At our recent Awards Evening, we celebrated the achievement of many students and three young men in particular. These are their stories.
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| Goldman Gambiza |
We met Goldman Gambiza when he was just 14, an economic refugee from
Zimbabwe. As a child in the ruthless streets of Cape Town, he became part of
the Adonis Musati Project an organisation doing wonderful work with
refugees in the city. He was enrolled at School of Hope and soon became part
of the family. The tension of being at school when his struggling family expected him to work, was overshadowed by his obvious academic intelligence and
love for learning. But the tension remained. In spite of this, Goldman
continued to perform well academically and reached Grade 12 easily. Goldman is a sensitive,
compassionate young man. He demonstrates the value of HOPE,
a joyful expectation for a preferable future. He is determined to complete
his tertiary education and we will certainly be there for him throughout that
process. Goldman wants to study IT in 2014 and to help him, he was awarded R3000.
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| Thabo Zaba |
Thabo Zaba has passed every academic year out of sheer persistence and enthusiasm, which is the hallmark of his character. Thabo can put a smile on any face and always shows the staff and school the utmost respect by dressing in full school uniform and being that person you hope guests will meet first. Thabo has experienced some tragedy and difficulty during his time at School of Hope but he picked himself up and continued to prioritise his education. In 2012, while in Grade 11, Thabo left his parent’s home to live at Beth U'riel with other young men from our school. Thabo will make a success of his life simply because he is so lovable and a truly endearing person. To describe his years at School of Hope, Thabo said: I see the revolution in me! Thabo embodies the core value of TRANSFORMATION, having undertaken a remarkable journey from the first day till now. Thabo will study business in 2014 and was also awarded R3000 towards these studies.
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| Chuma Mdingi with Educator, Ade Oyewo |
Chuma Mdingi arrived from the Eastern Cape and enrolled at School of Hope in Grade 10. Chuma was quiet and barely spoke,
battling with the language of instruction and the social tensions in his new
environment. In his own words, he had struggled to make friends in the Eastern
Cape but at School of Hope he not only made friends but became part of the
family. He displays a maturity that is really remarkable. Quiet people can
easily be overlooked and seem passive or disinterested, but Chuma’s quiet
confidence and exemplary behaviour give him an authority and a strength of
leadership that needs few words. He achieved excellent results in 2013 and one
word describes his behaviour: consistency. He is the same in every
situation, always positive, always respectful, never foolish but he also
displays an intelligent sense of humour. Chuma embodies the
core value of RESPONSIBILITY having taken responsibility for his learning and
his life. He too wants to study IT in 2014. Chuma was declared class Valedictorian and is recipient of the Denver Andreas Award for excellence. As such, he was awarded R20 000 towards his studies. Well done, Chuma!
The awards were made possible by three donors: Alessia Brown awarded R2000 on
behalf of her late husband Malcolm Jacky Brown, who was a donor from 2006 until his passing in 2012. He cared deeply for the work at the School of Hope.
Joanne Leddy is originally from CT, but living in Ireland. She has been putting away 100 Euros every month since the beginning of the year.
She is the working mother with three children, one of whom has Down's Syndrome. She sent us the funds with this message: I wanted to help someone, someone hardworking, driven and hungry to follow
their dreams. Someone whose life is different because of School of Hope and because of
their tenacity to succeed!! Joanne awarded R4000.
The donor of this year’s Denver Andreas Award is Inkomba
Energy. Anton Badenhorst, the CEO, is passionate about developing young people.
He is father to four boisterous boys and when he does not give us funds, he has
been known to be a handy-man, fixing things around the school. He also
spoke at our Career Day on being an engineer. He knew Denver Andreas, the first
principal of the school, personally and mourned with us his tragic passing in 2004.
Thank you to all of you for your gift that will help these three outstanding young men to continue their journey of life-long learning in 2014!
