A 21-YEAR OLD orphan who was offered a generous bursary a week after sleeping at a local taxi rank, will finally realise his dream of becoming a lawyer.
Desperate for a better life, Molefi Mareka slept at the Mangaung taxi rank hoping to secure a bursary from the office of the Free State Premier with no success.
Mareka completed his matric last year at the Tshepang Secondary School in Clocolan.
Mareka’s dire situation took a drastic turn when a stranger offered him accommodation while he sought financial aid to register at the University of the Free State.
The man who took Mareka in, Mochini Mokhena from Willows, Bloemfontein, said he took a picture of the determined young man and wrote his story on Facebook.
“The response was overwhelming, I found myself weeping tears of joy for the many people who had offered to help the young man,” said Mokhena.
Mareka left his hometown of Clocolan last week Wednesday (03/02) with only a few pennies in his pocket hoping to get a spot at the University of the Free State.
Living on little food Mareka spent endless nights at the taxi rank hoping for a miracle.
Mareka’s fate struck gold when Manama Letsie of Patsa Civil Works and Construction offered to pay for his full tuition fees, accommodation and other necessities.
Letsie said he had seen the Facebook post and decided to chip in and help Mareka realise his dreams.
“We believe in alleviating poverty through education, by empowering Mareka we are empowering a community,” said Letsie.
Mareka said his older sister had taken care of him and six other siblings after their parents had died in 2006 and 2007 respectively.
“It has been hard and education is my only hope of escaping poverty,” Mareka said.
“I am humbled and grateful for this opportunity,” he added.
Mokhena said he had felt compelled to help Mareka because he knew how hard it was to find money for tuition fees.
Letsie said Mareka’s bursary would only be terminated if he failed his modules.