Madlala received the President's Award, which included prizes including the Damelin Student Degree Bursary, which will enable her to complete three years of study at a Damelin campus of her choice. For decades, Damelin has been rewarding worthy candidates with bursaries and financial aid, and this falls in line with its vision to lead and inspire quality private education and training throughout southern Africa and the African continent.
The inaugural South African Youth Awards carried the theme "Against All Odds", in that nominees and awardees are young people who co-ordinate community outreach programmes and make profound contributions towards youth development and mentoring their peers, despite obstacles that may stand in the way.
The President's Award recipient, Nolwazi Pinkie Madlala is a physically disabled woman who has overcome the limitations of being in a wheelchair to make her dream of studying a reality. In her acceptance speech, she remarked that, initially, one of her greatest challenges has been that most buildings don't have amenities for the physically disabled, yet this never dissuaded her from attending classes every day. Madlala has been an active member of her community and says that she will undertake a year of community service in 2013. In light of this, she would like to donate the Damelin Degree Student Bursary to a well-deserving recipient from her charity group, as she recalls working with many young people who long to further their education once matriculating, but don't have the means to do so. She is confident that the bursary will make a difference in the life of the selected recipient.
Educor's chief commercial officer, Nolan Charles, said: "We believe that the Damelin Degree Bursary is a stepping stone towards youth development and strengthening our fight against poverty and unemployment, by providing a student from a disadvantaged background access to quality education. We, at Damelin, aim to make a difference to the lives of all South Africans, by equipping them with accredited qualifications that will be an asset to them in the working environment. We believe that it is essential to promote projects that provide the necessary support and guidance to eliminate financial constraints to deserving students completing their studies".
