Malvern learner remains optimistic despite setbacks
Thirteen-year-old Dina has remained optimistic about the future and seems determined to find opportunities to make the most of her circumstances.
DINA Mlobeli had great expectations about 2020 at this time last year.
After winning a scholarship to begin her secondary schooling at Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls (OWLAG) in Gauteng, she felt like the world was opening up for her in ways she had previously never even imagined possible.
Then came 2020 and the Covid-19 pandemic.
When Queensburgh News last spoke to the energetic and engaging youngster at Malvern Primary School, shortly after the announcement that she had been awarded a full scholarship to OWLAG, neither we, nor she, could have predicted that the year of 2020 would disrupt Dina and many other’s best laid plans the way it did.
However 13-year-old Dina has remained optimistic about the future and seems determined to find opportunities to make the most of her circumstances.
“I feel like it has meant many people who never would have updated the way they do work and school have been forced to and that is great,” said Dina from her family home in Burlington.
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“It is not great for many people who don’t have access to technology or data in rural areas, but for me living in a city, it has allowed me to keep up with my schoolwork, while being at home keeping safe.”
Dina explained that OWLAG, unlike many other schools makes a point of allowing its learners to be part of all the decisions made about how to mitigate the effects of the pandemic.
“They asked for our input and we felt as if what we said really mattered,” she explained. “It gave me my first taste of what it is like to be consulted and made me appreciate how important it is for people to feel part of a process rather than just feeling as if they have no voice.”
When South Africa embarked on its hard lockdown, the school term was still underway, so as borders, girls at OWLAG, remained at school when most other children did not.
In addition, Dina said the school’s food was an acquired taste.
“It wasn’t just me though, most of us all struggled to get used to the diet at the school which, based on recommendations of a dietician, was quite different to the food we usually eat at home,” she explained. “It wasn’t so much the type of food, but the quantities,” she said. “When I got back home I had to get used to the way we normally eat here again, and I imagine when I go back next year it will feel the same as when I first started,” she laughed.
The tech savvy teen said she kept in constant contact with her family. This was not the case for all Dina’s fellow students.
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“I saw how homesick they were and I felt really bad for them,” she said. “Now, although I am never lonely here at home with so much family around me, I feel like I can better understand what they were going through, because I miss my friends and teachers, even though I am in contact with them a lot via remote learning platforms!”
Caxton Local Media Covid-19 reporting
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At the time of going to press, the contents of this feature mirrored South Africa’s lockdown regulations.
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