Good morning, I hope this email finds you in good spirits. Please forgive my rambling – Barbara Rentler email address

Snethemba Mqadi sent a message to Barbara Rentler - Chief Executive Officer of Ross Stores - Email Address that said:

Good morning, I hope this email finds you in good spirits.

Please forgive my rambling, spelling and grammar mistakes English is not my first nor second language. I am Snethemba Mqadi, a third year MBChB student at Stellenbosch University which is situated in the Western Cape, South Africa. I am an orphaned individual who is in need of financial assistance.

I am writing to you in need of financial assistance to further my current university studies in the medical field. As previously mentioned I am currently in my third year of a seven year medical course and for the past two years I have found it difficult to pay off my tuition. Due to the high cost of higher education in South Africa,I have run through my inheritance in less than a year and my mothers estate has no more money left to support my education amounting to approximately R 150 000 ($ 11 600) which increases annually. This amount includes my academic tuition, accommodation fees, transportation fees and ect.

My mother who was my sole provider, after my father passed away in 2006 leaving nothing but debts behind, passed away in 2014 and due to her passing being after my 18th birthday, the state did not appoint a legal guardian for me. Seeing that I was still a student at the time, my grandmother took it upon herself to provide for me and my then fourteen year-old brother. She has never been financially secured as a widowed pensioner earning approximately R 10 000.00 ($ 772.00) on a monthly basis. I reside with her in Gamalakhe which is a small rural township in the outskirts or Durban. She is the familys sole breadwinner with six people including my brother, who is a chronic eczema allergy patient needing constant medical attention, dependent on her pension. Due to her age, her health has deteriorated and she has needed a few surgeries and chronic medication which have left a huge dent in her finances.

In first year I was able to pay off my tuition fees using money from my mothers estate but due to the high cost of living between my brother and I and numerous family financial emergencies, that money has been depleted. I am unable to buy the necessary study and hospital equipment (eg. textbooks, a functional laptop, medical coats, scrubs, stethoscope, TB masks and ect) necessary to fulfill my full academic potential and provide protection while doing my practicals with patients in the hospital. Fulfilling and buying monthly essentials such as toiletries, sanitary pads, food and ect have become a burden often requiring me to sacrifice money intended for a textbook.

Due to the lack of finances I am also unable to participate in extra mural activities offered. Being an executive committee member of our universitys community service program Tygerberg Outreach Society, I cannot go out into the community and the schools that we target and make as much of a difference as I want to. I am often terrified of asking my grandmother for money because I know that it often stresses her and further deteriorates her health because due to her unemployment status, banks do not grant her loans, leaving her scrambling to put together the money that I have asked for. Due to this reason, I do not seek out medical attention when I am ill and I have not renewed my prescription glasses despite them being long over-due for the past two years. My financial problems have reached a point where I have thought of becoming an exotic dancer or soliciting older men to pay off my tuition fees but due to a modest upbringing and inert morals, I cant bring myself to it nor can I use and exploit someone just for monetary gains.

I have applied for bursaries and scholarships but despite having a good academic record I have not been accepted by any. There are a few bursaries available for the medical faculty in South Africa but I do not meet the requirements for most of them. Some bursaries only cater for individuals whom are affiliated with their company or are descendants of a particular group or race, mostly excluding black people like myself. And in a nation ripe with corruption, only people who have connections are awarded bursaries. I have tried to apply for study loans but I have been unsuccessful. Companies and banks have rejected my application because I do not have a next of kin (insurance) who will be able to pay the money that I will owe them if something ever happens to me.

I come to you as a last resort after exhausting every other channel available to me, please find it in your hearts to assist me as I am very passion about my studies and making a difference to unprivileged individuals like myself once I have graduated into the professional world. If you need legal documentation of my academic record, financial need and both of my parents death certificates, please contact me on my email snemqadi1@gmail.com and I will send them.

Thank you,

Yours faithfully
Miss Snethemba Mqadi

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