Background for Mafelleng 'Portia' Rapulumo

My name is Mafelleng Portia Rapulumo; I am 21 years old and I live in Kanana Orkney. I live with my grandparents, two aunts, two uncles, three younger sisters, two younger brothers.my mother died when I was in primary school and my father is still alive but he is not part of my life.  I went to Sizanana crèche when I was a kid; I attended Reahola Primary School I was involved in sports: netball and athletics. I was a captain of my netball team and a class leader when I was doing grade 7. The journey started when I attended Thuto Tsebo Secondary School. Things turn out to be more serious and scary, but I manage to stay on the right track till I finished my matric.

I dreamed about being a dentist when I was in primary the idea of being a dentist sounded so cool, but I didn't know much about it. After matric I was confused and not sure which course I should follow in life so I adhered to the dreams of my youth and started in the field of dentistry. I went to Central University of Technology to study dentist only to find out they did not have it; so I chose the next best thing dental assisting. Things started to overwhelm me. I wasn't sure if I was ready for such big changes in my life. I had to accept that I’m growing up; I have to focus more on my future. The dentistry course was exciting and hard like any other course and I passed it. Passing really helped me understand how much I like the field and that I have a real passion for it however, I couldn't further my studies because of financial problem. I was left wondering what I was going to do.

Family Life

I have a big family and we are getting along very well even though we have our own differences about everything. For example our style of dress, some of us like to keep our roots and hold to a more traditional style but for me, I like a more urban style. At home we attend two different churches but gratefully that doesn't make any boundary amongst us. Like many families we fight a lot, but at the end we clear the bad air and unity again.

We really do not have much money; luckily my grandmother receives a foster care grand for my two younger sister and younger brother. My aunt is a nurse and my grandfather receives pension. We share all of the chores; everyone plays part in what needs to be done.

We communicate about almost everything and we learn a lot from each other. We have lost a lot of our close family in our lives, but we remain positive and so strong looking forward to a wonderful future. My family, people I can’t live without, because the lady that you see today is all the work of them. Some basic things that keep my family together: respect, love, care, and trust. We play and tease each other, everyday things are getting better. However at times I am saddened because I realize that my grandparents are getting older but I guess that’s part of life. One word that describe my family ‘extraordinary’.

Future Outlook

I am looking forward to a better future and for it to happen I must work hard, stick to my word and let God do the rest. I haven’t lost my dream, but I want to further my studies in emergency management, to give it a chance and see what it holds for me. My focus for now is based on schooling and other things will follow.  This opportunity will open doors for me to explore.

I have to group myself with the right people, those who are wise, who are serious about what they want to achieve in their lives. This helps me stay focused on the things that are important in life. I know that I must do the hard work and work out things for myself but I believe working together helps me a lot to keep positive and focused. My future is going to turn out amazing because I believe in myself and I have the best support ever from the people around me. My last words are the right attitude is the right key.

Learning about WDMCC

Firstly I’d like to thank my principal, Mr. Maloka and my friend Grace Moje; these people believed in me and gave me this opportunity to be part of this college. They could see in me the potential for greatness, my matric results proved it more to me. There was a great opportunity offered to my friend to attend this new college here in Kanana but she could not fill the space. She thought that I would be a great fit and wanted me to fill her space. I was doing nothing so I decided to give it a try. I told her yes I would like to give it chance and we went to the principal. Mr. Maloka checked my results and agreed to put me in. From where I am standing right now it was so worth it.

Challenges

The challenges I have had with the school are for one I didn't know a thing about it, and doing it online, well that was another thing. I was frightened about using the computer, it was so difficult for me to learn but now I’m a pro because of Mr. Landon. It was challenging before but now I do almost everything on my own. As we all know English is not my mother’s tongue it was difficult to understand the American accent of Mr. Landon. After a few weeks I got used to it and now we communicating very well.

The method we used to take the test offered from FEMA in the first semester was very challenging. This was because we did not get access to the online test until very late in the year and had to take the test on paper. However things have improved in a dramatic way and it was worth the wait, I love the FEMA certificates I have earned. I had my faith challenged, I wasn't sure that this college is going to be successful. Things were just happening so slowly.  

First Days

At first School was kind of awkward and frustrating, meeting new people and doing course work that I did not know a thing about it. On the way my faith was decreasing based on the things that were happen, or should I say not happening. Then we started receiving notes and everyone took part to teach other students. Mr. Landon came to our rescue and things started to be more interesting, Ms. Dlamini brought a printer and also Mr. Graig brought four computers. Mr. Landon taught us computer skills and now we having an access to the internet to take FEMA tests, so far I have passed all of the tests.

Highlights One of the highlights I have had so far was that I was able to create my family emergency plan. It was so cool to involve my whole family.  At first I was struggling to put all my work together especially the annexes. With the great help that Mr. Landon gave I completed the plan and I will keep all the things I learned from him in mind always.

The creation of the EOP for Kanana Secondary School was a task that seemed very difficult. To be honest, before the first meeting I didn't think that things will turn out good but afterwards it was so damn good. Mr. Landon knows his job very well, big up to him. Emergency plan for Kanana Secondary School is on progress now and things are looking good, we are working hard to put every piece together and I hope they use it for their own safety. So far so good things are turning out to be great.

A lot is about to happen this semester and I am up for everything.  At the start of the semester we got memory sticks where I will store my work and all thanks to Mr. Landon, his done a lot for us and we are grateful. I’m looking forward to the training that we going to do from fire department.

Second Semester

Wow! Now things are starting to be more hectic and fun, there is this blog that we created where we comment and write our everyday thoughts about what is happening in our school and our lives. We did some Skyping with Ms. Jan, she gave me strong impressions about woman empowerment, that simply means I must stand my ground as a young woman and do my best.