Xolisa has always dreamed of being a pilot, so his mentor got him into a good school and started a fund to help pay for it, someone just donated 100k to help him
Sir Lowry’s Pass Village, Cape Town – In 2017, Xolisa’s dreams were set in motion after meeting representatives from the South African Air Force during the Langebaanweg Air Show, who advised him that he too could train to become a pilot, free of charge, granted he met the academic entry requirements in matric and agreed to work for the airforce after completing his training.
Philip Bellstedt (31) became his mentor after meeting at an afterschool maths centre. Though the “Discovery Club” programme attracted few students, Xolisa attended regularly and remained committed to improving his maths skills.
“Through our weekly tutoring sessions, I got to know Xolisa to be a very bright, hard-working boy. With a tiny bit of help once a week, he managed to improve his maths dramatically and by the end of 2016, he received the prize for the most improved in maths in his grade. I got to see first hand not only his academic potential but his leadership skills.” – says Phillip
Philip soon noticed that despite Xolisa’s commitment, it seemed that Xolisa’s dream of becoming a pilot was in jeopardy, with the ongoing learner strikes and overcrowded classrooms and felt that something had to be done to ensure a brighter future for the young man.
At the end of 2016, Philip helped Xolisa apply to better schools in the area. Unfortunately, the only schools accessible by public transport were over-filled and Xolisa was forced to stay where he was another year.
When Xolisa’s application at the beginning of 2018 was once again rejected due to overcrowding, Philip and girlfriend, Samantha Lee (26) toured private schools in the area and together with Xolisa, decided on False Bay High School as the ideal place for Xolisa to thrive.
Philip then set up a crowdfund on BackaBuddy in the hopes to support Xolisa through school so he could follow his dream of becoming a pilot.
Well… grab a tissue because last night, an anonymous donor donated over R100,000 to the crowdfund pushing the goal amount just a few thousand below what was needed for Xolisa to complete his schooling.
All the anonymous donor said in the message was, “Glo jy kan dit doen” – No One. Meaning “I know you can do it!”
We cannot believe that in just 24-hours after publishing an article, one person has made all the difference in Xolisa’s life.
“I never dreamed that I would be attending private school. It was hard being in my old school. In my maths class, we had over 60 students. Even though I tried to concentrate, I couldn’t concentrate because there’d be some distractions – kid’s that didn’t want to be at school would make noise – but the teacher wouldn’t explain again; it was your problem; you had to figure it out yourself. It’s much better in my new school. If you’d don’t understand, they make sure you understand. The teachers go out of their way for you if you work hard – they’d do everything in their power to make sure that you succeed.” says Xolisa
Now Xolisa is one step closer to following his dreams. We are in tears at this happy news. To whoever you are, thank you for being the difference. You have inspired us beyond words!
Xolisa’s fund is nearly fully funded, if you would like to help him reach that final stretch, you can do so here.
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