From Mr Convy Baloyi Dean of Students University of South Africa E-mail: baloymc@unisa.ac.

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Dear Student NEVER GIVE UP! You are too close to the finishing line. There is an African proverb by Dianne Stewart in her book titled Wisdom from Africa. The proverb says that Man does not stay at holes that are waterless. The Ovambo: Namibian version of this proverb says that Nima iha kalele uulamba waa nomeya. Dianne s direct translation of this proverb into English is that man (referring to a human being) does not stay at a place where there is nothing on offer. This proverb is applicable within the Unisa context. We have a lot on offer for our students to succeed, more especially for our undergraduate students. A lot has been done which students can use as tools to inspire performance and success. For instance, the University has recently received the results of two surveys: (1) on the living conditions of Unisa students in the cities of South Africa (with specific focus on part of the Gauteng Region in Sunnyside, Pretoria), and (2) on the absence of Unisa students from examination. The findings from these surveys can be generalized and found to be applicable in many of the cities in South Africa and elsewhere in Africa and the world. Some 80% of Unisa students are South Africans. Many of these students have migrated from their rural homes to be in the city for many reasons, primarily to access our regional hubs and centres. These surveys are starting to provide us with to assist us to understanding the co-curriculum circumstances which are influencing the learning and academic development of our students. After reading these reports, I got a sense that UNLESS each and every student recognize the need for self discipline and self control with a view to focus on one s destiny and win: it may

remain very HARD to complete your studies at Unisa. The disadvantages of NOT completing your studies are vast. They include a delay on your career development; the negative impact on the finances of the University; and demoralize the passion for learning and academic development. Furthermore, some of the students end up in distress, despair and disbelief coupled with self condemnation which presupposes that you are not capable of achieving anything progressive and meaningful. Some students end up accumulating stress at young age and become resentful and negative about life. Worst of all, is that some students end up resorting to suicide and drugs abuse. This article serves as my small contribution to your faith. I want to request you to take your time and carefully follow my thoughts in this regard. These thoughts emanate from my own personal experiences. Those who are already inspired should hold on to what inspires you and press on towards the mark of success, while those who were about to get weary should be recharged by this message. I am saying that you should NEVER GIVE UP! LIFE IS COOL AND YOU ARE THE COOLEST BEING THAT EVER LIVED. I urge you to see the brighter side of life. NEVER GIVE UP, you are too close to the finishing line. There is another African idiom that says Kule hi le ndzhaku , meaning that you are too far from the starting point for you to abandon the race at this stage. Never give up. Never postpone your academic work. Attend to your work now. Tomorrow will always come with its own challenges. Do not delay. Every minute count! You cannot afford to postpone your destiny with another semester or a year. Pull your destiny towards you by finishing the current work/ assignments. There is a great reward in hard work which is characterized by self discipline and determination to succeed. I know this from my own personal life. My journey to where I am today was NOT void of despair, hardships and hard work, and yet I persevered and toiled forward with zeal and zest knowing that victory is sweeter than difficulties. I HAVE ALWAYS BELIEVED THAT I WAS NOT BORN FOR THE PAST BUT WIRED FOR THE FUTURE. Never give up work hard. I know what it means to study without my own text books. But I also know one of the best solutions to this challenge: look for friends who are registered for the

same qualification. Make sure that they are not on the same poverty level as you are. These kinds of friends are generally considerate and generous. Borrow books and other study aids from them and maximize the use of such resources for your success. Never give up work hard. I know how to survive without subsistence (simply put: to face each day without pocket money for a lunch pack and other necessities). Similarly, I know one of the most effective solutions to this challenge: look for course mates who are struggling with their assignments and yet well-resourced. Help them and at an opportune time, express your stomach requirements. This approach is having multiple returns for your investment: (a) as you assist them, you are also revising and mastering your field of study, (b) you will always have the best meals of the day to address the primary need for survival. Never give up work hard. I know what it means to be the only child who is serious about

