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She grew up in an area that had a poor education system, her family faced financial difficulties and she fell pregnant fresh out of high school, yet Ntombizodwa Merriam Mahlangu resolved to create a better life for herself and her daughter.
She pulled herself up by her bootstraps, set small goals and is now the proud holder of a public administration and communications degree.
Ntombizodwa started out as a domestic worker and today the 37-year-old graduate Unisa graduate also runs a non-profit organisation that offers skills development to domestic helpers.
Her daughter, Angel (18), has always been her driving force and continues to motivate her.
She tells YOU her story.
“When I fell pregnant after completing matric in 2004, I knew I had to put my dream of becoming an electrical engineer on hold. My parents were not educated – my mother was employed as a domestic cleaner and my father was a construction worker – and I had to support my baby.
I left my daughter with my parents and relocated to Pretoria East where I got a part-time job as a domestic worker. I struggled to get a permanent position because I was young and people wanted an older cleaner. That was until the Cornelius family gave me an opportunity to work for them full time.
I saved some of my salary and bought an incredibly old computer to teach myself how to use it because whenever I applied for jobs those were some of the skills that were required by the various companies.
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When my employer saw that I was using an outdated computer they offered to upgrade it for me. I was then able to learn Microsoft Office.
I wanted to improve my self-taught skills so I enrolled at a college to do a series of short courses but it turned out not be registered and I was left with no money because I couldn't get my registration fees back.
I saved every cent I could until I had enough to register with Unisa. After doing a one-year course in office management, I got a job as an admin receptionist at a physiotherapist's office.
When I found out that they offered study bursaries for staff who wanted to further their education, I grabbed the opportunity and enrolled for a degree in public administration and communication facilitation with Unisa.
Just as my studying journey started my parents passed away and my daughter came to live with me. I was now a full-time employee, a student and a full-time mom.
Despite all the challenges, I graduated in 2018 with and I'm currently doing an honours degree in communication at Unisa.
Growing up I loved communication but didn't have a good grasp of English and always had trouble expressing myself. Completing this course will mean that I have overcome the language barrier.
I've had many hurdles in life but I never gave up because my daughter was my biggest motivation.
I've also published a book called Brightness of Diamonds Through Soil to shine a light on rising above the difficulties of growing up in a tough environment.
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I pay it forward because I got help from my employer to further my studies.
Last year, I launched an organisation called Help One Helper. We don't offer qualifications but we help domestic workers with skills development. We currently have 48 helpers, ranging from cleaners to gardeners and nannies, who have come to us for admin help like getting their driver's licences and even starting their own businesses.
I want to show others that we can all contribute to helping each other.
My goal now is to get my PhD and continue to make my daughter proud.
She's been my biggest motivation and support system. I wouldn’t do anything differently because I've achieved things I never dreamt of.”
