Partner Profile: Get Smart Education

One of the best aspects of Groundswell Aid is the fact that not only do we get to work with our incredible projects on the ground, but we also get to partner with our many amazing key supporters.

One of those amazing partners is Get Smart Education, who have set up a University Education Scholarship through our Aleph Surf project in Jeffreys Bay, South Africa. Get Smart are currently sponsoring Tsungi to study Civil Engineering at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.

Tsungi has had quite a difficult childhood, losing both her parents at a very young age, which meant she had to move from her home of Zimbabwe to South Africa to live with her aunt and uncle. She chose to study civil engineering because her goal in life is to make a difference to her community and she feels that she can best do this by helping to improve roads and water supplies.

We feel incredibly privileged to have a partner like Get Smart, who are willing to join with Aleph in seeing Tsungi further her education and improve her community.

Read on below for a recent update from Tsungi…

“Your dreams are not big enough unless they scare you.” Finally, I understand what this quote means. Looking back at the year 2017, when I started varsity it seemed like it was a lifetime till the end, but that is no longer the case. I’ve now come to the realisation that I am about to reach my destination that once scared me and seemed like a lifetime away!

This semester I had to take on eight modules, including Documentation, Transportation, Geotech, Structural Analysis, Steel & Timber Design, Sewage & Water Reticulation and Stormwater Design.

The eighth module was the Civil project which was a big group project which comprised all of my studies over the past two years. In this project we were given a new town layout with just the property boundaries and contours. We had to design the road layout how they would slope and their gradients. The road design was also interlinked with stormwater design because the stormwater was controlled by the cross slope of the roads. We also had to do the design of the sewer and water system, calculating the sizing of the pipes in the system. From all our designs we had to have layout drawings, longitudinal drawings and cross sectional drawings for the roads. I sincerely enjoyed every bit of the project especially using the design application AUTOCAD and because I could now put my studies to work.

Apart from academics I was also part of a mentorship programme called WELA (Women in Engineering Leadership Association). It was great to share a space with people who understood what you are going through as an student. I had an opportunity to also mentor one of the junior girls in the program. What was amazing is that the girl had already done Civil Engineering and had just come back to finish a module she had failed previously, so this created a chance for both of us to help one another.

I am currently in the process of looking for a job for next year where I can complete my practical training. I am very anxious at the moment because I haven’t found one yet and time is passing but I am reminded that it was the Lord who directed me here in the first place. He will surely direct my feet in the next season of my life. I am not picky about the company I want to work for next year, I just want to be at a company where I can grow and become more skilled in my field.

My hope and prayer are that I may be able to find a job and that next year would be even more fruitful than this year has been.

I would like to thank Get Smart Education for making my desire to become an Engineer a reality. None of this would have been possible without their financial support. WIth their help, God, and my family I have been able to succeed. I am beyond grateful to all who have helped contribute.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart,
Tsungirirai