THREE bright young Zululanders have been given the opportunity to chase their dreams of becoming engineers without having to ‘pay the price’.
Kuhlekonke Madide, Celumusa Nxumalo and Sfiso Mtolo on Friday happily accepted scholarships from the Nothani Education Trust to study mechanical engineering, ICT (information and Communication Technology) engineering and electrical engineering, respectively.
Each successful applicant will receive full tuition, board and lodging scholarship for the duration of their studies at a South African tertiary institution of their choice.
‘The applicants met all requirements of the Nothani Education Trust, which included that total household income of each family was less than R6000 a month; preparedness to offer their time for charity work during their studies; accept mentorship from the trustees; and be willing to offer the trust 10% of their income equivalent to years of support received once they start working to ensure sustainability of scholarships,’ said Trust Chair Musa Makhunga.
‘They were selected from a very impressive list of applicants, which made our decision a very challenging one.
‘These scholarships are awarded every three years when one group comes off.’
The three previous recipients were Mthokozisi Vilakazi (Mechanical Engineering) and Nokulunga Goqo (Environmental Sciences) who have completed their studies, and Vincent Madela who is finishing this year.
‘It has been a great experience to work with this group whose performance has encouraged us to award more scholarships,’ said Makhunga.
Tisand Technical High School maths and science teacher, Richard Buthelezi asserted the initiative is crucial to uplift the underprivileged.
‘It is aimed to assist the poorest of the poor students,’ said Buthelezi.
‘It was evident last year when one of the scholarship recipients lost both parents.
‘When this happened there was no hope he would ever realise his dreams, but with Nothani he is still pursuing it.’
Recipient Kuhlekonke said she thanked God for touching the hearts of the trustees.
‘Without this scholarship, it would have been impossible to pursue a career in mechanical engineering.’
Sfiso Mtolo also said he was happy there are people who hear the voices of the disadvantaged.
‘I now understand that being human is about giving back to the community and helping the needy.’
