One young woman’s struggle for an education
FOR PHUMLA Mnyandu, not having money for her studies and sometimes even for food was not a good enough reason not to further her education. Her perseverance saw her graduate with a degree in social work last week.
The 24-year-old former University of Zululand student’s life was turned upside down when her father allegedly walked out on his family when she was just 4 months old.
“My sister was 2 at the time so our mother could not leave us at home and go look for a job, so she started making fat cookies and selling them to construction workers,” Mnyandu told the Sunday Tribune.
Tragedy struck in 1999 when her mother, Thembisile Mnyandu, was injured in a car accident on her way from selling fat cookies. The incident left her unable to walk for months.
“We really struggled but in 2000 Aunt Mpume hired my mother as a domestic worker. I don’t know if she really needed a maid but sometimes I think she just wanted to help and knew that my mother would not accept any handouts.”
Aunt Mpume is actually Mpume Zondi, associate professor and head of the department of African Languages at the University of Pretoria.
Things changed for the better 14 years ago when Zondi returned from a year-long stay in Albany, US. Zondi had made friends with the charitable Emmaus House Catholic Worker Family (EHCWF) who expressed interest in helping the community from her rural Kwandebeqheke village, outside Pietermaritzburg.
The EHCWF, led by Bob Longobucco, first installed running water for about 20 families who previously had to fight with cattle over water in a stream.
“They wanted to do more so I asked if they could invest in the education of the local kids. They said I must identify 10. Phumla is the first of those children to graduate from university, so we are extremely proud,” Zondi said.
Mnyandu was the beneficiary of the EHCWF from Grade 4 until matric and she doesn’t believe she would have been able to complete her education without their help.
“They paid my school fees, made sure I had a proper uniform, a backpack. My mother could not afford to do all of those things.
“I could have been tempted to just quit school so that my mother would not have to work even when she was sick just to put me through school.”
Mnyandu’s tertiary education was paid through financial aid, funding from the Department of Social Development and working as a research assistant for Zondi.
“Aunt Mpume is my guardian angel on earth. When I went to Unizulu in 2012 she also got a job there and that really helped because I could go to her when I had nothing to eat or when I need help with my studies.”
Zondi’s tenure at the University of Zululand ended last year just as Mnyandu completed her degree.
“Phumla is a very intelligent child and I’m so proud of her. But, most importantly for me, education is not education until you’ve used it to light up people’s lives. That is what I’ve always wanted for Phumla,” Zondi said.