Page 19 - 25 Reasons

hen 24-year-old Muzikayise Mtshweni was awarded
a full scholarship by Anglo American’s Coal South
WAfrica business to fund his studies in accounting,
he knew that it would pave the way for a hope-filled future
for him and his family.
Mtshweni, who is doing his articles as a trainee accountant at
auditing firm EY in Sandton, Johannesburg, grew up in the
township of Mhluzi in Mpumalanga. However, he didn’t make this
journey from the dusty roads of Mhluzi to the tarred roads of
Sandton alone – he has had his parents and other community
members with him every step of the way.
“My mum is a domestic worker and my dad is a petrol
attendant, and I know that, without this opportunity, I wouldn’t
have been able to pursue a career in accounting. I knew that the
only barrier to becoming a chartered accountant was the funding.
I didn’t even think about the challenges that lay ahead of me in
varsity, or about failing, because I wanted this so badly.”
Within the next three years, Mtshweni will complete his articles
and pass the SA Institute of Chartered Accountants board exams,
however, his dream of becoming a chartered accountant only
began when he was in high school.
“I think you can only dream about what you are exposed to as
an individual. For me, growing up in the township, I was exposed
to people working in the mines, and many people play soccer
there, so I wanted to become a great soccer player,” he says.
“When I was in Grade 10, we went to a career exhibition at the
Tshwane University of Technology, where someone spoke about
accounting – something that I didn’t even know about, so that’s
when I got interested in it. In Grade 11, I had a teacher who was
very passionate about accounting, and that’s when I really started
taking the subject seriously.”
After high school, Mtshweni earned his Bachelor of Accounting
Science degree and then his postgraduate certificate in the theory
of accounting from the University of Johannesburg.
Mtshweni is convinced that this scholarship has been such a
success because it hasn’t limited his career choices to mining or Muzikayise Mtshweni
engineering – something that is often the case with scholarship
programmes sponsored by big corporates.
The Community Scholarship of Anglo American’s Coal South CLOSING
Africa business differs from other young traditional bursary
schemes in that it offers people from mining communities the
opportunity to pursue a field of study unrelated to mining. Since THE GAP TO
2014, more than R30 million has been invested to fund the studies
Coming from a poor background, my parents did everything SUCCESS
of 105 students.
“It was a moment of ‘this is going to change my life’. Getting
the call that I received the scholarship literally changed my life
and my attitude, as well as my self-esteem and my confidence.

for me. I wouldn’t say there was a time I slept without eating
food, but varsity is expensive, and the scholarship closed that From the streets of Mhluzi,
gap for us.” Muzikayise Mtshweni is now looking
The most important thing about getting the scholarship was
that it allowed him to pursue his passion and study towards the forward to making positive changes
career of his choice.
“We have an issue of when an opportunity presents itself and in the world. He tells Avantika Seeth
you come from a poor background, you just grab that opportunity
without bearing in mind that its not your passion. There are so how a bursary changed his life
many bursaries out there that are limited and fund studying
engineering, mining, medicine or other areas. So this scholarship
doesn’t limit your own opportunities. I know people who have ‘It opens doors for so many,
been on the same scholarship who have studied linguistics and
communications – they were able to follow their passion,” he says. because, when you take an
“It opens doors for so many people because, when you take an
opportunity and mix that with passion, that’s when success opportunity and mix that
happens.”
Despite living and working far from home, Mtshweni often
returns to his roots and nurtures the community he was born in. with passion, that’s when
“My big dream is going back to where I’m from and making a
difference. During my varsity days, I used to teach grade 11 and success happens’
12 accounting on Saturday mornings when I went home for the
holidays. I just want to be able to give back to my community.”
ANGLO AMERICAN 25 REASONS TO BELIEVE 19