Finishing the Journey

“No society, no civilization has ever been successfully built without present generations investing in the education of future generations. Our climb is part of this, and every single donation, from a few rand to more, is extremely important because it is about creating a strong culture of giving together for education, and coming together to create a more just and equal society. As a university named after Nelson Mandela, it is our imperative.”

Assisting 160 NMMU students with the R25 000 each of them need to return to University in order to complete their final year and graduate.

This is the goal of NMMU Vice-Chancellor, Professor Derrick Swartz’s #Trailblazing campaign to Machu Picchu.

The 160 students, from across all seven faculties at NMMU, could not complete the final year of their 3-year and 4-year degrees and diplomas because they do not have the R25 000 required to do this.

Completing the journey – trailblazing for graduation

The goal of our journey to Machu Picchu:

To raise R4million to fund 160 students from NMMU to return to University and complete their final year and to graduate – this is their journey.

Why haven’t they completed their final year?

The 160 students, from across all seven faculties at NMMU, could not complete their 3-year and 4-year degrees and diplomas because they cannot raise R25 000 – the cost of their final year.

The reality

The reality in South Africa is that 47.9% of students never graduate. One of the key reasons cited is a lack of funding. This is a major issue in all South African universities. NMMU is the largest university the Eastern Cape. In 2016 NMMU enrolled 26 911 students. This is a notable increase on the 2015 figure of 26 300 students (22 511 undergraduates and 3 789 postgraduates).

What it costs NMMU

Government funding is far below the University’s annual operating costs. NMMU received government funding of R780 million for its 2016 operational costs of approximately R1.8 billion. For every student that does not complete their 3- and 4-year qualification, the University loses R20 000 and R30 000 respectively in government output subsidy per student. The government only pays this once a student graduates.

Join us in helping 160 students to graduate!

We need you, the members of the Corporate Sector, in your company capacity and in your individual philanthropy capacity, to join us in helping these students, mostly from the rural Eastern Cape, to complete their journey, to graduate, and claim their future.

Five Machu Picchu Trailblazers

From the 1 – 4 September the Vice-Chancellor and NMMU’s Chancellor, Santie Botha, will be part of a team of six NMMU trailblazers who will be tackling the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu to help raise R4million, which is R25 000 for each of the 160 students. Chancellor Botha, a well-known South African businesswoman and tertiary education champion, has already pledged R100 000 to get the ball rolling.

Join us in giving and claim the tax rebate

If you believe in education, please join us in giving, and claim the tax rebate for your donation.

NMMU’s Vice-Chancellor’s goal

The Vice-Chancellor’s goal is that all NMMU students should not only be given the opportunity to graduate with a first class education, they should graduate with an entrepreneurial, innovative, socially conscious mindset for South African and world needs. In his words:

“We’re here to prepare students for careers and the world they are entering; we’re here to prepare students to be entrepreneurs and innovators who can go out there and create jobs.”

If you would like to donate …