Big Current Summer 2015
As a faith family we have been committed to helping young people break out of the cycle of poverty in South Africa. We work with our partners, Bokamoso, to help send under-resourced students to school. Together, with our other partners, we have helped around 600 students continue their education. Here is a story from one of the students who we have invested in.
My name is Mufulufheli Maphasha. I am 20 years old and I am currently doing second year of my Bachelors Degree in Bio Chemistry and Psychology at the University of Johannesburg. I lost both my parents and am left with five of my siblings the eldest of whom, a brother, bears the responsibility of taking care of most of us younger siblings. My aunt, my mother’s sister is my primary care giver, it is to her house in Venda, 450 kilometers out of Johannesburg that I spend most of my time when I am not at school. The rest of my time I spend on campus.
I found out about Bokamoso from Mpho Putu at the Soweto Vineyard Church in 2012 at a time when I was readying to register for my degree. At the time I did not have the resources I needed to make this step. Bokamoso’s help was invaluable to me because it took the pressure and stress off of my family and me, and gave me the head start I needed to make the first step into the array of academic life. Not only that, but through Bokamoso’s help I was able to buy the textbooks I needed for the year.
When I finish my degree I plan on either doing an Honours in Bio Chemistry and then looking for a job in the field, or, and this is my first choice doing a bridging course that will see me graduate with a degree in medicine.
For me Bokamoso lives up to its name, that of promising a brighter future for its recipients. The fund has showed faith in me and in my dreams. It has believed in my success, in spite of my background. It has been there through the most challenging of times. It is for this reason that I myself, once I have finished my studies, want to find a way of giving back to the fund, in whatever I can.
To date we have helped close on 600 students, the majority of whom have been put through University and the rest through various colleges. In 2015 our aim is to assist 200 students. At present the fund is supported by the generous donations from our friends overseas mainly Watermark Church and other Ministries and individual donors. Any assistance is always welcome and goes a long way in changing the lives of many students in need.
Thank you Watermark faith family for your generosity each year to give hope and an education to students like Mufulufheli.
