Good Morning Angels: Students get life-changing news as AIE grants R860,000 in bursaries!

BACKGROUND: Thousands of South African matriculants will finish their 12-year school journey this week. Many of these students will achieve solid matric certificates and good results, but only a fraction will have the means to further their studies and pursue a future of good employment. Six prospective students are joining us in studio this morning to share their dreams for the future, but also their fears and frustrations, because they do not have the funding to follow their dreams and improve their financial situation. They have all achieved the matric results required to further their studies in their chosen fields - but they’ve all applied for bursaries and financial assistance, as their families simply do not have the financial means to support their aspirations for a better future.

All six students have been accepted for their chosen courses at the Academic Institute of Excellence - AIE - in Midrand. Today, their lives will take a turn for the positive 

Read more about AIE and their open day this Saturday, 30 November, here: https://www.aie.ac/# 

ANGEL 1: Leon Smalberger, Group CEO of the Academic Institute of Excellence -  AIE 

SPONSORING: Five bursaries to five deserving students, as well as R42,000 in study kits and registration fees 

ANGEL 2: Prof Desmond Laubscher, CEO of Greenside Design Centre

SPONSORING: A bursary for Mohamed Riyaz: Greenside Design Centre BA 2nd Year Multimedia

ANGEL 3: Dell will supply each of the six bursary candidates with a Dell Laptop valued at between R12,000 and R18,000 each

THE BURSARY RECIPIENTS: 

1. Chanta Hopley - AIE Bursary for National Diploma: Architectural Technology, including a tutor, canteen vouchers and a Dell Laptop - Total value R 158,780

Both my parents have been retrenched from their jobs and can't pay for my studies. My parents are divorced and jobless, so I can't even pay for a study loan. I've recently started a job, but I'm not getting any salary for the first 3 months. My mom now cooks food for a living, but only makes enough to feed the people in her house. This bursary will help me to pursue my dreams to become an Architect. From a little age I wanted to be a architect.

2. Betty Nong - AIE Bursary for Architectural Technology, including accommodation, a tutor, canteen vouchers, transport and a Dell Laptop - Total value R 225,280

I am the firstborn of five siblings and due to the financial strains in my household, a bursary would serve as a relief to my grandmother and myself. My grandmother, who is a pensioner at age 83, is our pillar of support, as she is the only breadwinner in my household. The little money she makes is not enough to send me for further education. I feel that, with this education,  I will be able to be financially independent and be a great influence to my siblings. 

After completing my draughting studies and internship under a qualified practitioner, I intend pursuing my own practice whereby I will gladly share my skills and knowledge with others.

3. Simphiwe Rihlanvu - AIE Bursary for IT Systems Developer, including accommodation, a tutor, canteen vouchers transport and Dell Laptop - Total value R 142,748 

I am 51-year old  Sipho Rihlanvu. My daughter is 18-year old Simphiwe, who completed her Grade 12 in 2018 with excellent marks. It has always been her wish to study for a business science degree. There was an offer that was made in early 2018 by a certain business person to finance her 2019 first year of studies. Sadly, the confirmed benefactor was fatally wounded in a motor vehicle accident in December 2018 and Shimphiwe’s study plans had to be put on hold. I myself was afflicted by a neurological condition called sensory-motor axonal neuropathy, which is a gradual degeneration of the spine. The condition untimely permanently reduced me to be a wheelchair-bound quadriplegic and severely impacted on my ability to earn an income.

Simphiwe is disciplined, diligent, meticulous and has set her sights to pursuing her studies and hopefully obviating herself from these shackles of poverty to which she is trapped. What moves me most is that she is a victim of my disability status which accrued financial doom to my household. 

4. Juan- Pierre De Gouveia:  AIE Bursary for Games Design and Development with Unity 3D, canteen vouchers and a Dell Laptop - Total value R 69,377

I have always played games ever since I can remember.  I used it as an escape from reality when times were hard. Gaming has always been a part of my life and, that has caused me to develop a love for games. That love for games is what made me want to study Game Design and help create wonderful worlds for people either looking for an escape like I used to, or those who just want to explore a fantasy with friends. A lot of people don't understand the power a simple game can hold.

I am applying for this bursary as my family does not have the money to put me through college. I've had a pretty average life; my parents divorced and I moved with my mom. We knew no one and had nothing besides our furniture and, yet even without a job, my mother always made sure to give us what we needed and more. 

5. Daniel Masobela: AIE Bursary for National Diploma: Civil/Building Engineering, including a tutor and a Dell Laptop - Total value R 98,475

I am the second born in my family. After completing my matric, my father lost his job and I had to go fend for myself. I managed to acquire a Construction Carpentry Certificate and became a Skills Development facilitator from nothing. I am a breadwinner and trying, by all means, to put food on the table for my family of 7. I really can’t afford to pay for a Diploma or a degree at this time of my life and if given this opportunity I will make sure I pass with flying colours. I would like to change the attitude that society has about construction and show my employers how capable I am in building the construction world and changing it.    

6. Mohamed Riyaz: Greenside Design Centre BA 2nd Year Multimedia including a Dell Laptop - Total value R121,360

This bursary would have a massive impact on my life as I come from Francistown – a small town situated in the North-East of Botswana. There is very little opportunity for the youth as it is still a developing country with a gradually growing economy dependent on beef and diamond exports. By obtaining this bursary I would be able to achieve my BA degree in Multimedia Design which in turn would grant me access to countless opportunities in terms of creative ability and career prospects.