Meet the girl who rewrote her future

This is a story about a girl who refused to accept her fate as someone who’d just have to survive without an education and get by on the minimum for the rest of her life. This is a story about Sinanziwe, the girl who rewrote her future.

A bright and ambitious young student who loved going to school and soaking up knowledge, Sinanziwe Ndlovu’s future was planned out for her at an early age. Like most women in the Ndlovu family, Sinanziwe would have to drop out of school and find a job as a domestic worker.

Her family simply did not have the financial means to keep her in school, and this was how her siblings also had to make a living.

But Sinanziwe loved school so much, she would do anything to stay. After all, her dream was to be the first in her family to get an education. She knew she was destined for bigger things.

When her mom passed away and her sister could no longer fund her school fees, she was kicked out of school.

Devastated but not defeated, she continued learning and studying even harder and would spend her days at the Afrika Tikkun library reading, studying and learning as much as she could.

Soon, people started noticing this fierce young girl’s determination, and rallied together to help fund her education.

Absa is proud to support Afrika Tikkun’s Youth Skills Development and Placement Programme that develops young people like Sinanziwe’s employability skills. Once training is completed, Afrika Tikkun goes the extra mile by placing young people in entry-level jobs and learnership programmes.

So, when Sinanziwe finished matric with university exemption in 2012, her story was far from over. She’s traveled to America, and she’s furthering her studies at the University of Johannesburg.

These days, Sinanziwe still returns to the Africa Tikkun library whenever she can to help other young, ambitious students with their homework, and inspire others to prosper.

When we share we grow and when we grow we all prosper.

Watch the story here: