Amicus June 2017

Flying high in the Free State
Tshepo Doctor Thajane grew up in Thaba-Nchu in
the Free State and attended Lefikeng High School in
Botshabelo. His mother is unemployed and his father is
a car guard who relies on the generosity of motorists.
This means that he sometimes comes back home emptyhanded
and the family of five go to sleep hungry.
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EDUCATION
‘The mentors at my school provided me with an entry
form for the “Star of the Stars” and I was chosen as one
of the top 11 finalists, and then came out as the winner.
The support we got from the mentors contributed to my
getting a distinction in maths in my matric exams. As
a result of this, I was awarded a full scholarship by the
University of the Free State to study actuarial science.’
The First Old Mutual Scholarship Fund Graduate!
23 year-old Simamkele Gcezengana is the first beneficiary of the Old Mutual Scholarship
Fund to graduate. She completed her studies at Rhodes University in December 2016,
graduating with a B.Pharm. degree.
Simamkele’s from Ginsberg, a small township outside King William’s Town in the Eastern
Cape. At Schornville Primary School she was deputy head-girl and later at Breidbach
Senior Secondary School, an Old Mutual Education Flagship School, she was one of the
top five learners from Grade 8 to 12.
In 2012, Simamkele enrolled at Rhodes University for a B.Sc degree, and soon realised
that she wanted to study something that would enable her to make more of a direct
contribution to her fellow citizens.
In 2013 she switched to a B.Pharm and in her third year was chosen as a mentor for
first-year pharmacy students. Simamkele is currently completing her internship in 2017 at
Groote Schuur Hospital.
‘My dream is to open and run my own pharmacy in a small rural place in the Eastern Cape or KwaZulu-Natal, where people have less
access to good pharmacy services and resources,' she says.
‘It was such an honour and privilege to receive the Old Mutual Scholarship. I hope I will continue making my sponsors proud and I am
more motivated to help other young people like me where I can. Enkosi Old Mutual.’
R3 MILLION TO WITS STUDENTS
Old Mutual has contributed R3 million to the tuition and residence costs of
students of the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits). The donation will assist
undergraduate and postgraduate students who cannot afford to pay university fees,
but also do not qualify for National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) funding.
The emphasis will be on students studying commerce (with a focus on actuarial and
accounting studies), mathematics, engineering, information technology and law.
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