working

“There is no secret to success. It’s about preparation, hard work and learning from failures”. Lerato Ruth Sihlangu spent 18-hour days working towards passing.

 

For at least a year 18-year-old Lerato Ruth Sihlangu walked two hours from school back to her home in Mfuleni. She arrived at about 6:30 pm, 12 hours after taking the morning bus to school. Sihlangu then cooked supper for her family before starting her homework. She got to bed “around midnight every day” and said that during exams it would be closer to 3 am.

Despite this, Sihlangu matriculated as one of the top learners at Masiyile High School in Khayelitsha. She got two distinctions — for Xhosa and Life Orientation — and a bachelor’s pass.

According to one of her teachers, Masiyile’s 2018 matric class obtained a 75.5% pass rate in 2018 compared to 70.1% in 2017.

Sihlangu grew up in Sterkstroom, a small town in the Eastern Cape, with her mother and two brothers.

“I was raised by a single mother. She was unemployed so we didn’t have money to buy stationery and things. I would always reuse my book covers until Grade 9 when I moved to Khayelitsha.”

While adjusting to life in a new city and school, Sihlangu says she was again uprooted when she moved to Mfuleni where she lives in a shack with her aunt and two cousins.

“The most difficult challenge I faced in high school was having to travel home from school in Site B,” said Sihlangu.

In order to achieve her dream of pursuing a career in science, Sihlangu attended extra lessons after school every day. She says most days classes ended at 4:30 pm and by then, the last bus home had left.

“I had to walk two hours back home, then cook supper before I could start my work,” she says.

Sihlangu says her mother and aunt often motivated her to work hard and focus on her studies. She is passionate about physiotherapy and psychology and would like to study Occupational Therapy at Stellenbosch University or the University of Free State this year. She has not heard back from either of the universities yet.

“Every time I faced a major obstacle and started losing hope, I looked back on my journey for inspiration. There is no secret to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work and learning from failures,” she says.


Sources: GroundUp
Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments or follow GoodThingsGuy on Facebook & Twitter to keep up to date with good news as it happens.
Click the link below to listen to the Good Things Guy Podcast, with Brent Lindeque – South Africa’s very own Good Things Guy. He’s on a mission to change what the world pays attention to and he truly believes that there’s good news all around us. In the Good Things Guy podcast, you’ll meet these everyday heroes & hear their incredible stories:

Or watch an episode of Good Things TV below, a show created to offer South Africans balance in a world with what feels like constant bad news. We’re here to remind you that there are still so many good things happening in South Africa & we’ll hopefully leave you feeling a little more proudly South African.

About the Author

Tyler Leigh Vivier is a writer for Good Things Guy.

Her passion is to spread good news across South Africa with a big focus on environmental issues, animal welfare and social upliftment. Outside of Good Things Guy, she is an avid reader and lover of tea.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *