A masters student at the University of Johannesburg has been awarded the 2021 Rhodes Scholarship.
Many parts of the Eastern Cape are faced with water scarcity and Bantu Fanteso’s MSc research in water scarcity is based on unlocking alternative sources of water using traditional technologies.
Fanteso is from Ngcengane, a town outside Mthatha in the Eastern Cape – a village that has a high drop-out rate at secondary school level. Fanteso completed a BSc in Environmental Studies at Walter Sisulu University in Mthatha in 2017. In 2018, started a BSc Honours in Geography at UJ where he is currently completing an MSc in Environmental Management. As the recipient of the Rhodes Trust Scholarship he hopes to inspire his peers, especially those in his community, to pursue their studies.
Fanteso expressed his elation over receiving this scholarship, “I’m very excited about it. It is a dream come true. I have always wanted to study abroad but I never thought I would go to Oxford.”
He added that he was very grateful to the Rhodes Trust community for awarding him the scholarship. “I would like to thank the six referees who supported me and wrote the referrals, my supervisor Professor Kowiyou Yessoufou, Dr Andrew Craig and friends for their unwavering support and encouragement.”
The first person he called when he heard the news was his mother. “Mum is very proud. She was proud when I moved to UJ, so you can imagine how proud she will be as I move from UJ to Oxford University. One of the key areas that Rhodes Scholarship focuses on is leadership. I hope to use this opportunity and influence young people to be involved in positions of leadership and make a positive change in society,” said Fanteso.
He plans to pursue his Doctor of Philosophy in Geography and the Environment at the University of Oxford and he hopes to leave for the UK in August. This, however, is dependent upon the current Covid-19 pandemic.
