Johannesburg - Two girls from a prestigious Joburg school are out to debunk notions that their privilege is an excuse for them not to make significant contributions to South Africa’s societal development.
Phumelele Muthali and Anda Nyati have matriculated from Dainfern College and while both are aware of the privilege attendant to the quality education they have received, they are determined to utilise it to make their mark towards the country’s progress.
Phumelele will be studying law next year at either Wits or UCT.
She hoped to venture into politics after completing her degree so she could help write progressive legislation which would advance education - her biggest passion.
“I think that what is happening right now with crime and other societal ills can be fixed through education.
“To think that I could get the education I got just because I went to a private school is a disservice to other people who go to a public school.
“That automatically puts me 10 steps ahead of my peers, and it should not be that way,” she said.
Dainfern College matriculant Phumelele Muthali, 17.
Now Phumelele, 17, is forming an organisation which she said would be unashamedly pro-black women and girls.
She has also formed a focus group with her 21-year-old sister and three other young women to discuss strategies about how they would help tackle challenges faced by black women.
“I was just fed-up with waiting for someone else to do something. People always wait for change to be effected by other people, not knowing that they could effect that change,” she said.
Anda, 18, wants to make her contribution in the field of medicine, where she has received provisional acceptance from Tuks, Wits and UCT.
She said she was applying for admission to universities in the US as she believed their superior medical schools would equip her adequately so she could return home with better skills.
“I would like to study in the US because I want to be part of the research sphere of medicine, helping with medical breakthroughs, and the US has more facilities and more resources to work with.
“I hope to come back to open a practice and give back to our country through medical research. A lot of people think when you go to the US you are just abandoning your country,” she said.
Anda conceded that private school educated girls were aloof in certain instances, but stressed it was up to individuals to learn more about the country’s current affairs.
She thanked her parents for making sure she was involved in community service work.
She worked for a number of organisations which broadened her mind and taught her the value of volunteering.
She said the Children of Fire - a home in Joburg which cares for young burn survivors - was the most meaningful volunteering she had done because of the friendships she has made.
“Children of Fire was meaningful for me because it was more about interacting with the children.
“Instead of just giving things like blankets, I got to interact with the children, play with them, make food, take them out and form friendships,” she said.
Phumelele, who jokingly refers to herself as “very talkative”, is an avid debater and was part of her school’s first team in debating and public speaking.
Anda, who said she was “very interested” in performance arts even though she could not act, said she had been training in ballet dancing since she was four.
She took part in her school’s dancing competitions, and did well.
Phumelele achieved three distinctions while Anda had eight.
Asked whether or not they enjoyed their matric year, they said they enjoyed themselves, adding matric was not the monster people had previously made it out to be for them.
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