South Africa’s Woman of the Year 2012 – Vote now!

After asking our readers for their feedback, we received numerous fantastic nominations for the honorary title of South Africa’s Woman of the Year. It’s been no easy feat deciding which nominees should be put forward as the best, but we’ve finalised the following nominees who display admirable personality traits and who have made a difference to other people’s lives:

Amanda said:

Thuli Madonsela has to be my woman of the year for sure.

Samantha said:

Diane Van Dyk- CEO of SC Hospice, her dedication and commitment to helping the sick, the needy and the disadvantage over the last 20 years is inspirational across all who meet her. 

Jack said:

Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma with her achievement.

Caprice said:

Definitely my mother. I have not come across a lot of people who show the amount of determination that she does; in all that she sets her mind too, over and above the fact that she suffers dearly with her health. I have never once seen her give up on anyone or any task or challenge that has come her way. My mom also thinks about and puts everyone before herself and will sacrifice anything to make sure her family has everything they need. She is full of love, compassion along with the characteristics of a great leader; dedicated to the task and fellow colleagues, team-oriented, enthusiastic and a democratic leader. I have had the pleasure of seeing her mentor other students purely out of the goodness of her heart, as well as tackling the task of voluntary humanitarian work to literally make the world a better place for the youth of today. Even though most would consider this inspirational, humanitarian work takes a lot of courage and bravery due to the politics involved and the daunting photographs, articles, case studies and journalists/associations/governments/politicians and the like who disagree with volunteers fighting towards a good cause. However, my mom does not back down because she is one person and too afraid to stand alone and be the only voice willing to negotiate with professional corporate organisations. This makes my mom South Africa's Woman of the Year for me. 

We’d love to hear what the public think, that’s why we’re opening the nominees to a public vote. Be sure to leave your vote on our Facebook wall, on the comments section of this blog or tweet @EduloanSA with the hashtag #WOTY.

Ten tips on preparing for finals - why you should start now

Mid-term holidays are coming up at the end of August, and it may still seem as though you have plenty of time to prepare for your finals, so where’s the need to stress, right? Wrong.

By this time, you should have submitted all your assignments and the seemingly long stretch ahead to final exams is going to zoom up faster than you expect, so it’s a good idea to use the time you have now to start making preparations now so you don’t go through too much stress right before the exams.

In light of this, here are some important tips on how to prepare adequately for those all-important exams:

1. Revision

Start making time long before the exams to familiarise yourself with the material you studied right from the beginning of the module or year. That way, you won’t feel panicked when time pressure becomes more intense.

2. Plan your time

Make a timetable of the times you will have available for revision and studying and stick to it. Make sure you keep a good balance between your normal activities and your studies, but plan in such a way that you will have time to cover everything in good time before the exams start.

3. Go over your notes

If you’ve been making notes during the course of the year, now is the time to go over them and re-write them again for revision, highlighting the important points and elaborating in your own words on things you struggled to understand. Re-writing your notes (but not word-for-word) will help you re-learn the material you need to take in.

4. Study groups

Find people who are studying the same subjects and make arrangements to sit down and go over the study material. You’ll often find that discussing points you are struggling with with someone else who understands it better will help.

5. Old exam papers

If possible, get hold of some previous exam papers so that you know what kind of questions you can expect, how the questions are marked, and which sections of what you learned are important. Answering these papers as practice exams while adhering to the set time limit may help you to manage your exam time more efficiently and understand how marks are allocated.

6. Identify problem areas

Find out what portions of your study material is the most problematic for you and focus on this by reading further on the subject matter and doing more research. Answer practice questions, write essays on the topic if necessary and get help from a tutor to make sure all your bases are covered.

7. Memorise, practise or theorise

The type of studying and revision that you need to do depends entirely on your subject matter. For instance, studying for a history exam will be entirely different from the way you would study for a mathematics exam. So it’s important to understand whether you need to use memorising techniques to remember facts and dates, whether you need to write theoretical essays or whether you need to simply practise techniques and calculations until you have perfected them.

