Adama Wines Bursary candidates for 2023 get off to a flying start
The HER Wine Collection team is loyally following the paths of their first two bursary candidates as they near the end of their first term in their first year of tertiary education. The year started in a flurry of administrative activity as deposits were paid, stationary was acquired, and laptops were formatted to set up these aspirant young women for success. Great was the anticipation for the start of something new, as for both of them, no-one in their families had ever had the chance to study further.
“While producing female winemakers in South Africa is important,” says HER Wines winemaker Praisy Dlamini, “empowering women to impact all facets of society is paramount. Obtaining a tertiary qualification is so much more than getting the chance to get a higher paying job, it is a chance to learn soft skills like confidence and self-discipline, to network amongst peers on the same journey, to explore the world and find a place in it. This bursary prepares these young women for the world of work in a way that they get to make an impact on it, rather than the other way around.”
“We are committed to walking a path with these two young people,” continues Praisy. “Providing the funding is just part of our contribution, we want to share with them what we have learnt on our journeys thus far, in the hope that they will one day realise their own dreams.”
LeeGail Wagner is studying Marketing at Boland College in Paarl. Apparently, she has done “quite well” so far and is looking forward to taking an impressive report card home at the end of this term. While the subject of Marketing is her favourite, LeeGail is also enjoying other subjects, including Communications, Computer Literacy, Entrepreneurship and Business Administration. “We are learning all about consumer behaviour,” she explains. “It was a bit lonely at the beginning, but I soon made friends, and now I enjoy being on campus.”
LeeGail says she has also learnt a lot about herself: “I have also learned to ask questions if I don’t understand. I have also learnt better study methods. Every day when I get home, I summarise the work we did that day so that I don’t get behind.”
Praisy again: “We noticed an indefinable spark in LeeGail. It’s a combination between dogged determination and a gentle joy that makes us believe in her ability to make it.”
Caylin Samuels is studying Educare at Huguenot College in Wellington. “Everything is going well,” she says. “The work is interesting, and our lecturer is like a second mother to us. Our class is like a family.”
“College is not the same as school,” she continues. “I have to work much harder, but I like the work as it is about my passion, so I really don’t mind all the hours I spend doing my homework. My goal towards becoming a teacher is getting closer.”
Caylin is also pleased to have met and made so many new friends: “My classmates come from all over. There are students from nearby towns, and some in the hostel come from faraway places in the Northern Cape. It is interesting to hear about what it’s like where they come from.”
The Educare course has a significant practical component, and Caylin will start her first stint at the Bosman Adama crèche at the end of May this year. She is determined to pay forward the opportunity she has been given by impacting young lives.
“Caylin is both perceptive and intelligent,” says Praisy. “She combines conscientiousness and passion to achieve her goals, and she is only just discovering the potential of that.”
“We are a group of trailblazers, growing a business in unchartered territory. We’re passionate about investing in more young women who will be pioneers in their own fields while they inspire others to reach higher and wider,” concludes Praisy.
The HER Wine Collection bursary is funded by 2% of the profits from all bottled wine sales.
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