Opportunity of a lifetime

My name is Jabu; I am staying in Cape Town, but originaly from Gauteng in Joburg. Mine is not an amazing or touching story, but probably that of most ordinary South African; I am writing with the hope that maybe there is enough notable significance in my story to get assistance from the international community, so here it is:

My wife (Thuli) got a prestigious full scholarship to study her Masters in Mathematics Education in the UK, after a grueling application process. She got the offer in 2018 but had to forfeit it because she refused to leave our now 20 month old son behind. We failed to show the funds needed to obtain VISAs for her to take our baby boy and me as the caregiver with her.

She didn’t give up and applied again despite the odds (over 50 000 applicants). Miraculously she has been awarded the scholarship again despite being told an opportunity like this would not come around twice. The course starts 23 September 2019. It would be devastating to miss it again only because she is a mother who strongly believes that the first three years of life are critical for baby’s development and they need a mother’s care.

She wants to get the Masters in Mathematics Education, to get a global perspective, so she can contribute considerably in improving the state of mathematics education in our country and thus help our children embrace maths and excel in it. She is passionate about making maths accessible to all learners and will work on initiatives that show young people that maths can be fun and is doable.

My Wife left a comfortable corporate job in 2013 to pursue her passion for education and child/youth development. She is extremely passionate about mathematics and has a great desire to see young people excel in it. She is adamant Maths is fun and any child can learn it and has been working for NGOs that seek to improve literacy and numeracy in schools.

I am currently unemployed and I haven’t been properly working since December 2014. In 2015 I took a chunk of my job payout and started a vending machine business, but due to the country’s economic decline and a series of family (parents) medical emergencies including my wife’s high-risk pregnancy, we had to sell the business at a loss in 2016. Accompanying my wife to the UK will not only support her to fully focus on her studies without worrying about the baby’s well being but I also get an opportunity to work and earn.

We need to raise R220 000 (£12 240) for VISA approval and related costs for me and my son.

UKVI have strict financial requirements, we are required to show prescribed living costs for a maximum of 9 months for each depended. A total of £12 240 for 2 dependents. These funds must be in our bank account for 28 days consecutively before day of application. Therefore our deadline to raise the money is the 11th of August 2019.

The plan for the money is to:

1. Show funds to qualify for the VISA, buy plain tickets (for me and my son), and related costs.

2. After the VISA is approved, the remaining funds will be used to start a Maths Initiative, based on the research results from my wife's Masters, that will work to directly benefit learners in under resourced schools in our community.

Thank you very much for your generosity, God bless you. Be assured that we will definately PAY IT FORWARD!