In the education sector, ILIMA project plans to:
When it comes to the health sector, our research studies will gather important information about behaviours, risk factors, and disease trends. This research will inform the development and testing of interventions for promoting health and preventing disease. The information gained from research can be used for advocacy efforts and to justify public health spending.
On the 23rd February 2021, BusinessTech newspapers released an article stating that the country’s 2020 matric result are not a true reflection of the number of the students who are failed by the country’s education system. This was a day after, Basic Education minister Angie Motshekga announced the pass rate for the 2020 cohort was 76.2%. This was a drop of 5.1 percentage points compared to the 2019 matric pass rate (81.3%). Further, a number of experts have predicted that COVID-19 pandemic will have a big impact on the matric results. But students and teachers still hoped that all the extra work they did would deliver the same results as the previous year.
“I was born in a rural community to poor parents who were unable to send me to school past primary. I started working from the age of 12 as a domestic worker. At the age of 36 I decided to go back to school and put myself through matric. I completed matric and enrolled with UNISA and graduated in 2019 with my Honours Degree in Social Work. The life challenges we face cannot hinder or stop us from achieving our deepest goals. Every day when I look back where I came from, I am convinced there is a lot more I can still achieve in this lifetime. I chose to study social work as I have a passion for giving back to the community and my life experiences have driven my passion to give back and make a positive impact on the world. I believe my own background makes me understand more and be more compassionate to the different social lives we live.”- Ms Degma Jandles, Social Worker at Elshaddai Hands Compassion.
Mosiuoa Zachariah Palime is the Founder and CEO of Mohlomi Footwear (MOHLOMI®). He excelled academically and was awarded a scholarship after matric to pursue his studies in veterinary science up to the postgraduate level. He used his scholarship stipend to take care of his siblings.
Mosiuoa got inspired by Wiseman Chief Mohlomi (1720 – 1816) and his mother who worked at a shoe factory for five (5) years. Mosiuoa and his siblings would help their mother to sew pieces of shoes together that she brought home. The more shoes they sew the more money their mother was paid.
Mosiuoa approached a number of shoe factories locally and internationally for the production of MOHLOMI® but the major challenge was the amount of money required to produce the sneakers. Moreover, there were no interested investors or government departments, or even banks to fund MOHLOMI® . He had to revisit his business plan so that he can fund MOHLOMI® from his own pocket. What helped Mosiuoa to get MOHLOMI® off the ground was his passion and desire to break the generational curse and leave the legacy.