The academic year in South Africa has been slightly delayed following last year’s #FeesMustFall protests, but this week a new cohort of first years students have registered at universities across the city. This includes eight new Masicorp bursary recipients from Masiphumele who joined us last week to meet their mentors, collect laptops and undertake computer training at the iLearning Centre at Chasmay Road next to Masiphumlele.

Again we have an interesting group of bursary recipients, studying a diverse range of courses including teaching, accountancy, psychology and for the first time retail business management. We also have our first male nursing student and two students who will be attending Stellenbosch University – the first time we have had bursary recipients studying there. Most of the students will be with us for three or four years, but Khuselo Mchithakali will be with us to just complete his final year. He has completed the previous years of his agriculture course at the Wellington campus of CPUT with financial support from his family in the Eastern Cape. Each year they had sold livestock to fund his progression, and his intention is to return to the region to take his newly acquired skills back to the farming communities.

Training went extremely well – we received the following message from Khuselo:

Thank you for everything you have done with your team, it has been a great experience especially today, I am really excited to have my first laptop which I have been longing to get since grade 10, but due to financial difficulties I couldn’t get one. I will call my parents and send pictures, I am sure they will pray to God to bless your efforts in trying to reach out for deserving young lives.

After training we took the students for lunch in Masiphumelele and called in on our friend Nonny, who runs her catering and cafe business with support from Masicorp. It was a great opportunity for everyone to be introduced and get to know each other before heading out to their various residences across the city ahead of the new term. Good luck to everyone for the new term and thanks to Nonny for providing some delicious and filling food to get everyone underway.