Rwandan refugee uses sewing to graduate debt free

Jeanette Niyidufasha will graduate this week with a Certificate in Education enabling her to teach maths and physics. Picture: Facebook

Jeanette Niyidufasha will graduate this week with a Certificate in Education enabling her to teach maths and physics. Picture: Facebook

Published Dec 13, 2017

Share

Cape Town - A Rwandan refugee will be graduating this week with no study debt thanks to her masterful skills in sewing.

Jeanette Niyidufasha, 32, arrived in South Africa in 2005. She first obtained a diploma in Mathematical Technology from CPUT in 2015. 

After a year of unemployment, the married mom of two decided to return to CPUT to complete a Postgraduate Certificate in Education which now enables her to teach maths and physics.

During evening classes her lecturer, Melanie Sadeck, first noticed pencil bags Jeanette and other students were using.

Sadeck offered her a lift home one cold night and heard how sewing sustained her family and paid for her studies.

“Her husband was working as a car guard and she was teaching other women to sew on Saturdays in Samora Machel in Philippi,” Sadeck said.

“A friend told us about sewing Wonderbags in 2014 and gave us a one hour lesson and for the rest I watched YouTube videos," Niyidufasha said.

"Soon I could pay for groceries and my university fees."

Related Topics: