Abongile Mafilika

20-year old Abongile Mafilika was born in Cape Town and currently lives with his mother, sisters and cousins in Gugulethu. His family is originally from Lady Frere in the Eastern Cape. He attended Intshinga Primary Public School from 1999 and then went on to matriculate from Heideveld Secondary School.

Abongile joined SAEP to improve his English and Maths results, which saw a significant decline during his Grade 12 year. He would like to study BCom (Accounting) in order to fulfill his dream of becoming a chartered accountant; a career choice inspired by the professionalism and discipline associated with this field of work.

Abongile also has a creative side and is very interested in music and singing, as well as playing tennis and golf.

Anelisa Pangwa

20-year old Anelisa Pangwa is originally from Willowvale in the Eastern Cape, but has now settled in Cape Town. She attended primary school in Butterworth and matriculated at Oscar Mpetha High School in Nyanga. In high school she was involved many extra-curricular activities, including Molo Songololo (an organisation that strives to advance children's rights), drama, debating, poetry and Leadership South Africa.

Lisa, as she is affectionately known, joined the SAEP Bridging Year Programme to improve her Maths and Physics results, and would like to pursue a career in nursing or social work.

Lisa finds enjoyment in socialising, singing and giving back to her community.

Bulelwa Nompalweni

Bulelwa Nompalweni is originally from Ngqeleni in the Eastern Cape but now resides in Khayelitsha. She attended primary school in the Eastern Cape followed by her senior school education at Zola Secondary School in Cape Town. Bulelwa joined the SAEP Bridging Year Programme to improve both her Maths and Accounting marks as she is very interested in studying towards becoming an accountant or social worker.

Bulelwa has an insatiable thirst for knowledge and loves helping those in need. Her hobbies include singing, reading, meeting and interacting with new people, watching TV and going to the cinema. Her favourite sport is netball and is a very keen player herself.

Chante Mntuyedwa

Chante Mntuyedwa is an Eastern Cape girl, having been born in Port Elizabeth and completing primary schooling in East London. She matriculated from Heideveld Senior Secondary School, after having moved to Cape Town, and lives with her single-parent mother and two other siblings.

Chante joined the SAEP Bridging Year Programme to improve her Maths and English results. She would love to pursue a career as a chartered accountant, and thus wants to study towards a BCom (Accounting) degree at University of Cape Town (UCT). Chante attributes her career choice to her love of numbers and having organisation in her life, and thinks auditing would be a perfect fit for her.

Her interests include reading, socialising, listening to music and cooking. Her life's motto is that you should always shoot for the moon so that if you miss, you can land amongst the stars.

Nceba Monaila

Nceba Monaila is 21 years old and is a resident of Wallacedene in Kraaifontein where he lives with his father and 5 other siblings. The Monaila family is originally from Sterkspruit in the Eastern Cape but relocated to Kraaifontein some years ago. Nceba went to primary school at Skisazana Primary School in Sterkspruit and matriculated from Hector Peterson Senior Secondary School in Kraaifontein.

Nceba joined the SAEP Bridging Year Programme to improve his marks in Geography, Physics and Maths,with the hope of pursuing tertiary studies in Geology, Climatology or Teaching at the University of Cape Town (UCT).

Nceba enjoys listening to music, watching TV and socialising with friends. He is known to be quite a joker and enjoys having a good laugh! His motivation is the belief that nothing is impossible, and dedication is the key to success in this world.

Njongo Phumlomo

Njongo Phumlomo is 18 years old and lives in Samora Machel, Philippi. He attended Siyazakha Primary School in his junior years and moved onto Zisukhanyo Secondary School, where he matriculated in 2010.

Njongo joined the SAEP Bridging Year Programme to improve his Maths and Acounting results as he would like to study towards a BCom (Accounting) degree at the University of the Western Cape (UWC). He loves numbers, making Accounting his favourite subject at school, and thus feels a career in auditing would suit him best.

