Tebogo Monama
A WITS University graduate has come up with an ingenious way to raise funds so that she can pay for her university transcript.
Thobeka Sinxo, 25, studied for a BA Honours and was supposed to graduate at the end of June, but was not able to attend the ceremony as she could not afford to. She went back home to Motherwell in the Eastern Cape last year after finishing her studies.
But Sinxo has written a book to try to raise funds and get her university transcripts. “When I realised that I could not afford to attend the ceremony, I applied and notified the university that I would be absent. Now, I need to get my transcript so I can go on with my life,” she said.
Sinxo wants to apply for jobs and also a Master’s degree, but she cannot do that without her transcript.
“The university told me I need to send someone I trust to pick up the transcript, but I do not know anyone because I am not from Johannesburg. To courier it will cost about R250 but I cannot afford that. I am blocked from doing anything.”
A round trip from the Eastern Cape to Joburg by train will cost her about R1 000. “It is even more expensive by bus. No one in my family can afford it because no one is employed,” said Sinxo.
She wants to apply for a Master’s in creative writing or in applied drama and theatre before the application period closes next month.
Sinxo financed her studies through a partial scholarship last year. “The scholarship paid for my fees and I had to sort out the accommodation.
“I had financial problems last year and that is why I came back home because I could not afford accommodation.”
Instead of being despondent at home, she decided to publish an e-book.
“I reached out to people, but they cannot afford to help me. My family also does not have money. So, I decided to publish my childhood diaries and poems.”
She self-published the e-book called Ezintakeni – A Literary Rite of Passage last week.
The book has eight short stories and 13 poems from journals that document her life in Motherwell, and costs R50.
Sinxo uses her cellphone to send the book to those interested in it.
“I buy R5 airtime and log on to my e-mails. I have downloaded the book on to Dropbox, and once someone pays, then I send them the link.”
She said one of the hardest things was that she was unable to produce theatre plays.
In 2013 and last year, she produced and performed a one-woman show called uNomsa, based on her late grandfather Sir Guybon Sinxo’s 1922 Xhosa novel of the same name. She used her stipend to produce the show.
“At this point in my life, chances of going back to academia look bleak. It is disheartening depending on scholarships, and I am fatigued.
“I wish to bring back home what I have worked for by overcoming my socio-economic odds. I have searched for a job for five years since my last graduation,” Sinxo said.