education in a family. My family situation was even worse because it was championed by a strong and dynamic unemployed single mother. Month end was always a torturing moment in that I will hope against hope for a Samaritan. Borrowing from other families was a norm in my family. A breakthrough was not the absence of borrowing but the reduced rate of borrowing per month. In other words, I would feel better that this month the borrowing intervals have been less by 2%. I also know the stigma that this kind of situation can bring upon a student s learning life. I perfectly understand the social pressure that this can have on a student among the peers. I know the negative impact that this can have on one s enthusiasm to study and actively participate on learning activities. Yet the beauty of it all is that I also know that however acute one s family situation can be: someone once said that where there is a will there is a way . These were unable to stop me from being determined to succeed. I have used the fact that my mother was a single and unemployed and yet hard working woman as an inspiration for my success. I would have her picture with me in my books. Whenever the going got tough, I will look strategically at her photo and proclaim with deep internal silence that Kule hi le ndzhaku . Stated differently and perhaps politically I would say backwards never, forward ever! Immediately, I will see baskets of possibilities.

Never give up! Your body system was wired for the future it has no reverse mode. I can also tell you that I know how it feels to hopefully go back home to a 3x2m Tin house (accurately put, a Zozo or Mkhukhu or Shack). Studying during the day under such a shelter was always a challenge. In summer, it was not only my dwelling place but also a steam room and my library. In winter it would became too cold and still remained my multi-purpose facility. Guess what I would do, I would take a moment and look around, say the following words: one day very soon, this situation will be history. Thereafter I will be filled with inside joy and strength to press on. Never give up. ONLY LAZINESS is capable of taking you back. I urge you to take advantage of any space on which you find yourself. Use it to advance the cause of your life. Someone once said that you should make hay while the sun shines . I believe that you were not created to be in the same life situation forever. Never give up. I should also share with you that I know how frustrating it can be to have educators who are shot of inspiring you to succeed in your learning journey. You know what I mean. But I always have known that I remain the person who must graduate and have better life. So I would find other ways and means of acquiring more knowledge in my field and still succeed with limited dependence on my educator or lecturer or professor. Dianne Stewart writes of another proverb that says the journey of a snail and its house . The Kaonde: Zambian version says, kwenda kwa kolokofwa ne nzubo yanji . This means that wherever a person who is wise travels, they take their wisdom with them, like a snail that travels with its house. I strongly believe that you are always with your capabilities. You have your intellect with you: in the train, in the bus, in the taxi and in your flat, etc. Use your wisdom and win. Your books are always with you and not with the professor. It is therefore not illegal to be far ahead of the general scheduled academic work. Unisa provides its students with an opportunity to grow in many areas, inter alia, self discipline, leadership thereby taking a lead and charge of your learning life. Being a student of Unisa your have a bigger territory to interrogate existing knowledge and contribute to the development of new ideas. Learning is not limited to a timetable for class attendance. You control your learning space. You are not limited to

classroom notes but a variety of thoughts. Never give up. I can go on and share with you other personal experiences which have inspired me to work HARD. Experiences which have made me to understand that unless I become conscious of my circumstances (many of which were appalling and sometimes unbearable) and embrace them contextually, I would not have been where I am today. I would have taken some of the popular shot cuts such as looking for HI-moments through drugs. I would have indulged in unhealthy and lifelong deteriorating behaviour. I would have become a master of diverse forms of immoral engagements. I would have become a drinking specialist abusing liquor and all its peripherals. I would have joined popular community projects of my time on child production without taking responsibility. I would have become corrupt and opt for quick and deadly ways of making money. Despite all the odds, I chose education. I decided to WORK HARD. I focused on what would take me forward. I read inspiring books. One of my first books to read was one titled A Magic Paint Brush . It captivated me and positively deceived me into believing that whatever I wanted I could paint and it will come true. I patiently began to paint my future. It was not easy and quick. It was at times difficult to find the correct brush and correct colour combinations for the many picture that I painted but I never stopped painting. NEVER GIVE UP! Look towards your destiny. Always try to answer this question: what do I really want to become in life? Never allow anything to stop you from achieving that goal. Keep on painting the picture it will become true one day and that day is near.