Cell C has named the 10 young women who will be the recipients of its annual Girl Child Bursary, which will enable them to continue with their tertiary education.
Since 2012, the Cell C Girl Child Bursary Fund has been supporting 10 beneficiaries. Thanks to generous donations made to the Cell C Foundation from big business, 10 new bursary recipients have been added to the programme this year increasing the fund’s sustainability and impact.
The 10 new recipients are:
• Angel Martins – second year BA International Relations and Psychology at Wits;
• Busisiwe Dube – first year N Dip Chemical Engineering at VUT;
• Martha Whitney Tsela – first year N Dip Office Management and Technology at TUT;
• Melissa Bantam – first year BCom Accounting at UJ;
• Nomthandazo Mabena – first year Mechanical Engineering at UJ;
• Shelly Sikhosana – first year N Dip Finance and Accounting at TUT;
• Skye Wallace – first year BCom Law at Wits;
• Tayla Henshall – first year BA Performing and Digital Arts at Wits;
• Yachna Sewnunan – first year Bachelor of Accounting at UJ; and
• Zingiswa Tyeya – first year BSc Human Life Biology at Stellenbosch.
The bursaries cover registration, tuition fees, books, accommodation and meals as well as a R1000 allowance a month.
Four of the recipients come from the Cell C Girl Child Institute of Mentorship (GCIM) which was launched last year under the patronage of Cheryl Carolus, who was the keynote speaker at the bursary announcement. GCIM involves a network of leading business women and Cell C female executives who mentor high achieving Grade 12 female learners. They are Dube whose mentor was Jenna Clifford; Tyeya mentored by Edith Venter; Tsela who was partnered with Brenda Kali and Sikhosana whose mentor was Dolly Mokgatle.
To continue the legacy and sustainability of the Cell C Take a Girl Child to Work Day – to be held this year on May 28 – Cell C launched the Girl Child Bursary Fund with the aim of allowing South African companies and the general public to contribute towards further education and training for qualifying girl learners from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Cell C works with the not-for-profit organisation, Tomorrow Trust, who identifies and recommends post-matric, qualifying girls from disadvantaged backgrounds to benefit from the bursary fund.
Says Cell C Foundation managing executive Suzette van der Merwe: “Women empowerment and gender equity is part of Cell C’s ethos. Education is one of the most important means of empowering women with knowledge, skills, self-confidence and social and economic status. These qualities enable women to become vibrant contributors to the economy and leading job creators in South Africa. That is why Cell C is passionate about this campaign and thankful for the support from our corporate donors”.
The Cell C Girl Child Bursary Fund partners are:
* DNI – donated two bursaries for five years.
* Huawei – donated two bursaries for five years as well as a tablet for each beneficiary.
* MerSETA – donated two bursaries for five years.
* Absa – initial partner and donor of the Girl Child Bursary Fund.
* Cell C Shareholders and Executives – donated funds to the Bursary Fund in their personal capacity.
source http://it-online.co.za/