Lani is cycling the London to Brighton Cycle Ride 2023

I am Lani Swart, an alumna of Stellenbosch University, which is situated amongst the vineyards of the Cape Winelands in the town of Stellenbosch, South Africa. On Sunday 10 September 2023 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 £1,000 (R20,000) 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.