Thousands of students across the country were left feeling vulnerable last year as universities shut down because of the Covid-19 pandemic, but more than 400 final-year and postgraduate students were thrown a lifeline.
And the crowdfunding campaign has the support of one of the country's biggest musos, Zolani Mahola.
Crowdfunding platform Feenix released its Insights and Learning 2020 Report, which found that thousands of students were left without access to the resources needed to continue their studies.
In the survey, Feenix learned that the resources students struggled to access the most during the lockdown were data, textbooks, learning materials as well as laptops and other digital devices. Thirty percent of students struggled to access food, and only 6% had access to all the resources they needed.
Feenix chief executive Leana de Beer said the platform was launched as a result of the #FeesMustFall movement, with a vision to ensure equitable access to education and to remove barriers.
Since then it has worked closely with universities to identify final-year and postgraduate students who were most at risk of being left out in the move to online learning. By tapping into the power of crowdfunding, Feenix was able to ensure 403 final-year and postgraduate students were equipped with data, digital devices and food vouchers.
And in recognition of their service to students, Feenix walked away with the 2021 Nedbank Private Wealth Innovation Technology Award for its 2020 #CapTheGap Response Fund.
De Beer said in an effort to bridge the digital gap, Feenix shifted their focus and technology to launch the #CapTheGap Response Fund. Tapping into the power of crowdfunding, the #CapTheGap fund raised R3.4 million.
“We are proud to have won this prestigious award. The success of this initiative is a demonstration that South Africans are stronger together. This is a project that would not have been possible without collaboration, so we are grateful to the companies and individuals who rallied to the call to help us amplify the message, help with distribution and, last but not least, donated to the fund to help us ensure 403 students were impacted,” she said.
Head of Philanthropy at Nedbank Private Wealth Noxolo Hlongwane said Feenix received the technology award because of its adaptation to the global pandemic centres around collaboration, partnerships, agility and innovation.
“Feenix’s application and evidence contain many valuable lessons for all organisations, especially in the following: responding to the needs of the target group in the crisis, and using existing and available technologies,” said the judges when presenting the awards to the winners.
Supporting the campaign, singer, songwriter and actress Zolani Mahola said education opened doors and pathways that were so necessary to a person realising their full potential.
“In a country with such a deep history of disenfranchisement as ours, education is one of the ways that we can level the playing field. We need to make it easy to learn and aggressively dismantle the barriers that hinder the potential of the youth. The #CapTheGap campaign does this wonderfully,” said Mahola.
Postgraduate student at Durban University of Technology Bhekizenzo Simelane, who is one of the many students in urgent need of a laptop and internet data, said he hoped to enrol for the master’s degree program in Language Practice.
“I have faced many challenges as an undergrad student, but giving up was never an option. Receiving a laptop and internet data will help me to do my research from home, and to ultimately fulfil my dream of becoming the first doctoral scholar in my family.”
Dean Kleinbooi, a fifth-year medical student at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, explained that the full impact of the lockdown really hit him when he was not able to access either the university’s resources, nor his practicals during the lockdown.
“I didn’t own a computer, so this made it incredibly difficult for me to continue my studies. Having a solid support system and people around me that were always willing to help became my greatest strength,” he said. “I couldn’t have done it on my own.”