8. Ask for tips

Your lecturers will likely be happy to give you tips on what to focus on for the upcoming exams and what kind of answers they would be looking for if they were marking your exams.

9. Read

If you are studying for a theoretical subject, your lecturers will also likely tell you that they are looking for both logical and original thinking, so make sure that you take the time to not only formulate opinions which are interesting but also that you can back up those opinions with solid, logical facts, which is why it’s important to read, read and then read some more about the subject at hand.

10. Be healthy

Make sure you get a balanced diet, with lots of healthy vegetables, get some exercise and fresh air, cut down on the partying and make sure you get a good amount of sleep before the exams. Writing a paper with a streaming cold, a hangover or a tired mind is no fun for anyone, so try to stay as healthy, strong and rested as you can.

Christelle du Preez – a Good Morning Angel on her way to success

The Jacaranda FM team brought Christelle du Preez’s story to Eduloan’s attention as part of their Good Morning Angels initiative – a born teacher, Christelle was ready to start her studies as a Practiser in Early Child Development when both her parents lost their jobs and her studies hung in the balance.

Eduloan gladly assisted Christelle with a bursary to help her with her studies – you can watch how it all unfolded in the video below.
 

We recently caught up with Christelle to find out how she is getting along:

How is the studying going right now? 

The studying is going really well. I’m preparing for my finals at the end of this year – all my assignments are in and I’m ready for the exams!

We understand that both your parents lost their jobs last year – how are they doing now?

Luckily, my Dad has now found a new job, although my mum, who is a diabetic, is at home and is quite ill at the moment, so it’s still difficult.

What advice would you give to anyone wanting to pursue teaching as a career?

You absolutely have to love children and want to work with kids. You can’t do this job if you don’t have that love for children in your heart.

As you know, August is women’s month, and it gives us as Eduloan great pleasure to know that we are empowering young women like yourself to improve their lives through education – is it important, in your opinion, for young women to have support from their families, their community and society as a whole?

Thank you! Yes, it’s very important indeed.

Who is your female role model and why?

My mother is my role model, without a doubt. She has always been there for me, no matter what. She has always gone out of her way to support me and give me what I needed.

And finally, since you are studying to become a teacher, why do you think education is so important, and what are the qualities that make a good teacher? 

Well, if you’re teaching, you’re helping children. And when you help children, it will one day help them to get work when they grow up. A good teacher must have patience with kids, they must be willing to help children be the best they can be and believe in them, and a good teacher will also reach out to community as a whole.

Eduloan's High Tea for Women's Day

The employees and stakeholders at Eduloan recently enjoyed their annual High Tea for Women's Day. They were welcomed by the CEO of Eduloan, Totsie Memela-Khambula. 

The attendees then had an interesting talk by Janine Hills, CEO of Vuma Reputation Management. 

The highlight of the event was the keynote speaker, the inspirational Dr Mamphela Ramphele, the Chairperson of Eduloan Board. She addressed the attendees on being a woman, an Eduloan staff member and citizens of South Africa.

Dr Ramphele's quote of the day was, “Live in unity with our diversities” 

 Totsie Memela-Khambula, CEO of Eduloan, officially
opens the Eduloan Women’s Day High Tea

 Janine Hills, CEO of Vuma Reputation Management addresses the attendees

Dr Mamphela Ramphele, the Chairperson of the Eduloan Board addresses attendees on
being a woman, an Eduloan staff member and citizens of South Africa.