Njongo enjoys sports and is an up-and-coming football player, as well as being an avid reader.

Nosiphiwo Cekeshe

Nosiphiwo Cekeshe is originally from Queenstown in the Eastern Cape but now lives with her brother in Bellville. She completed her primary schooling at Agnes Senior Primary School and then went on to matriculate at Ntsonkotha Senior Secondary School, both in Queenstown. She would like to study towards a Law degree at University of Cape Town (UCT) or at University of KwaZulu Natal (UKZN). Nosiphiwo joined the SAEP Bridging Year Programme to improve her Maths and Physics marks.

Nosiphiwo is very keen on becoming a lawyer and, eventually, a judge but also has a great interest in social work and teaching others. In her spare time, she likes going to church and sharing life stories with friends. She also has a love of reading interesting books and listening to music.

Nosivuyile Masumpa

Nosivuyile Masumpa is 18 years old and lives in Nyanga with her parents and three siblings. She was born in Mount Frere in the Eastern Cape and lived there until 2004 when she moved to Butterworth (also in the Eastern Cape). Nosivuyile made the move to Cape Town when she started Grade 10 at Oscar Mpetha High School. She passed Grade 12 in 2010 and finished top of her class. Since she achieved very good results in matric, Nosivuyile has come to SAEP merely for guidance and advice with applying to university.

She would like to study Social Work at University of Cape Town (UCT) or study towards a Bachelor of Education degree. The motivation behind her career choice is her passion for people, especially young children, and for helping others. Nosivuyile also enjoys reading, singing and dancing.

Ringo Sikani

Ringo Sikani is originally from Cofimvaba in the Eastern Cape and is currently living in Khayelitsha. Ringo obtained his matric in 2009 at Daliwonga High School with a Bachelor's Pass (Matric Exemption) and took part in many activities such as debating, poetry and peer education.

Ringo joined the SAEP Bridging Year Programme to his improve his Maths results. He is interested in studying towards a Bachelor of Arts degree majoring in Language and Communications in preparation for a career in journalism. He points to his inquisitive and investigative nature as the reason for this career choice.

His interests include media and languages, as well as being an avid reader and writer.

Wanitha Plaatjie

17-year old Wanitha Plaatjie was born in Cape Town and is currently living in Kraaifontein. Her family is originally from Ndenxe in the former Transkei region of the Eastern Cape, but she has spent her childhood in the Western Cape. Wanitha went to Enkululekweni Primary School and went on to matriculate from Hector Peterson High School.

She joined the SAEP Bridging Year Programme to improve her Maths and Physics results. She is interested in Health Sciences and would, one day, like to become a pharmacist. Wanitha is of the belief that one who works hard achieves most and is, therefore, ready to grab the opportunities that SAEP has to offer with both hands.

Wanitha is interested in reading, singing and watching TV, and is also loves dancing in her spare time.

Xolelwa Honey Nkohla

Xolelwa Honey Nkohla was born in 1991 in Mbihli, Eastern Cape and is the fourth of six children. She completed her primary schooling in the Eastern Cape and moved to Cape Town in 2008 where she attended Philippi High. Xolelwa achieved very good results at Philippi High and matriculated in 2010 with a Bachelor's Pass (Matriculation Exemption).

She joined the SAEP Bridging Year Programme to improve her Maths and Physical Science results, to become involved in community development as well as to learn more about life.

Xolelwa would like to be a Physiotherapist and own her own surgery one day. She will be applying to the University of Cape Town (UCT) and the University of the Western Cape (UWC) for Physiotherapy, with a second choice of Occupational Therapy.

In her spare time, Xolelwa likes to watch movies, write poems and stories, as well as sports and meeting new and interesting people. Xolelwa describes herself as kind, caring, empathetic and understanding. Her favourite quote is, "You can never know how deep and wide the river is until you get inside the river; you can never know how long the road is until you get on with the journey...".