Second-year Tuks student needs help to continue her educational journey

Financial battles are intensifying, limiting access to resources and constraining the realisation of potential.

Xiluva Maphophe is entering her second year at the University of Pretoria but the continuation of her Psychology degree is under threat. Xiluva’s remarkable performance in her first year, where she earned six distinctions out of seven subjects, has paved the way for a less daunting financial commitment, but the small things snowball. “Registration fees, residence reservation fees, residence meal levy and textbook costs easily add up,” she stressed.

Xiluva has set up a BackaBuddy campaign to help her raise the last R10 000 she needs to get 2021 off to a good start. She comes from a single-income household and hopes to alleviate the strain on her mother. Xiluva turns 20 in March and sees psychology as a way to make the world a better place, saying, “It explains why society behaves the way it does, and how that behaviour could possibly change”.

From matriculating in 2019 from Crawford International Ruimsig, to her time at Tuks, she has aimed for being a positive force for change. “Psychology lends itself to every aspect of life, whether in the business context, in a community context or even in a family context. Hence, it has the power to assist us in understanding these contexts and shaping them into something that would help society function better. It’s more than just brains and mind games,” she enthused.

Long term, Xiluva is hoping to earn her Master’s, pursue a profession in neuropsychology, open her own practice and eventually open a children sanctuary. “I really love little kids and would love to have the joy of seeing them being placed in loving homes. If not that, I’d at least like to be able to finance an orphan’s entire school career.”

To view her BackaBuddy campaign by clicking here.