Mitchells Plain role models born of Madiba’s belief in education
STEPPING into his new position as minister of finance in 1996, Trevor Manuel received an instruction from then president Nelson Mandela to invest more in education.
“Apartheid had left the country in a lot of debt but he (Mandela) said our future needs to be about education and education must always receive more money than spending on debt. He (Mandela) said debt is the past and education is about the future,” Manuel said.
With this instruction in mind, Manuel helped to set up the Mitchells Plain Bursary and Role Model Trust.
Joining the fund’s trustee, Achmat Chotia, at the HeartFM studio’s in Green Point, Manuel chatted about the launch of the fund’s new website that would go live today – just in time for Mandela Day tomorrow.
The website would make it easier for students in Mitchells Plain and surround- ing areas to win assistance for tertiary level studies and to apply for bursaries.
“It does not have to be money; it can be the skills and the experience itself that lifts young people and counters the risks that they face in an area like Mitchells Plain,” he said.
Manuel added that Mitchells Plain had yielded many success stories but it was the responsibility of “those who had reached new heights to encourage the potential in others”.
“We expect the bursary recipients to go back to the schools that they come from and encourage other young people,” he said.
One such recipient is 19-year-old Jayson George who received eight distinctions in matric last year, graduating as one of the top 20 students in the Western Cape.
He is currently a first year law student at UCT.
“The reason I chose law is that I see a lot of people in my community that are being disadvantaged, considering the steep fees of legal costs.
“I chose law to help the people of my community. I want them to understand their rights and I want to fight for their rights. I want to make sure they are provided with all that our constitution has promised us,” he said.
Another bursary recipient, Yolanda Tshilio, is studying social sciences at UCT. “The trust has helped me as a young woman to pay for my studies,” she said.