Tutor shapes young minds, creates employment
● Business started in dark days of Covid-19 goes from strength to strength
Tired of bouncing from one job to another, and with no stable income, a 35-year-old woman from Thembalethu township in George found a way to make a living while inspiring young minds.
Xoliswa Bomvana took a chance and opened a tutoring company in the thick of the Covid-19 pandemic.
An aspiring foundation phase teacher, she said through the Outeniqua Dawn tutoring company, launched in 2020, she was now working with children as young as 13, helping them with their homework and remedial work.
She saw a gap in the market when children were struggling in the streets while their parents battled under the hard lockdown restrictions.
“Some parents were essential workers, while others were uneducated.
“Children didn’t go to school every day and were given so much schoolwork to do at home that I realised assistance was needed. For many, their parents were unable to assist them at the time.
“Since I started, I have managed to hire a venue, employ two individuals to assist with the classes, and have more than 37 learners attending my classes.”
Bomvana, who was born in Bethelsdorp in Gqeberha but grew up in the Garden Route, said her venture had given renewed hope to her previously unemployed assistants, who saw how she pushed herself to the limit every day in pursuit of a better life.
She was ecstatic that she had managed to give back in that way by creating employment.
She said Thembalethu was a previously disadvantaged area and many residents were still unemployed.
“All my life, I’ve been longing to be permanently employed,” the go-getter said.
“I had joined multiple organisations in the hopes of finding a stable job or starting a business.”
Bomvana studied Adult Basic Education and Training at Unisa and eventually landed a contract with the George Municipality to teach older people.
She was then inspired to register to study foundation phase teaching at Unisa and is now in her fourth year.
She has somehow, though, always found the time to give back to her community and works on empowering others.
She said she envisioned herself one day as a well-established teacher and owner of a foundation phase school in Thembalethu her home.
“I have always seen myself as a leader and I know I am capable of realising this dream and uplifting my community.
“Children from disadvantaged communities deserve quality education at an affordable price and I am here to serve it to them,” Bomvana said.