Jeppe High School for Girls was delighted to welcome the ten learners who are the 2015 recipients of Ruth First Scholarships at the Annual Review of the Ruth First Memorial Trust held at the school on Wednesday 29th October.
Guest Speaker for the evening, Justice Edwin Cameron, challenged the audience and the girls to stand up for their convictions, as Ruth First had done, even if they are unpopular for doing so. He also congratulated the young women who have won scholarships to attend the school. Ahmed Kathrada who was a personal friend of Ruth First’s was our guest of honour and many of the girls spent time talking with him.
The recipients of the scholarship for 2015 are Marlene Angwafor from Colin Mann Primary, Tasneem Bharoochi from Leicester Road, Boitumelo Langa from Malvern Primary, NtandoyenKosi Manana from Germiston South, Susan Mashingaidze from Klopper Park, Mandisa Mpinga from Bramley Primary, Natasha Mwilambwe from I H Harris Primary, Melissa Nyalungu from Eastleigh Primary, Jesse Steyn from Birch Acres Primary and Monique Teixeira from Glenanda Primary. The girls spoke briefly on various aspects of Ruth’s life.
These young women were selected out of 125 applicants from 128 schools. The scholarship pays for their tuition at the school.
There are now forty learners on the Ruth First Memorial Scholarship. The first four girls selected for the scholarship at its launch in 2010 will be going into Grade 12 next year. In the words of Justice Albie Sachs, Patron of the Trust, the scholarships make it possible for many deserving “young women of diverse backgrounds to be given the opportunity to obtain top quality education at Ruth’s old school and thus follow in her footsteps”.
