Zinhle Nhlapho was awarded the best performing student by GS TVET College (Evander Campus) and also managed to secure a job at the same institution.
“I saw the position and applied for it, but never though I will get it,” said Zinhle who works as the photocopy operator.
Zinhle is physically challenged after being involved in a car accident when she was one year seven months.
The accident left her right hand side paralyzed.
When growing up she did not see herself as someone who is disabled and her family also treated her like a normal child.
After she passed her matric at Thomas Nhlabathi, Zinhle found herself sitting at home for three years without money to further her studies.
During her three years she worked odd jobs, including being a general worker in one of the local companies.
“I always wanted to go to the university and study nursing or social worker.
“I also did not know anything about GS TVET College because no one from my family told me about it,” Zinhle continued.
She was then informed about the college by her friend and she took the advice.
Zinhle registered at the college to study office administration, considering her disability.
She thanked her family and the college for supporting her throughout her studies.
“I always had impression that universities are better than TVET Colleges, but realized that actually TVET Colleges are much better because they also offer experiential training during school holidays by placing us in different companies,” she narrated.
During her level 2 and 3 she managed to get distinctions and that led to her receiving a trophy and a laptop.
She just completed her N6 courses.
Zinhle said her future aspirations include working in big companies and holding managerial positions.
“When GS College phoned to inform me that I got the job, I was busy cleaning,” said Zinhle who further mentioned that after the phone call she could not continue to clean and struggled to tell her mother because of the shock mixed with excitement.
She encouraged people with disability to not sit at home, but approach the nearest institutions to get more information about the courses and possible assistance available to them.
Zinhle said the TVET Colleges are designed to accommodate people with disability and the staff is also very helpful.