Lisa Maholo dreams of not only making life better for her family, but her community as a whole.
Lisa Maholo dreams of not only making life better for her family, but her community as a whole.
The Rhodes University management student grew up in Grahamstown and is one of three recipients of the prestigious Mandela Rhodes Scholarship for 2014.
Maholo will start reading for her management Masters degree next year, researching the water management system of Makana Municipality. Her studies will focus on the internal and external risks that affect the municipality’s level of water service delivery.
The scholarship represents many years of dedication to her dream of improving service delivery in her community.
“During my teenage years I used to daydream about one day graduating from Rhodes University,” she says. “I used to see myself walking around campus during autumn and just imagine myself running to lectures. So one could easily say I found the institution in a world where even money didn’t matter, I chose Rhodes University in my dreams. I saw the impact it had on my community and I wanted to be a part of that.
“I wanted to better my family situation and I saw Rhodes as a way of doing that.”
Maholo started her school career at St Mary’s Primary and attended Mary Waters High School.
The other students who recently found out that they’ll be Mandela Rhodes Scholars next year are Nicole Germiquet and Sanaa Abrahams.
Inspired by a deep love for music and helping people, Germiquet was drawn to ethnomusicology as a way of combining her two great passions.
“It has always been a great interest of mine to merge the social and the musical in my studies,” Germiquet says, “And ethnomusicology is a perfect subject path to do that. For many years now I have been interested in music therapy and childhood development using music as a tool for healthy physical and intellectual development.
“While these interests are not my particular study focus at the moment they still remain high on my priority list.”
She completed her BA at Stellenbosch University and is now reading for her ethnomusicology Masters, focusing on the music of the Presbyterian church of Mozambique. She works with the Changana (Shangaan) people of Facazissa in the country’s Magude District.
On hearing the news of the scholarship Germiquet said she could hardly believe her ears.
“To be honest I never saw myself as a high achiever in school and university, and never thought of myself as being good enough for a scholarship like this one.
“I have always just done what I love doing. But I think that is what makes all the difference. I did not excel in everything that I did but I excelled in that which I loved; music and art. I kept my interests at the core of my thoughts and let things develop from there,” she says.
Abrahams, originally from Cape Town, will be pursuing an Honours degree next year.
She says she is moved by the Mandela Rhodes Foundation’s approach to leadership, which has inspired her.
“I think the awe-inspiring thing about the Mandela Rhodes Foundation is that it seeks to promote ethical leadership that is based in a respect for, and passion to promote, human dignity,” she says.
“And for me, scholarship, and specifically philosophy, is indispensable to this. I think it speaks to whether we can, in recognising ourselves as percipient creatures, act with responsibility and understanding of how we live in the world.”
The Mandela Rhodes Scholarship is awarded to young Africans showing academic prowess, as well as broader leadership potential.
While students pursue their chosen post-graduate degrees, each scholar benefits from access to leadership development programmes rooted in the principles underpinning the Foundation.
The Mandela Rhodes scholars are selected according to their academic ability and leadership potential.
The vision of the Mandela Rhodes Foundation is to fortify exceptional leaders in Africa, exemplifying the Rhodes motto “Where leaders learn”.
The Mandela Rhodes Foundation, based in Cape Town, is one of the three official charitable organisations established by former President Nelson Mandela.
The Foundation is a partnership with the Rhodes Trust, which separately administers the Rhodes Scholarships to Oxford University.
Further information on the Mandela Rhodes Scholarship is available on their website: www.mandelarhodes.org.
