Yes, you or your child can further your studies and get that degree or diploma and best of all is that you could qualify for a bursary.
So easily we say "Daar is niks opportunities vir Bruinmense nie" and most times it is not a lack of opportunities but a lack of access to information that sees our youth lose hope in their own futures.
Many decide to drop out of school because they believe that they do not have the financial means to study at tertiary institutions, and because it is instilled in them that "Blacks get all the jobs" they do not see any use for matric either.
Many of those who do have a matric find themselves not pursuing their dream careers and settle for much less or simply become delinquent.
(Further below in this article by Josie Martin is a link to a website with all accredited bursaries available in SA for 2016/2017 - Editor)
Having worked all over South Africa, I have seen how kids in predominantly white areas or attending former model-C schools have access to all kinds of information regarding career choices, study options and how to go about obtaining bursaries.
I have also seen that with very little access to resources, kids in predominantly Black townships will with much difficulty try to find the information they need to get financial aid for further studies or how to obtain bursaries. Many of them succeed in doing so.
Kids in Coloured townships also do not have meaningful access to resources but because there is a mindset that it's of no use looking for information about bursaries, because they believe "everything is only for Blacks", our kids think that their only option is to work in factories or help dad on the construction site.
There is nothing wrong with those kind of jobs, but our kids don't even dream of going to Universities or other tertiary institutions.
Many matriculants do not even know what a learnership is.
Though legislation in the form of Affirmative Action does favour Black Africans, the defeatist attitude we have is a much bigger noose around our collective necks than anything else.
We do not even try.
I personally would like to see access to resources be made available to all of our children all over the country, and that especially at Cape Flats schools our children are presented with the different tertiary course options. Our children need to be taught how to navigate the application processes and be helped with applications.
They also need to be taught how to access resources themselves so that they can independently apply for the different bursaries, student grants, scholarships, study loans and also learnerships, whether from government or the private sector.
We should all be telling our children that even if the odds seem to be stacked against them, they should still aim to get a post-matric qualification and even though many of them might not qualify for university, there are other options to get a qualification but if no one is trying, then we are collectively accepting defeat without putting up a fight.
This constant negative message that we do not have any opportunities at all should come to an end and we should start by making opportunities for ourselves. Even when there seems to be none we should try to find the few that are available.
The bursaries in the link below are from a very large variety of companies, institutions, parastatals, government departments and private funds which are all alphabetically listed from ABSA bank right through to the Zambia Scholarship Fund.
Click on any of the listed institutions or companies to see what bursaries they have and read the whole article including the paragraphs on how to apply.
Do Not Click on any of the many "Download Here" tabs as those are auto-generated adverts of document download applications.
You should rather make sure that you follow the instructions in the paragraphs that deal with "Applications and/or How to Apply".
Remember that we cannot say there are no opportunities if we do not even apply for them.
We should also make sure that we work hard enough to meet the requirements.
Besides that any bursary has a limit to how many people can be funded per year, you have to firstly apply properly and meet the requirements before you can start looking for any other reasons if you do not qualify.
Click Here for official List of All Bursaries in South Africa.
Good Luck with your application.
(Presently in Johannesburg and soon off to Europe, Josie Martin who is from Cape Town, has vast experience working with children and youth in different parts of South Africa and indeed all over the world, from Sidney, Australia to Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Hopefully bruinou.com will see more contributions from her in the future - Editor)