Spreading birthday cheer to combat student debt

"Some 41% of our students are the first in their families to ever go to university. What I am hoping to achieve is to recognise that any contributions will help. The amount doesn’t matter. It’s about sharing our problem with the community.” - A/Prof Green-Thompson

A/Prof Green-Thompson will be celebrating his 60th birthday at the end of April 2024, and in celebration of his career spent in service of students, he invites you to contribute to the faculty's Bongani Mayosi Impilo Bursary Fund, which assists in paying off outstanding fee debt and supports social needs. The hope is to raise at least R30 million in the first six months, to ensure that final-year students can graduate.

The Health Sciences faculty has around 700 students, and final-year students are especially in danger of not graduating if their fees are not paid. Some 154 final-year students have outstanding debt, of whom 78 are MBChB students, and 76 Health and Rehabilitation students.

Read the full article in the Saturday Star on A/Prof Lionel and the HSSC's initiative to rise much needed funds via the Bongani Mayosi Impilo Bursary Fund – UCT dean and student leaders aim to spread birthday cheer (iol.co.za)

How can I contribute in celebration of A/Prof Lionel Green-Thompson's (LGT) 60th birthday?

Please follow the instructions for making a contribution, on the Mayosi Impilo Bursary Fund webpage.
Please mark your contribution as LGT-Mayosi, so that we can track the contributions.
For alumni who wish to donate funds:
- Please follow this link: http://www.alumni.uct.ac.za/giving/ways-to-give.
  Kindly send proof of payment to giving@uct.ac.za so that a tax receipt can be sent to you.
To everyone who has already contributed to the fund, we thank you for your generosity. If you did not receive a letter of thanks and appreciation in 2021 or 2022, we may not have been able to identify your donation. Please do alert email@uct.ac.za of your donation so that we can send you a personal note of gratitude.
If you wish to remain anonymous, please accept our heartfelt gratitude.

What should I do if I have outstanding fee debt?

We are mindful that there are many students who must at this time be concerned about their outstanding student debt. There are a number of mechanisms by which students may be assisted or redirected for assistance:

UG students only: here are links to
- the private bursaries,
- the Provincial DoH contact persons, and to
- the Undergraduate Degree Funding Noticeboard.

For further assistance, contact the FHS SDSO (Asandiswa Mhlauli at asandiswa.mhlauli@uct.ac.za).

PG students only:
- here is the link to the Postgraduate Degree Funding Noticeboard.
- For further assistance, contact the Postgraduate Funding Office at pgfunding@uct.ac.za

Both UG and PG students should check their UCT email inboxes, Amathuba and Vula sites regularly for FHS SDSO and UCT Student Funding Office announcements regarding funding options.

We urge anyone requiring assistance with navigating this process to make contact with the office of Ms Malala at Student Development and Support Services.

Please initiate discussions to resolve outstanding debt concerns before the end of the year.