Enoch Bangeni
Final year student at CPUT
“I received an SMS on my phone in 2016 and thought it was another bill to pay. I few days later I read it again. To my surprise, it offered residents of Communicare properties the opportunity to study further. As a tenant in Reyger Court in Brooklyn, I thought this may be for me.
I completed the application and wrote a short essay about my aspirations. A few weeks later, I received the good news that my application was successful. I was overjoyed! I am now in my final year at CPUT doing a National Diploma in Public Management.
I currently work at the National Gallery as a collections assistant but when I qualify I want to work in a corporate governance environment. The area of ethics in business interests me. The high levels of corruption in business is unacceptable and I want to contribute to eradicating corruption.
I don’t have words to express my gratitude for what Communicare has done for me. At times, it seemed impossible to further my education due to the financial constrains I was subjected to.
I feel honoured and my confidence has risen to another level which is something positive. My life has changed in so many ways.”
Enoch has since graduated from CPUT
Meriscka-Lee Hendricks
“I studied an LLB degree at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) and I am currently pursuing an LLM degree in corporate law.
But, it was tough getting here. I didn’t have the financial means to proceed with my studies. I had no idea how I was going to get through university until I heard about a Communicare bursary. I applied and I was so happy when the bursary was awarded to me.
I registered for law at UWC and after graduated in 2017, I taught at the law faculty. I was fortunate enough to move on to run the legal department for a shipping, freight and logistics company.
My mind was flooded with anxiety, stress and concern for my studies until Communicare came along and literally held my hand. Not only have they provided me with funding for my studies, they also initiated a “mental wellness” program. I had an incredible mentor who I met from time to time. It helped me get in the right state of mind to ace my exams. This gave me confidence and resilience to carry me through my studies. I feel empowered to have achieved a milestone in my life that I didn’t think possible.
Communicare invested in me and I am now seeing the returns in my life and in those around me. The people in my community approach me often to draw up wills and advise them on legal issues. I have also helped people to understand their contracts and lease agreements.
It’s sad that not many of our youth don’t have the opportunity I was given. I had a vision for my education which many youths today do not have.
My advice to youth is to work hard, smart and take the initiative in everything you do. I worked very hard and had faith that my studies would be taken care of by some miracle. I kept on reminding myself of my work ethic and that my inherent curiosity to expand my knowledge would appeal to someone to investment in me. I knew that being positive would come back to me some way or another, and it did.
I am unbelievably proud and grateful to Communicare for what I achieved.”