By Pebbles Project
Photo: Divinia / Photo credits: Chris Du Toit
22-year-old Divinia grew up on Bellevue Wine Estate. Divinia is the youngest of four children, she has an older sister and two older brothers. Divinia attended the Early Childhood Development (ECD) centre on the farm until the age of six and thereafter attended the Pebbles Project After-School Club.
As a teenager, Divinia dreamed of starting her own business one day. She says that: “I’ve always dreamed of opening my own beauty salon.” After she finished high school, Divinia was assisted by the Pebbles Project Social Work team to obtain a bursary to study a diploma in Business Management at Boland College.
Unfortunately, Divinia felt that she wasn’t in the right frame of mind at the time and she ended up dropping out of college. She says that: “It was all too much for me. I was overwhelmed by the amount of work.”
After dropping out of college, Divinia decided to find work on nearby farms where she was employed on a contract basis, but she started to feel like something was missing… It was her older sister who inspired her to return to college. Divinia says that: “I’ve always looked up to my sister, I thought to myself that I would also like to be where she is. I don’t want to give up on my dreams.”
Divinia contacted the Pebbles Project Early Adulthood Programme (EAP) Manager to inform her that she would like to return to college. The Early Adulthood Programme (EAP) aims to provide support to young adults from farming communities to enrol in further education or training opportunities. Furthermore, the EAP provides young adults with life skills, soft skills and support groups, to equip them to navigate the demands of the tertiary environment.
The Pebbles Project EAP Manager provided guidance to Divinia to ensure that she is ready to re-enrol for the diploma in Business Management. This time around, Divinia was in the right head space. Divinia says that: “It felt different. I felt ready to take on the challenge. Even though it was the same course and modules, the workload felt more manageable and not as overwhelming as it did the first time.” Divinia obtained distinctions for two of her modules and was delighted to receive two merit awards.
As a requirement of the Business Management diploma, Divinia needs to complete 18 months’ worth of practical hours. Divinia is currently completing her practical hours as an intern at the project's administration and operations office under the guidance of the Administration Manager.
Divinia’s family is proud of how far she’s come. She says that: “My parents were very proud the day that I told them that I’ve decided to go back to college and try again.”
Divinia hopes to graduate in August 2024. We are confident that Divinia will realise her dream of starting her own business and we look forward to celebrate all of her future successes.
Divinia is thankful that Pebbles Project came into her life. She says that: “I struggle to put into words just how much Pebbles means to me. I always tell people on my farm how much they do for us, they help with everything. For example, they help us to get our learner’s and driver’s licence. When I was still attending the After-School Club there would always be all the resources we need like laptops, printers, and everything we might need for our school projects. Pebbles is always there to help.”
For more information click the link: Early Adulthood Programme.
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