Nothing could deter Nelwamondo's quest for education

28 April 2017 - 19:33 By Sipho Mabena
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Fulufhelo Nelwamondo
Fulufhelo Nelwamondo
Image: YouTube/ProNutro SA Achievers

As his peers dropped out of school‚ because of various hardships‚ Fulufhelo Nelwamondo‚ of Lukau village in Limpopo‚ soldiered on.

As a youngster he walked the long distance through two villages to get to Belemu primary school where he started school in 1982.

Like most village boys‚ he herded cattle and goats and fetched water from the river but there was something special about him: his determination to get an education.

In 1995 he enrolled at Mbilwi Secondary school‚ one of the top performing schools in the province‚ where he later matriculated.

Power utility Eskom awarded him a bursary to study electrical engineering at the University of the Witwatersrand‚ becoming the first in his family to attend university.

Despite mounting pressure to assist his parents financially‚ he continued with his studies against all odds until he completed his PhD.

He was awarded a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard University‚ again becoming the first in his family – this time to board a plane.

Nelwamondo is now an electrical engineer‚ with a Bachelor of Science and PhD in Electrical Engineering. He is the executive director of Modelling and Digital Science at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)‚ a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineer (IEEE) and visiting professor of electrical engineering at the University of Johannesburg.

He has been awarded several accolades for best research‚ has supervised a number of Masters and Doctoral students in electrical engineering and computer science and has published more than 100 research papers.

Nelwamondo is a founding member of the SA Young Academy of Science and served on the Department of Home Affairs’ ministerial advisory committee.

It is these achievements that earned Nelwamondo the Order of Mapungubwe in silver - for his excellent contribution to the field of science and serves as an enormous inspiration to young people.

He was among several people bestowed with the awards by President Jacob Zuma during an annual ceremony held at Sefako Makgatho presidential guesthouse in Pretoria on Friday.

“I come from a deep rural area‚ where I was born. There was nothing‚ no facility‚ at the time and I would not have known about science so in search of education I had to go through two villages to get to school. It was a big struggle but I never gave up and continued on my journey‚” he said.

Nelwamondo‚ who is 34‚ said he was grateful and felt honoured by the award‚ saying it was not something he thought would happen to him at such a young age.

“I feel amazing‚ it is an inspiration to other young people to say nothing can stop you but yourself‚” he said.

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