These are the words of Celenkosini Malinga when he was a 20 year old university student, doing his Diagnostic Radiography course at the University of Johannesburg. As an impoverished high school pupil from a rural community, the odds were stacked against his dreams of a better life, for himself, his family, and his community.
The opportunity for change came in the shape of the Wild Impact’s CLEF (Community Leaders Education Fund) bursary, a partial funding awarded to promising students within Phinda Private Game Reserve’s Mduku Community. Celenkosini’s mentor and inspiration was his high school teacher, Phumlani Zungu, a previous CLEF bursary recipient.
He has overcome numerous barriers in his journey so far, and in the process has set inspirational precedents.
He is the first in his family to go to university, the first in his community to study at the University of Johannesburg, and the first in his community to study diagnostic radiology.
Celenkosini graduated in 2020 with two distinctions. Four years later finds him working at the Netcare Milpark Hospital in Johannesburg, where he has taken up a specialisation opportunity as an Interventional Radiographer.
Wild Impact is a Public Benefit Organisation registered in South Africa. Reg. No.: 930002115