Patience Nombeko Mbava was born and bred in Guguletu. Although she started her high school career at ID Mkhize High School, she matriculated from Isilimela Comprehensive School In Langa, Cape Town.

This is what Patience has to say about ASF:
“I was one of the privileged learners who received school bursaries from the African Scholars Fund. Every June and December I had to produce good academic results in order for me to receive my bursary stipend. With the money received, I was able to assist my family and contribute towards the buying of full school uniforms and stationery. It was made clear that I have to earn the bursary awards by producing good and decent results in both my June and December school reports. Failing to do so would mean financial hardship of my own doing, as well as disappoint my family. I therefore did all I could to do well in class. Despite the difficult schooling conditions and the challenging political environment, which included regular stay-aways, endemic school boycotts, student marches, absent teachers & the lack of resources, the African Scholars Fund walked with me throughout my high school journey. Looking back, I firmly believe that ASF provided a necessary anchor and support system to my young life at a a time of great uncertainty and youthful vulnerability. The constant encouragement evident in the letters that ASF sent me was invaluable. I was motivated and determined to do well against all odds – I was determined to rise above my circumstances and I decided to hang on to education, no matter what was going on around me, because I hoped and believed in a better future.”

My journey takes a fascinating turn:
“ In 1991, I was the TOP MATRIC STUDENT in the Western Cape. I had excellent matric results. I was featured in local newspapers and interviewed on SABC Radio. ASF then facilitates for me to be awarded a prestigious scholarship from Smith College in Massachusetts, USA. I traveled, studied and lived in the US for five years. I graduated from Smith College in 1996 with a BA degree in Economics. ASF motivated me at a young age to aim for better results and have a quest for excellence. I was inspired to believe that life offers us great possibilities and the key to our own success lies within us. Your environment and where you grew up does not determine your future and how great an individual you can be.

Today I have an MBA degree from Stellenbosch Business School and I am Senior Manager at a national public entity. None of this will have been possible without the right and adequate schooling foundation, as well as the crucial support I received from ASF in my formative years. Thank you African Scholars Fund (I fondly remember Dr. Margaret Elsworth). Thank you to all past and current ASF Donors and Trustees. Your contributions and support are transforming lives.”

I am Simphiwe Plessie, I resided in Khayelitsha, Site-B – Cape Town. The ASF have provided me with an amazing gift, the gift of not giving up on myself and my education even if the odds were totally against me at that time.

I was sponsored by the ASF from standard 6, from 1995 till matric in 1999 when I was a learner at Matthew Goniwe High school.  They encouraged me to complete my matric and I got an Eskom Engineering Bursary to study Electrical Engineering at the University of Cape Town.  I completed my BSc Elec Eng with a second class Thesis pass in Electrical machines in 2005.  I worked for Eskom as High Voltage Planning Engineer and got promoted in a year and half to become a Senior Advisor in Electricity Pricing.  I spent four years in Pricing growing very fast and I was spotted by Siemens Energy Services and they offered me what I call “my dream job”   as a Generator Specialist Engineer.  Currently I have completed half of my Engineering Masters degree at Wits University. I spend most of my time in Germany training and learning more about my dream job.  I want to tell you that without the support of the ASF I would definitely not be where I am at the moment.  It is eighteen years down the line, but I am finally in a position to help someone who finds themselves in similar circumstances I did so many years ago.  I am finally able to reach out and support someone else on their road to success.

Dr. Phindiswa Mnana currently works in the Eastern Cape at Nompumelelo Hospital. She attended high school at Sandisiwe school which is situated at Mdantsane in East London. She was raised by a single mother who had to feed and clothe 5 people out of her salary of under R1500pm. She says – “because of your bursary I managed to pay for my school fees and uniform from grade 10 to grade 12. After that I went to do my medical degree at UKZN in 2001 to 2006. Now I can proudly say that I am Dr Mnana because you also opened the pathway to my success”.

Dr Mnana and some of her former schoolmates are in the process of establishing a trust fund because “we know how it feels to struggle and know how much difference it makes to have financial support towards your studies”. We thank Dr Mnana for carrying the goodwill forward.

Sithembile lived in a poor home supported only by his widowed mother. He attended High School up to Grade 10 and then went to Technical College to study Electrical Engineering.

From there he was selected by SA Airways for advanced training. His position with the ground staff is equivalent to Lieutenant and he makes sure that “the electrics” on the aircraft are all in perfect working order. He wants to develop work with school-leavers.