Fhulufhelo Muvhali, a final-year student at the University of Venda (Univen), is all smiles after she was awarded a certificate for being selected among the top 200 Young South Africans for 2023 in the Mail & Guardian's education category. She received her certificate during an award ceremony that was held in Modderfontein, Gauteng, on Thursday, 22 June.
Muvhali (20) is from Hamagidi village in Thohoyandou and is currently studying towards a bachelor of science degree in urban and regional planning.
When she was in the 12th grade, she noticed how few of her classmates were interested in participating in the De Beers English Olympiad, which she thought was a great way of expanding her knowledge. This turned out to be her lifeline and helped her to make a change within her community.
Since 2019, Muvhali has received several awards from the De Beers English Olympiad and the Eskom Science Expo for Young Scientists.
In 2021, she decided to make a change in the community by becoming an ambassador for the Global Changemakers Organisation and the World Literacy Foundation. Later that same year, she established her own organisation, called The Child Upliftment Corner Foundation.
Her foundation is aimed at improving mother-tongue language proficiency in children by ensuring that primary schools in rural areas of Thohoyandou have access to reading resources.
Last year, Muvhali graduated from the Trevor Noah Education Changemakers Programme, cohort 2, and returned to her community to partner with the Nelson Mandela Foundation, Shout SA, Literacy4life, Univen, and the Limpopo Department of Education to build a literacy hub at Mamali Sikhwivhilu Primary School, with more than 500 children's storybooks in Tshivenda and English.
Through her community-outreach activities, Muvhali has helped numerous matriculants to gain access to learning resources, such as laptops, data, calculators, and study guides.
About her latest achievement, she said: "This is one of my proudest moments as a young achiever. I believe in doing good for other people, so I dedicate this award to my community. The award serves as an encouragement to continue driving an impact in my community," she said.
Muvhali expressed her appreciation for the support she has been getting from her mother and mentors, Professor Vhonani Netshandama and Nakisani Nemadodzi from Univen's community engagement office.