During the weekdays, Elelwani Eva Nemalale is a regular figure around Malale village, picking up litter and cutting overgrown bushes along the local roads in her yellow overalls. She is one of the contract workers for the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP), where she earns R1 800 per month.
People often look down on EPWP workers, as many of them cannot read or write. However, Nemalale has never allowed the public's negative perceptions to become a stumbling block for her own success. On 24 June this year, she swopped her yellow overalls for a graduation gown when she received her project management certificate during Vhembe TVET College's skills-graduation ceremony that was held at the Nancefield Multipurpose Centre in Musina.
This achievement is no small feat for Nemalale; she is very proud of it. "I got up early every day, put on my yellow overalls and went out to pick up litter and do dirty work, while I managed to study part time to get this certificate. This was the first time in my life that I graduated, and the feeling of joy was overwhelming. A mere certificate may sound insignificant to someone else, but to me this is the greatest achievement of my life. It just shows that everything is possible if there is a will to succeed."
Despite graduating with a project-management skills certificate, Nemalale is not ready to hang up her yellow overalls yet. "I will continue to keep the environment clean. This is the steppingstone that encourages me to study further in future. My advice to others who do odd jobs like myself is not to look down on themselves, but to use this opportunity to study and prepare themselves for a better future."
To supplement her meagre salary, Nemalale also sells beauty products and kitchenware at local farms after hours and during weekends.