A success story from Molweni

SHE still holds her hometown in her heart as she spreads her wings in the Environmental Management industry. Nokwanda Sikhakhane, who is a Junior Environment Consultant hailing from Molweni, believes a lot more can come from her hometown.

Sikhakhane said her hometown will forever be in her heart no matter how high she soars. “I spent my early years in the Upper Highway area and earlier in the Midlands. My family moved to Hillcrest when I started primary school. We then moved to Molweni a year before I went to boarding school,” she said.

Being raised by a mother who is a supermarket worker and a father who was a policeman, Sikhakhane said things took a financial knock when her dad stopped working due to an illness. “At that time, I was in boarding school, and my mother took care of everything financially. I did not know how she did it, but she did,” she said.

ALSO READ: A step closer to healing for Molweni flood victims

Sikhakhane said things turned out better when she was awarded a bursary in Grade 11. “I had always been an average achiever, but that changed when I changed my mindset towards my academics. I asked myself how the kids who are top achievers got their outstanding marks. I got close to these kids, and I would ask them for help. That is how I changed myself into achieving better results,” she said.

After obtaining five distinctions in her matric results, Sikhakhane was enrolled to study for a BSc Geology and Geography at the Witwatersrand University in 2016. “I was funded by the eThekwini Municipality for my undergrad qualification. I then proceeded to do my BSc Honours Geography: Environmental Management,” she explained.

Sikhakhane said she learnt a lot more about her hometown Molweni when she spent a year there after obtaining her qualifications. “I couldn’t find employment for a year, and I was forced to go back home. That was a hard time in my life, but I got to understand that the community I live in is short of knowledge.”

ALSO READ: WATCH: UKZN graduate performs the splits on stage

“I believe that they are not well-informed about the opportunities that are available for the youth in South Africa to further their studies. Some young people in my hometown hold this belief that you need to have money to study, and that is not true. After this realisation, I made it a mission to inform them about different scholarships and bursaries. It is in my heart to give back to my community in whatever way possible. Right now, I do not have the financial means to do something big, so I will start where I can. Every young person deserves a chance to live out their dreams and not be limited by their background,” she said.

Sikhakhane said the idea is to help young people be exposed to the knowledge of what careers are available to them and the type of funding they can get. She said she is looking forward to seeing what her career holds for her in the future, and she is willing to uplift her community.