Cape Town – The road to graduation is back-breaking for many, as tuition costs thousands of rand which South African youths do not have.
Phuthehang Letseha in 2015 shared his story of resilience with the Cape Times of how he used the R600 a month he got from renting out his Kraaifontein shack to buy food, toiletries and to commute to university.
Letseha also had to get a loan, which he planned to repay after he graduated.
A Good Samaritan read the article and has been paying his tuition fees for the past four years.
Letseha, 25, graduates with a teaching degree soon, and said words failed him in thanking the Samaritan, who he has been communicating with via email, but has never met.
“Ubuntu is still alive. She (the Samaritan), has given me an opportunity to succeed in life. She reached out when I was desperate. I’m at a loss for
words to thank her and the Cape
Times for sharing my story,” Letseha
said.
After Phuthehang Letseha shared his story of resilience with the Cape Times in 2015, an anonymous donor came forward to sponsor all four years of his studies.
Letseha’s mother sold vegetables in the Eastern Cape and at the time made R400 a month if she was lucky. His mom will be travelling to Cape Town for his graduation next week.
“We are planning to meet (the Samaritan), perhaps at the Waterfront. My mother has never been to such a fancy place,” he said.
His B Ed course at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) cost R20 000 a year.
Letseha said the Samaritan paid it all, including registration fees, and sponsored him with a monthly allowance he used for all his necessities.
He specialises in Grade 10 to 12 education, in life orientation and Xhosa.
The Samaritan, who does not want to be named, said she was extremely happy that he had passed.