Reuniting with IAWA Alumni Ambassadors Summer 2021

This summer our Founder and Chief Executive of Hope, Meisha Lerato Robinson, was excited to finally be able to visit our Alumni Ambassadors in South Africa after more than a year away! Because of the Coronavirus pandemic, travel had been limited since early 2020, so when Meisha had the opportunity to travel to South Africa once again, she jumped at the opportunity.

While living through the Coronavirus pandemic has been tough on us all, our alumni ambassadors continue to shine brightly and work towards the futures they want. Ambassador Tsholofelo said that in the IAWA program, “We learned to be persistent and courageous,” which helped her deal with the pandemic. Despite the challenges the pandemic has thrown at her, Tsholofelo is applying to school to become an audiologist and is raising her beautiful new baby.

Alumni ambassador Rorisang shared that during the pandemic, when her matric work all went digital, it was hard on her. The mantra she selected through IAWA, “I am powerful,” and the support of her parents, though, helped get her through these tough times. Rorisang shared that she would remind herself, “I’m not going to give up because I am powerful.” She also shared that being part of IAWA helped her “finally know what I wanted to do'' with her future. Rorisang successfully completed her matric, applied for university, and has started studying journalism in college! She hopes to go into law and become a writer in the future.

Our alumni ambassadors are thriving despite the challenges the pandemic has thrown at them. Ten alumni ambassadors have completed their matric, which is the equivalent of completing their final year of high school in the US, and at least one more alum is currently working to complete their matric. Many of our alumni ambassadors have also gone on to attend higher education, from college to university! Four are currently in college or university, and thirteen are planning to attend higher education in the future. Their dreams for what they will do with their educations are varied, ranging from audiology, nursing, and engineering to music, journalism, and writing. Currently, several alumni have obtained jobs, including working in the mines. On a personal note, three alumni have welcomed new babies into the IAWA family in the past year!

We are so proud of all of our amazing, resilient alumni ambassadors, and Meisha’s visit this summer allowed us to reconnect with these wonderful young people and learn more about how their lives have unfolded since participating in the IAWA program. While they are all program alumni, they are part of the IAWA family for life. And we continue to support them as they pursue their dreams.