Bright pupil’s family appeal for financial aid
THE father of a matriculant who passed with seven distinctions and an 85.1% aggregate is making an earnest plea for assistance for his son, who was accepted by Stellenbosch University (SU) to study for a BCom Actuarial Sciences degree this year.
Settlers High School physical sciences and mathematics teacher Isaac Muserere explained that it was extremely difficult to get assistance for his son Tinotenda, as they were from Zimbabwe, meaning most bursaries, scholarships and bank loans were not open to him.
“My wife is unemployed. As such, despite my child being bright, I may not be able to send him to university, since I am the only breadwinner in the family.
“I have since applied for a permanent residence visa but it would not be out in time for Tinotenda to go to university.
“In addition, there is no guarantee that the visa will be granted.
“I am appealing to anyone who can help my child with a bursary or scholarship to further his studies and realise his dream of becoming an actuary,” said Muserere.
Tinotenda said: “As my father is the only breadwinner in our family of six, of which four are scholars, it is extremely difficult for him to fund my studies after high school.
“Our citizenship status also makes it difficult for us to obtain any sort of student loans or financial aid, even though I managed to obtain seven distinctions with an average of 85.1%. This placed me second in my grade. We are therefore appealing to anyone who can help with any kind of financial aid.”
Settlers High School principal Shereen Gallie described Tinotenda as an exceptionally gifted scholar who attained outstanding results.
“His conscientiousness, intelligence, leadership ability and warm personality will make him an asset to any institution,” Gallie said.
In a motivation letter from the school for assistance, geography head Tracy Magson said Tinotenda had been trying to organise finances for his university studies, as he knew his family could not afford the fees.
Tinotenda can be contacted on 081 545 2092 and Isaac Muserere can be contacted on 081 214 2667.