By Everson Luhanga
When she lost her mom on Christmas Day of 2018, Elizabeth Moloko was dealt a blow so hard that she thought the world had shut its door and left her in the cold.
But the determined young girl from Diepsloot Secondary School No. 3 faced the world and buried herself in her books to study hard.
Her determination and hard work paid off: she achieved six distinctions out of the seven subjects she took in the 2022 matric year.
Elizabeth was a top learner in History in the 2022 senior certificate examination – she scooped 100% in the subject. For that, she received a certificate of excellence from Gauteng Education MEC Matome Chiloane.
Now she is set to study for the career of her dreams. “I want to be a lawyer,” she told Scrolla.Africa
“I don’t want to defend criminals but rather give a chance to poor people who cannot afford expensive lawyers in seeking justice.
“We have many people in this country who cannot find closure about what happened in the cases they registered with the authorities because they had no money to pay for the lawyer.
“It breaks my heart to see victims of injustice in society. I want to help such people,” she said.
Scrolla.Africa visited Elizabeth in her one-room house in Diepsloot extension 3 where she spent nights and days studying. The room has a cardboard box full of books and two beds, one for her and the other one for her little sister.
Opposite her room stays her aunt who has been looking after her since the death of her mother. “This is my room. I sleep here with my little sister,” she said.
In many cases she had to wait for her little sister to fall asleep before she could concentrate on her studies. “At some other times, I opted to go to school to study with my other students.”
She said studying at school at night was dangerous as load-shedding could sometimes be implemented unannounced. When that happens, “there’s darkness in the streets for me to go home.
“In the dark, one doesn’t know who they meet on the streets. It could be dangerous criminals.”
Diepsloot is one of the most dangerous places in the country, with criminality on a major scale.
Elizabeth said besides all the challenges, she managed to compose herself and put effort into her schoolwork.
The Department of Education has offered her a bursary to study further. “I am excited and happy about this great opportunity,” she said.
Her challenges now are to get a laptop, a phone, and a wifi router and she appealed to anyone with a kind heart to help her.
Pictured above: Elizabeth Moloko
Image source: Everson Luhanga
