Following two matric failures and suffering mental health issues after losing her grandmother, Asanda Gumede’s road to university has not been short of challenges.
Finally, after passing matric with a bachelor’s pass and two distinctions, the 21-year-old has been accepted to study horticulture and landscaping at the Durban University of Technology.
Originally from Sankontshe, in Hammarsdale, KwaZulu-Natal, and raised by her grandmother and grandfather, Gumede was deeply affected when her grandmother died in 2021. Gumede was only 16-years-old at the time.
She said the experience of her grandmother dying in her presence left her depressed and traumatised. “My grandmother passed away in front of my eyes. I never thought something like that would happen to me. She would often go to hospital and come back better. I always hoped she would fully recover. I didn’t know her days would be cut short.”
After her grandmother’s death, Gumede lost focus at school. She began isolating herself from others and often slept during the day, thinking it would help her cope with the pain.
In 2021, she failed matric and decided to write supplementary exams, which she failed again in 2022. “When I lost my grandmother, I didn’t think I would fail so badly. I was not coping at all.”
Determined to change her future, in 2023 Gumede made the difficult decision to return to high school and start from grade 11.
“Going back to grade 11 was embarrassing, but I had to do something. These days you cannot get a job without matric,” she said. “I also had the advantage of not looking my age, so people didn’t realise I was repeating.”
Her hard work paid off. In 2024, she passed matric with a bachelor’s pass and earned distinctions in isiZulu and history.
“I have always known that I am smart. I believe I had to go through what I went through for a reason,” she said.
Respectful and humble
Gumede’s mother, Babongile Ngcobo, described her daughter as respectful and humble, and it had been painful to watch her child struggle after the loss.
“My daughter was a top achiever in primary and high school. I noticed her marks dropping in grade 11, but I didn’t understand why at first,” she said.
Ngcobo said her daughter almost lost faith in everything after her grandmother’s death. “The death of her grandmother crippled her. She could not eat or sit with people. She isolated herself. As difficult as it was, I had to sit her down and encourage her to fight for her dreams.”
Ngcobo said she is proud and excited that her daughter is now going to university. “I am a graduate myself, so knowing that my child is also goal-driven brings me great joy,” she said.
Gumede hopes her story will inspire other young people not to give up, even when life becomes painful and uncertain.
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