 Cheerful faces from the attendees of the Eduloan Women’s Day High Tea

 Dr Mamphela Ramphele, the Chairperson of the Eduloan Board addresses attendees

 Dr Mamphela Ramphele, the Chairperson of the Eduloan Board addresses attendees

 The gift ceremony

 Cheerful faces from the attendees of the Eduloan Women’s Day High Tea

 Cheerful faces from the attendees of the Eduloan Women’s Day High Tea

Maria Mokgokolo – thriving against the odds

Maria Mokgokolo – thriving against the odds

A mother of four, Maria went through a financial crisis after her husband passed away. Realising that the only way to ensure a better life for herself and her children was through education, Maria approached a number of different banks and financial institutions for a student loan – without success, until one day a friend told her about Eduloan.

Improving the lives of an entire family

Maria’s journey to success began when Eduloan granted her the study loan she needed to enrol for a B.Com degree – and she hasn’t looked back since. Today, after years of being a satisfied Eduloan customer, Maria has made use of Eduloan a staggering 44 times – completing not only her B.Com degree, but enabling three of her children (the fourth is still in high school) to enjoy the benefits and opportunities of a tertiary education.

As a result, they are now all successfully employed and financially independent while Maria herself is a Head of Department at Abel Motshwane Secondary School in Mabopane.

"I approached other banks but could not get a loan. Eduloan came to my rescue and changed my life,” Maria said.

Why Eduloan was the answer for Maria

“You don’t have to struggle to get a loan – it’s easily approved. Their loans are affordable and interest rates are low. Their offices are located at the very institutions where you want to study. It’s also the service... the people that help you are friendly and can answer all the questions you have.”

According to Maria, even the application process was so much easier with Eduloan than any of the other banks she tried. Her first study loan was approved in just 48 hours.

“In my everyday life I advise my learners, my students at school, my colleagues, my neighbours and my friends on how Eduloan changed my life. I tell them to approach Eduloan if they want to fund their studies."

Maria funded her children’s tertiary education through Eduloan too. Her daughter, Lesego, has achieved a diploma in Human Resources Hiring Practice and is now financially independent.

Watch Maria’s full interview below:

Who’s your Woman of the Year?

What makes a strong woman?

We think that strength, determination, hope, courage and faith can be found in all women.

But who is the strongest woman in your opinion this year? Is she a public figure who stands up for human rights? Is she a single mother who takes two jobs to put her children through school? Is she an academic who is contributing to the country’s knowledge base? Is she a community leader who battles poverty among her neighbours? Is she a teacher with a difference who educates the next generation?

Our country is fortunate to have many female role models to inspire the young women who we hope will go forth and become the next generation of women to help South Africa progress as a country.

If you could nominate any South African woman, irrespective of her status in society, who would that woman be? A woman of high moral standing, she should be a born leader and have the ability to inspire the nation with her unwavering determination – who should be South Africa’s Woman of the Year?

We’ll be accepting nominations via the comments section of this blog, via Twitter with the #WOTY hashtag and on our Facebook wall – get nominating, South Africa! Just tell us who you nominate and why you think she deserves the honorary title of Eduloan’s Woman of the Year 2012.

We'll pick five of the strongest nominees and open them up to a public vote next week!

 

Celebrating Women's Month

One day, women of South Africa, you’ll realise that the new generation of South Africans are looking to you to make a difference.

You’ll realise that the power to change your circumstances is within your grasp.

You will stop looking for change to come from others, and recognise that if you want to be more, do more and achieve more, education can unlock that door to success.

One day, women of South Africa, you will realise that those who succeed are the ones willing to look beyond the obstacles and instead focus on the possibilities.

You will use your determination, intelligence and your strength as a woman to show all those who said you wouldn’t make it that they were wrong.

You will one day inspire others to make a change for the better.

One day, women of South Africa, you will realise that every opportunity to ensure a better life for yourself, your families, your communities and our nation as a whole is within your grasp, that whoever you are and wherever you come from, it’s possible for you to empower yourself with education so that you can change our nation.

That instead of being alive, you can choose to thrive.

One Day is Today.
Own it! 

Because we recognise the important role that women play in our society as mothers, daughters, caregivers and breadwinners, we are dedicating the entire month of August to the strong, fearless women of South Africa! Happy Women's Month!