#R10GoesALongWay: Northern Cape duo want to ’add hope’ amid student funding crisis

Refilwe Sehere and Obaken Kock hope to assist students students at the Sol Plaatje University and TVET students to pay their fees. Pictures: Supplied

Refilwe Sehere and Obaken Kock hope to assist students students at the Sol Plaatje University and TVET students to pay their fees. Pictures: Supplied

Published Mar 20, 2021

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Kimberley - Two final-year Sol Plaatje students, Obakeng Kock and Refilwe Sehere have urged residents to fight against the lack of higher education funding smartly by donating a mere R10 towards an initiative to assist students at the Sol Plaatje University (SPU) and Northern Cape TVET colleges in Kimberley.

The #R10GoesALongWay campaign, which is the brainchild of social media influencer Lasizwe Dambuza, is aimed at supporting struggling university students to pay their tuition.

Dambuza last week raised R1 million in just five days.

He kicked-off his campaign by contributing R10 000 to the campaign and major supermarkets, fast food chain stores and banks also joined in and donated several thousands of rands to the campaign.

Kock said he and Sehere decided to follow in Dambuza’s footsteps and take on the initiative in the Province in a bid to assist local students.

Kock said the campaign showcased the impact solidarity can make in people’s lives.

“This campaign is changing the lives of thousands of students who might have given up the hope of completing their studies. It also shows the great impact what some people may consider to be a small amount of money can make.

“Our aim is to also make an impact in the lives of struggling TVET and local university students. This campaign will also spur students on to pay for their own tuition fees instead of being reliant on the government.

“It will even be a way of paying it forward because the thousands who have benefitted from this campaign will be encouraged to also show the same compassion to other students. It is not a huge amount, but the campaign shows that even R10 can add a lot of value to someone and save thousands from being excluded academically,” said Kock.

Kock added that although the funds are trickling in very slowly, they also aspire to raise a significant amount of funds.

“We understand that we do not have the same influence and platform as (Lasizwe) Dambuza, but we will never know unless we at least try.

“We only have some friends who have contributed to the campaign but the amount is very low. I have bumped into the Sol Plaatje mayor, Patrick Mabilo and requested him to make a donation towards the campaign. He has set up a meeting with me and encouraged me to also get the MEC of Education on board. We are, however, hopeful that we will be able to raise a substantial amount of money to help the struggling students,” he said.

He called on residents in the Province to support the campaign.

“The Northern Cape is mostly rural and the unemployment rate in the Province is rife. There are also so many households who are currently without an income. We can uplift and empower each other with this campaign should each person be willing to make a sacrifice of just R10. A R10 can go a long way,” he said.

The banking details for those wanting to make a contribution are:

ACC: *R SEHERE T/A ADD HOPE FOR STUDENTS

ACC NO: 62892154990

FNB NEW PARK, KIMBERLEY

BRANCH CODE: 231002

or

CAPITEC ACC: ADD HOPE FOR STUDENTS

ACC NO: 1763982449

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