FINANCIAL AID FROM GOOD SAMARITANS

Students tend to go through some finan- cial stress. Most of the time the battle is trying focus as well as trying to main- tain a bursary, that’s if they are lucky enough to get one. For those that do not get such opportunities, there are scholarships and funding projects that can assist them. One of these funding projects which is fairly new has Dr Victor Misaveni Ngobeni as a man behind it.

Dr Ngobeni is from Soshanguve, Preto- ria and is an Economist by profession. He acquired a Bcom degree at the University of Pretoria (UP) which he upgraded to an honours degree at the University of South Africa (UNISA). He went back to UP for a masters degree which was paid for by the government while he was working for the National Treasury. He then later on upgraded the qualification to a PhD at the same institution. When Dr Ngobeni did not know how to further his studies due to financial stress, his family did not have the means to pay for his tuition. His father then saw it fit to have an article published on the Pretoria news (2002) Seeking for assistance for his son. Fortunately, he was assisted and managed to complete his degree. Dr Ngobeni facilitates an initiative that assists students finan- cially. The initiative started off as an idea as part of the ANC group for Tshwane, as some members mentioned that there were students who are struggling financially, even to register. This started right at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. A few members from the group contributed and they realised that it was not enough, so they put out a call to more individ- uals outside the group who might be more than delighted to help. Especially if they received some sort of help themselves while they were in higher institutions of learning. They heeded the call and responded positively, “So last year politicians and professionals in the group, none affiliated with ANC contributed about R11,000 which helped two students, one from The University of KwaZulu-Natal and one from Tshwane University of Technology”, said Dr Ngobeni. He stresses on the fact that this is not an individual initiative, rather it is different individuals who are keen on helping out students who may need financial assistance at that time. All the names of the students who have been helped by the initi- ative are kept anonymous for dignity purposes. Dr Ngobeni handles the account and ensures that all stakehold- ers involved in the initiative know how much exactly is sent for- ward and distributed to beneficiaries. The donors are profes- sionals, officials and people. Dr Ngobeni has worked with high profiled individuals. Most of the donors preferred to remain anonymous so that the focus is on the initiative and not them. Most of the donors preferred to remain anonymous so that the focus is on the initiative and not them. The initiative does not involve going out and scouting for ben- eficiaries, it is instead alerted of students who may need assis- tance by word of mouth. Through people in higher institutions of learning like the HOD of Student Governance and Leadership Development campus (SGLD) of Ga-Rankuwa campus in Tshwane University of technology. The plan moving forward is to ensure that students are honest by doing a thorough background check on the financial pro- ceedings such as registration fee. The ultimate goal is to have a larger pool of funds for the initiative to help most students, as well as to have those that have been assisted to also give back at some point in their lives.