexandra said he always felt he was missing out because ‘without matric, you are less able to earn a good income’.
“If you lack skills, your chances of being employed are limited,” he added. A keen newspaper reader, Mpete had read many articles over the years about people obtaining a qualification despite all odds and decided if they could do it, so could he. In 2018, he registered with the Gauteng Community Education and Training College and completed Grade 11, attending classes part-time at Realogile High School in Alexandra.
He now has two subjects left to write before attaining his senior certificate. “Unfortunately, the coronavirus has delayed my studies and I think I will only complete the course next year,” Mpete said. Because he does not have access to a computer, Mpete has found the work very challenging but remains determined to succeed. Rewinding back to his younger days, in 1975, Mpete then 20, found a job as a gardener at Rand Aid Association.
The non-profit organisation runs four retirement villages, two care centres, a home for the deaf, and a substance abuse rehab centre. Two years after starting work at Rand Aid, he was promoted to garden supervisor and five years after that, he took responsibility for the mail and other deliveries using a bicycle to do his rounds. In 1989, when Mpete was in his early 30s, Rand Aid helped him get his driver’s licence and he has been a driver for the organisation ever since.
In 1998, he was transferred to head office where he is still based. Born in Brits and raised in Rustenburg, Mpete had a rural upbringing and looked after his grandfather’s cattle. In 1988, he married Thandi and the couple had two children, daughter Dimakatso and son Kgotso, a ‘laat lammetjie’ who is only nine. Dimakatso is in her 30s and has given Mpete and Thandi two grandsons, Katlego (13) and Kgosi (4).
Retirement from Rand Aid is on Mpete’s horizon and he hopes to follow in his wife’s footsteps and become a motivational speaker. Mpete said the achievement in life he was most proud of was buying a vacant piece of land in Lombardy East, paying off his bank loan and building his own home.
His advice to people wanting to become financially secure is to have various sources of income. “One income is not enough to sustain your financial well-being. “Also,” he stressed, “your income must exceed your expenses.”
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