A recent tracking study of REAP's 2002 cohort of students concluded that REAP has left a major legacy with its Graduates. Many of our former students have a good work ethic and the ambition to succeed, coupled with a desire to contribute to society. Although most Graduates have left home and are busy building their own lives, the majority have a heart for their home communities and are proud of where they come from. Many of our Graduates are deeply engaged with helping their extended families in financial and other ways.
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Meet Yanda Kolanisi – Accountant with a Heart for Home
29 year-old Yanda comes from a village near Butterworth in the Eastern Cape which he still visits often, being what he calls a "home seeker". As attached as he is to home, he is currently experiencing the bright city lights of Johannesburg, where he works as an accountant.
Yanda's journey to the city began when he finished school and registered for a B Com (Accounting) at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in his province's biggest city, Port Elizabeth. Being the fourth born of six children, raising funds for this degree was not easy. Fortunately REAP assisted him for three years and he managed to secure a student loan from NSFAS. "I cannot put a price on how valuable REAP's support was," says Yanda, "not only financially but also in terms of life skills". He adds: "I used to think of myself as an introvert, but REAP taught me how ...READ MORE to find myself and be myself."
Upon completing his degree in 2005, Yanda worked as an intern at the port of Coega, near Port Elizabeth. After his internship, he worked in the supply chain section for a while before deciding that he wanted to build his accounting skills further. He was then given the opportunity to train through the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants, who sent him to Johannesburg. After training, he was attached to Watermans Accountants, where he did his articles. He then worked his way up from junior auditor to audit supervisor in three years.
While Yanda has all the responsibilities of being engaged, having a child and being a significant contributor to his rural family's income, this has not prevented him from also being involved in the wider community back home. "I grew up in an area where few went far", explains Yanda. "Many don't see much of a future so they look up to me and I am now a kind of ambassador to the area." Together with some of his more successful friends from his village, Yanda has embarked on a project to make a difference in his community. They organise an annual cleanup campaign, give motivational speeches at the local schools and have sponsored a local soccer and netball team with kit and equipment. In his personal capacity, Yanda also sponsors the school fees of two learners and advises others where they can obtain bursaries for tertiary study.
Yanda has ambitions to run his own accounting firm, but it is clear that he is also nurturing many in his home community and will likely use his earnings to help many more."In my very first interview for REAP, they asked me questions about community service", Yanda recalls. "This was a big factor in my current community work since I started such involvement with REAP". "I feel strongly that you are always a member of the community". Minimize
Meet Amanda Peter – REAP Ambassador
"It's not about where you come from, but where you are going and what you are doing to make your tomorrow better" says Amanda, a 29 year-old BSc Physiotherapy graduate from Cofimvaba in the rural Eastern Cape.
After completing her Matric in her home area, Amanda managed to get a place at the University of the Western Cape, in distant Cape Town. REAP supported her studies in her first year by helping her to get a student loan from NSFAS. For all four years at university REAP provided Amanda with funds for books, transport and food as well as training workshops, counselling and academic assistance. This all-round support was invaluable, according to Amanda: "Even English", she says, "I did not understand it – it sounded like French to me! But they helped me to learn." ...READ MORE When her father died in her second year, she credits REAP with helping her to get through and keep concentrating on her studies.
Amanda did so well in her course that she obtained several distinctions, graduated in the top three in her faculty and was given an award of merit by the Golden Key International Honour Society. She then undertook her internship at Pretoria Academic Hospital and has been living in Tshwane ever since. Minimize
Meet Lusanda Mtiya – Building Women's Sport
Lusanda has loved sports from an early age. However, growing up in Wittlesea, in the rural Eastern Cape, she could hardly have dreamed that one day she would be playing provincial rugby for KwaZulu-Natal and be in the training squad for the Women's national team.
Fortunately for Lusanda, sports was not the only thing she was good at, and having done well at school, she went to the University of KwaZulu-Natal to study Sports Science. With assistance from REAP and a student loan, Lusanda completed her degree and graduated with an Honours degree in 2006. ...READ MORE
Realising that there would be few opportunities in sports at home, Lusanda stayed in Durban after her studies and continued playing club and provincial rugby. Lean and athletic, her favourite positions are the full-back or wing. But despite her qualifications, she found getting a full-time job challenging. She thus did part-time jobs, including teaching physical education, being a trainer at the Virgin Active gym and odd jobs for the KwaZulu-Natal Rugby Union.
Lusanda's patience finally paid off in January 2011 when she was offered a job as a Development Officer for women's rugby by the Union, which she admits is her "dream job". Her greatest ambitions are to open her own sports agency and to study law so that she can advocate for the rights of sports people, who she feels are often exploited. On REAP's contribution to her life she says: "They gave me a second chance in life. I would never have completed my studies or been where I am today if it weren't for them". Minimize
