support jerome 888 Campaign

I am a Witwatersrand 3rd year Fine Arts student in the year 2024. There’s been an issue regarding my application for funding since my 1st year which was in 2022. I have been awaiting acceptance for my application in the mean time have been funded by odd funders here and there throughout these years so obviously academic debt has been accumulating. So i am deep in debt. 

Oddly, NSFAS for the first time all of a sudden funded me in May 2023 and that same month I was defunded abruptly for no apparent reason and with no communication from NSFAS. As a result I was unfairly kicked out of Res without notice or warning in June and went through the most difficult time of my life, as i couldn’t pay the fees privately and that Residence as well as school continued to charge my personal account like they were in the previous years. Ironically, they still charged me for staying at the Res when i was literally homeless, as my family is back in KZN and i have nobody out here.

There's an African proverb that says 'ingane engakhali ifela embelekweni', which roughly translates to if you're in need ask for assistance and don't be silent about it.

Last year I appealed for NSFAS again as i was defunded for completely false reasons but my cry fell on deaf ears, it was completely ignored. I have no other hope and was wondering how I will be able to pay R140 thousand outstanding fees let alone the 60k for the historical debt when my grannies pension is not even enough to support the household with her grandchildren.

In 2023, I was permitted by Wits to continue with my studies in 2024, but now I cannot register because in order to register this year, as a result of the fact that i am owing WITS more than 100k, by virtue of policy, i first have to pay half of my debt and then pay registration fee in order to be registered. So that’s about 60k. 

I believe that it is the worst kind towards an individual  who comes from disadvantaged backgrounds especially,  to deny them access to well deserved education because of crooked capitalism. Students who are the only hope for their families, students who were born to break the generational cyclic curse which is lack. I would, and trust me i have tried, to get some type of income flow from a job, but it dawned on me very painfully and very quickly that there is no way that i will raise 70k at least, before the registration closing date, which is on the 23rd of February 2024, so crowdfunding and donations was the next logical approach for me. 

I am so passionate about this degree and I am so honoured to have been given the opportunity to study it at one of the best universities on the continent. I am desperate and all I desire on this planet is to finish this undergrad degree so I can further my studies and make the change I know I'm meant to in this world and in my family. It is so frustrating because I am not being excluded because I am incompetent, I'm being excluded because of a financial hole reality has put me in which is completely out of my control and I have nobody to pull me out. I refuse to be apart of the perpetuation of a suffering my people know too well. Through my creations which will piggy back off of my qualifications, will plant seeds of wealth back into our communities. My intention and life purpose, is to mindfully and compassionately remind star seeds where they come from. I am fully aware of the fact that in order to elevate in this life you need to recognise where you are to begin with, and use the tools given to you to pull your weight up, but what does one do when they've never had access to them? 

I'll appreciate all the help I can get, seriously my life and the life of all the others can't end here, there's just no way. 

Thank you in advance

Jerome