Long walk to graduation

24 April 2015 - 02:00 By Nivashni Nair

It was a 4000km walk to the graduation podium for an Eritrean man who crossed five borders on foot to pursue his dream of studying geography in South Africa. Yibrah Ghebreyohannes, 32, was so determined to study geography in South Africa that, in 2010, when his country was plunged into war with Ethiopia, he fled and kept walking."I crossed more than five countries, and travelled for more than 4000km on foot just to secure an education in South Africa, because I believe education is the only weapon that helps us to fight against all odds," he said.During his journey he was kidnapped for ransom - once in Sudan and once in Zimbabwe - and robbed at various borders."I managed to escape. It took me six months to get to South Africa but when I arrived, I knew I was on my way to achieving my goal," he said.His younger brother, a businessman already settled in South Africa, funded his studies at the University of KwaZulu-Natal."When I applied for asylum, the government of South Africa granted me refugee status that allowed me to work and study," said Ghebreyohannes, who had been a geography teacher in Eritrea."Since my childhood, my favourite subject was geography. I used to dream about being a geographer. Geography is the mother of all subjects and, indeed, it is the foundation of modern science."The more we travel, the more we know and discover new things. So, inspecting natural phenomena motivated me to study geography."He did not tell his parents that he was walking to South Africa."I kept it a secret because if they found out they would have made me go back home."But his family and his supervisor, Professor Brij Maharaj, who guided him like a son, were "so very proud" when he graduated with a Masters degree in geography this week...

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