Cape Town - Three Wits University students who turned to the public to contribute to their fees through a crowd-sourcing application, have reached their targets.
The students shared their stories on the website, Bursary Network, of how their parents battled to pay their tuition fees.
Last Tuesday, more than R31 000 of the total required R360 000 for the 10 students had been raised from 45 donors. By Thursday, donors had increased to 76 - raising more than R130 000 and fully paying off the fees of Nandipha Silika (about R15 000), Phumelele Madubeko (about R8 000) and Oboikanyo Kekana (about R21 000).
Another student, Ayanda Mkhwanazi, had raised R40 693 of her target of about R41 000. She was about R700 away from reaching her target.
Speaking from her home in Soweto, Silika, a third year economics and corporate finance student at Wits, said she was surprised that the target was reached.
She told of how she had to apply to the Department of Education in Gauteng to be a matric marker in the holidays to register for her studies and said her mother, a caregiver at an old age home, could not afford her fees.
“I felt so surprised because when they called to let me know my target had been reached I was shocked. The last time I checked the website a week ago I was on 7 percent of my target,” she said.
Mkhwanazi, a final year chemistry student, said she was overwhelmed by the support and said she immediately called her Cape Town-based mother, who works for the government.
“My mom couldn’t believe it when I told her,” she said. “I kind of didn’t tell her about it, because I have been applying for bursaries and funding for a long time, so I didn’t want to get her hopes up and raise expectations”.
With her R40 000 now virtually settled, Mkhwanazi - who has two exams to go - said she was now focusing on passing her “make or break” exams.
The brains behind the Bursary Network, Emmanuel Luthuli, an actuarial specialist by trade, said “words cannot express my excitement”.
Luthuli called for people to contribute to someone’s success story.
* To make donations to your preferred student, register on the website www.bursarynetwork.com
Cape Argus