Walter Sisulu
Scholarship Fund
The late Walter Sisulu was a great friend and supporter of Education Africa. In recognition of this and to honour the invaluable contribution he made to the country, Walter and Albertina Sisulu, together with Education Africa, set up the Walter Sisulu Scholarship Fund in 1995.
Education Africa manages scholarships under this fund for learners in financial need.
The Walter Sisulu Scholarship Fund addresses one of the most troubling features of the education system in South Africa – the poor quality of learning (especially in the areas of maths and science), which resulted in school-leavers being inadequately prepared to enter the world of work or higher education. The fund gives access to quality, relevant education to many impoverished students.
Primary school scholarships
These are offered to learners displaying an eagerness to learn and who are in financial need, at schools such as Masibambane College.
Secondary school scholarships
Education Africa particularly encourages development in the areas of mathematics and science, which are sorely lacking in professionals in South Africa. The scholarships are given to learners who excel in these fields, showing promise despite coming from extremely disadvantaged backgrounds. Education Africa works in close partnership with schools across the country to identify these children at school level and bring them into the tertiary system, where they can then train to become professional engineers, doctors, etc.
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Tertiary scholarships
These are offered for our certificate programmes in partnership with UNISA (University of South Africa). They are our Programmes in Business-Focused Management and our Programme in Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management, to assist with entry into the business sector or with the establishment of their own enterprises. These programmes are essential, as they also address the inequalities of the education system under apartheid.
Scholarships offered at tertiary level for degree programmes are, in most instances, linked to employment opportunities through the company providing the scholarship. Some of the disciplines in degree programmes in which scholarships are offered are management, entrepreneurship, engineering, law, medicine, food science, mathematics and science.
Honouring my friend and mentor
In the passing of Wolter Sisulu, I hove lost much - a friend, a brother, a guardian and a comrade South Africa, however, has lost far more. It has lost one of its greatest sons: an architect of South African democracy, an international statesman, and a compassionate advocate of society's most marginalised sectors.
Walter stood head and shoulders above all of us in South Africa. His elevated status among us was due ta his simplicity and humility: he pushed all of us forward while he remained quietly in the background. Walter made heroes out of us, yet he himself was a giant of a man I could have asked for no better Friend, and the nation could have asked for no better statesman.
He devoted his life ta lighting for the Freedom of the African people It is profoundly litting, therefore, that we are ta pay tribute ta this unique man's extraordinary insight by commemorating his memory and augmenting his vision with The Walter Sisulu Scholarship Fund. As a man with no formal education, Walter particularly understood its importance in securing the future of all Africans.
The Fund was created by Walter and Albertina Sisulu, together with James Urdang From Education Africa and has been chaired by Lungi Sisulu, one of the couple's live children, since Walter's passing in 2003.
The Walter Sisulu Scholarship Fund is designed ta promote the empawerment of the disadvantaged through education and training, thus ensuring their effective and continued participation in all processes of a democratic society.
I appeal to you to help perpetuate Walter Sisulu's legacy in the form of The Walter Sisulu Scholarship Fund, and together we can build an educated nation, and take the continent of Africa forward to claim its rightful place on the global stage.
Nelson Mandela
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