Lasizwe & co celebrate raising R1m for #FeesMustFall movement

YouTuber Lasizwe and his friends are overflowing with gratitude for people who helped  raise R1m that will go towards helping students pay their tertiary registration fees for the 2021 academic year.

Lasizwe took to Twitter to share on Tuesday night that after mobilising for five days, the #R10GoesALongWay campaign reached its goal of raising R1m for students in need.

“We did it! We raised R1,000,000 in five days! Ahhhhhhhh! Oh my gosh! We did it!” Lasizwe tweeted.

SA took ownership of the campaign which was started during an Instagram Live between Lasizwe, Sibu Mabena, Takkies and King Aya.

They kicked off the campaign by depositing money out of their own pockets to motivate SA to donate R10 to the cause.

Earlier this week Lasizwe told TshisaLIVE they had reached out to institutions that have the knowledge and experience in distributing funds to students so they were not in over their heads as their involvement in such an initiative was new.

He said they wanted to ensure they act responsibly with the money SA has entrusted them with to give away ethically and with a tight timeline because students need to register as soon as possible.

The reality star said he’s proud of how SA came together for the students.

“This is not an ‘I’ initiative, it’s a ‘we’ initiative, a SA initiative because all the R10 [donations] have turned into something more because Mzansi came together and stepped up to help.”

Lasizwe's gesture created a domino effect which saw another reality TV star Andile Mpisane of Kwa MaMkhize fame also raise some funds to help students.

Andile took to social media to pledge R10k each to 20 students in need of financial aid, after students across the country heeded the call from the SA Congress of Students for a countrywide shutdown of 26 universities this week.

Reflecting on how a “difficult year” had left many “unemployed and in unfavourable financial situations”, Andile said he wanted to give back.

“In light of the current #FeesMustFall situation and in celebration of my 20th birthday this year I would like to give back by gifting 20 university students who have recurring debt from 2020 with R10,000 towards their fees.

“You can also nominate someone in need of this financial aid,” he said.