Byline: Nonjabuliso Nhlambo
22 January 2025
Mr Masasa Makhetha, CEO and co-founder of Thasasa, led a matric motivational talk for learners in four different secondary schools around eMbalenhle on Wednesday, 21 January 2025.
The main purpose of the motivational talk was to engage and motivate learners as they began the matric journey.
Masasa, having grown up underprivileged, highlighted his upbringing, how he was born and raised in Ficksburg, a small town nestled at the foot of the Imperani Mountain in the Free State.
He mentioned that life was hard for him. He then had to move to Secunda in his matric year, where he completed his matric at Kiriyatwane secondary school.
“Your background does not define you, as it did not with me,” Masasa said.
After his matric, Masasa was accepted into the University of Pretoria but still struggled with accommodation and had to make ends meet with whatever his family could afford to send him.
“There was a point where I wanted to give up, as things were hard for me. I wanted to come back home to try and work at retail stores, but having had a good support system, I persevered. Therefore, I’m saying this to you that things will get hard to a point where you will want to give up, but if you have people who are positive in your life, you will achieve all your dreams. Imagine if I had negative people around me, I would have given up,” Masasa said, detailing the hardships he faced during his first year.
He pledged to help two learners of the class of 2026 with university registrations.
Two learners from the following schools, namely, KI Twala Secondary, Kiriyatswane Secondary, Sizwakele Secondary, and Kusasalethu Secondary School, will be assisted with their university registrations.
Thasasa delegates, alongside the circuit manager Mr Molepo, eMbalenhle police, and ex-convicts, were part of the motivational talks.
