Emihle MXasa
My name is Emihle Mxasa, I’m 20 turning 21 this year. I grew up in Khayelitsha but now I live in Philippi with my mom and my brother and cousin. I went to a school called Trafalgar, in Cape Town. I joined Ukhanyo in 2019.
“a failure depends on how you take it, a failure is not a failure, it’s just a lesson in disguise. So, take your time, reevaluate your mind on failing, you just have to take it as another chance to learn again”
A lot of things occurred at home the year that I wrote matric that concerned my family. My uncle passed away and so my mom had to travel a lot. She didn’t have the money to travel, her cousins and sisters would help her with that, she didn’t have a job since 2016. So, it was hard for me to ask for money for transport, let alone ask her for money for the things I needed for matric. So, I took it upon myself to hustle for my own stuff, you know, to try and get the things I needed to complete my matric. Having lots of people around on the weekend made it difficult for me to focus on my studies. I have neighbors that constantly play music and a tavern right in front of my house, it’s hard to focus and block out the noise.
I found out about Ukhanyo through a friend of mine who works with Sandi. She briefed on what was going to happen, she told me that they were looking for people that had failed matric. At that moment I was already blown away and I had to join. I had already registered to rewrite matric when I found out my matric results and saw that I had failed. I felt that that was what I needed because I was lost, I didn’t know what I was going to do, where I was going to study, or who was going to help me. It was a blessing in disguise when my friend came to me and introduced me to Sandi.
The challenges I faced, when I got my results, I saw my mom was disappointed. She didn’t say it but I knew she was, because when I got my results, she didn’t give me that much energy or focus. I would ask for stuff and she would tell me that she had already paid my school fees and everything and so, me asking for stuff, even transport to attend Ukhanyo was kind of hard, because I couldn’t ask my mom for money – she felt like after all her investments in me going to school, she felt like she had wasted her money. She didn’t give me attention and money to attend classes with Ukhanyo, so Sandi would help me with the money for transport and she would give me money to attend and when I needed lunch. I am thankful because Sandi was helpful towards those things.
One thing about the Ukhanyo program is that before you even write the exam, they have self-development classes where you can set your mind and prepare yourself to accept that failing is not the end of your journey or your dreams or your life. That helped me a lot with seeing things differently after I wrote my matric. After I obtained my matric, there are I lot of opportunities I felt like I qualified for, the requirement for most job opportunities is a matric certificate, and to further your studies you need a matric certificate. After obtaining my matric I felt like I was able to look for a job, to apply to further my studies and felt like I wanted to do something that would take me a step closer to obtaining my dreams. So, having a matric certificate gives you that opportunity, you can apply for a lot things.
My plan for the future is to further my studies and follow my dream. I’m studying marketing at Northlink College in Cape Town. My advice to young people who have failed matric is to not give up, it’s not the end of the world, a failure depends on how you take it, a failure is not a failure, it’s just a lesson in disguise. So, take your time, reevaluate your mind on failing, you just have to take it as another chance to learn again.
