×

We've got news for you.

Register on SowetanLIVE at no cost to receive newsletters, read exclusive articles & more.
Register now

The Hunger to Succeed

I am born and bred in a small rural area, a village called Cala - one of the most under-developed places in the province of Eastern Cape, where dreams of one day making it to any formal institution like varsity or even matriculating in a fully resourced school is far from reality.

It is cruel and unacceptable for our elected leaders to shy away from the fact that the quality of education in the Eastern Cape is very poor. There are no sufficient resources that would enable students to adapt to their studies, a library for instance and laboratories for students who are doing science and computers for purposes of research.

These are just some of the things that make acquiring knowledge for children difficult. If the environment does not allow the child to learn effectively, then the hope of one day having competent leaders especially from rural areas is shattered.

The second problem, is that of incompetent teachers who don't value their jobs. These people are also contributing to the downfall. One of the famous people once said that, and I quote,  "An incompetent surgeon is better than an incompetent teacher because a surgeon can only operate one person at a time, not pollute and destroy million minds a day".

My message to the youth is not to use these circumstances as a defence of their failure.

I myself have been a victim of this system and to make things worse, the situation at home added to my baggage of burden... being raised by parents who are unemployed, not having a place I can call home because I am a backroom dweller, living in someone else's home.

But that does not define who I am nor define my future. My education does.

Under this harsh circumstances, I managed to matriculate as the best science student in my school, one of the few women to obtain that title and now I am doing my first year at the University of Johannesburg, doing my law degree, not because I want to be successful but because of the hunger to succeed for me to improve the situation that I was raised under, and maybe one day buy my family a house - not a million dollar mansion but a home. Our own home.

The point of telling my story is to outline the importance of education and how the Department of Education together with the government and students can help make South Africa a better place to live in and eliminate poverty.

If I can do it, so can you.

Contributed by Bulelwa Sinje (Age 20, from Soweto, Orlando East) for Youth Tube - By the Youth, for the Youth

Click here to jump to our Youth Tube page

Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.

Speech Bubbles

Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.