Chanine is cycling to change lives in South Africa

I am Chanine Klomp, an alumna of Stellenbosch University, which is situated amongst the vineyards of the Cape Winelands in the town of Stellenbosch, South Africa. I had the privilege of growing up surrounded by the Stellenbosch mountains. The years that I spent in Stellenbosch as a Matie (2009–2012) are definitely the highlight of my life as I made lifelong friends and learned so much academically and socially. My experience at Stellenbosch is one that I believe all should be able to enjoy and not restricted from because of financial reasons. I believe in the power of education as it will enable more people to have the opportunities that I had and to earn enough money to look after themselves and their families or communities. On Sunday 15 September 2024 I will be cycling with other alumni and friends of the university to raise funds for a worthy cause. Stellenbosch University is ranked in the top 1% of universities in the world and has the highest throughput rate of any university in South Africa - this means that any student going to study at Stellenbosch University is most likely to graduate and secure employment in a country where current unemployment rates are lying at about 35%. The problem however is that come graduation over 200 students arrive carrying a student debt exceeding R16m. On average R80,000 each. Many of these students have studied for professional degrees and to secure employment after graduation they will need to show their degree and transcript - instead what they will get at graduation is an empty quiver and an invoice for their outstanding fees. The #GradMe is an initiative at Stellenbosch University to try and get as many of these graduating students across the final hurdle to ensuring their success and opportunity to join the economic world of South Africa and begin to contribute to building our country. Please join me and support my efforts to raise £500 (R10,000) to get as many students as possible to fulfil their dreams and graduate debt-free and with a degree and transcript in hand through our EU-UK Bursary Fund in support of #GradMe. Their lingering debt hampers their capacity to contribute to a talented workforce. Your support can help them enter the South African economy with confidence. Please join me and donate to this project.