Bonginkosi Ndlela is no average young man

eMBALENHLE – People are remembered for doing the extraordinary, going the extra mile and doing more than average. Mr Bonginkosi Ndlela is not average, he has set his mind to do the exceptional.

Mr Bonginkosi Ndlela was born in Barberton and later raised in Nhlazatshe. He moved with his family to eMbalenhle in 2003.

He is 24 years old and has accomplished many goals that he set for himself.

His life really began when he gave his life to God and began to see life differently. His purpose was being revealed to him.

With the life change came hard decisions he had to make, like losing friends, studying during holidays and preparing for a new year or term when he should have been relaxing like his peers.

It is a given that on a special path like his, there were people who looked up to him, people who could not understand how they have come from the same circumstances but have not been given the opportunities he was prepared for.

Church and school became his main focus. Mr Zondo, who was a teacher at Osizweni Combined School, inspired him and sparked the interest in education and also believed in him.

This was a turning point in his life and he began performing better. He put in more effort, set goals for himself and made conscious decisions to shape his future. He wanted to be exceptional.

In our interview with him, he quoted a scripture that he lives by: Luke 16:10 – “Whoever is faithful with very little will also be faithful with much.”

In Grade 10, Mr Ndlela was head hunted by the Osizweni science and mathematics program where they select the high achieving learners and assist them in performing better in mathematics and science. True to the meaning of ‘Osizweni’, this was the place Mr Ndlela found help and the tools to perform even better.

In Grade 11, he was chosen by the National Talent Targeting Program where the program exposed him to university life by camping out at Wits University and engaging with students from all over the country.

“This was were I realised that achieving excellent marks, was a normality and reality for other students. So if it can be normal for others, it can be normal for me. I wanted to look beyond the village and see that there is so much more out there,” said Mr Ndlela.

“I realised that competency builds confidence.”

Mr Ndlela went on to achieve five distinctions in matric, including 99 per cent in physical science and 91 per cent in mathematics.

He was accepted into Wits University to study a BSc in Industrial Engineering where he received a distinction in his final year’s research project. He is the first in his family to go to university.

Mr Ndlela is an inspiration for those coming from disadvantaged backgrounds. He encourages all that if he can do it, so can you.