Mother’s health motivated Zandisiwe to ace her matric

Being a matric learner is difficult enough, but being away from home and leaving your blind mother behind can affect even the strongest of people.

However, while she spent nights and days thinking of her mother, Zandisiwe Sithole (17) used her situation as motivation to work hard to get great results.

Being able to one day be there for her mother is what motivated Zandisiwe to get great results, and she did just that when she matriculated with 4 distinctions in life science, life orientation, IsiZulu and English, while attaining level 6 for maritime economics and other subjects.

Her main goal was to obtain good results so she can qualify to study maritime.

“I want to work and earn enough money to find a doctor who can make my mother see again. I would do anything for her to see the world again,” she said.

According to Zandisiwe, her mother lost her sight when she was in Grade 4 in 2016, and life has been a struggle for her and her family since then.

This not only affected her school life, but made her matric year even more difficult.

“Not being close to my mother was torture because I didn’t know if she was being taken care of. Even though my older sister was at home, she had her own things to do.

“Sometimes my mind would be consumed with the worry of her being alone but I’m glad all my teachers and friends were there for me throughout,” said Zandisiwe.

This Dlangezwa High School matriculant hopes to find a spot at Durban University of Technology to study maritime.

She also hopes the local maritime sector can assist in making her dream a reality.

“I will continue to work hard – for my mother and for myself,’ she said.

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