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Achievements & Success Stories | Mpho Mogobo

If you had met Mpho Mogobo in the 1980's there is a good chance that you would have found her barefoot and out in the fields herding cattle in rural Limpopo where she grew up. At any given time there would be up to 15 people in her tiny home in Seshego and as a result, young Mpho often went about her day on an empty stomach as food was a scarce commodity.

Timid and learning to fend for herself, Mpho soon realised that it would take hard work and determination to change her circumstances. Education was the key to her success and even though she had to run to school each day almost 10km away from her home - Mpho knew she had to persevere. She explains: "I remember one day, I got to school late because my feet were bleeding... and my heels were also bleeding... But as a child, I went on, could not turn back... It was better to bear the pain from the bleeding than go back home."

The grim reality of going to bed hungry and not having shoes to walk the distance to school each day only drove Mpho to strive for a better education. "I wanted more, and thus a family friend who was studying told me that I had to work harder than an average person to get where I wanted to be," she says. As a result, Mpho spent most nights studying by candlelight and many afternoons in the library so that she would achieve good results. For many youth in rural areas a matric certificate symbolises access to work but Mpho wanted even more. Her plan was to go to university, a venture that no one in her immediate family had ever undertaken.

In 1998, Mpho moved into a one-bedroom shack with her mother. "She had to raise a family of eight from a nurse's salary," Mpho explains. "After seeing my mother struggle to make ends meet from month to month, I swore to myself that I will become better; I will not do the same thing to myself and my kids one day."

After matriculating in 1999, and with no money, Mpho then needed to find a way to realise her dreams of a university qualification. She quickly found out about the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) and because she was from a poor background and had the potential to succeed, Mpho qualified for NSFAS financial aid to pay for her studies in accounting. At age 19, she became the first member of her family to graduate from university. But this in itself was still not enough.

Against her mother's will, Mpho then moved to Johannesburg to pursue her dream of becoming a chartered accountant. Things were not all smooth sailing. "It was all too much for me, I was all alone, no money and no relatives and even contemplated suicide at one stage," she confesses. Yet Mpho persevered and in 2006 she commenced her articles.

In 2008 she joined the Thuthuka Programme through SAICA (The South African Institution of Chartered Accountants) and completed both her QE1 and QE2 examinations, ranking in the top 10 of her class. What seemed impossible to some became a reality to Mpho, who is now a qualified chartered accountant. She is presently employed at Wesbank as a Financial Specialist.

"Today I am a somebody. I have made something out of my life... I used my obstacles to pave a way for myself." Thanks to government funding through NSFAS, Mpho's circumstances were changed for the better.

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