In a heartwarming tale of serendipity and generosity, Sharon du Plessis, the Financial Manager of Martin Engineering Africa stumbled upon an opportunity to make a profound difference in the lives of a young couple, Kgosi Pobe and Boikanyego Mancoe, through the power of education.
The remarkable journey began in 2023 when Sharon du Plessis found herself at Middelburg Hospital, waiting for a friend who had injured her back during a camping trip. Little did Sharon know that this chance encounter would lead to a life-changing moment for Kgosi and Boikanyego.
"While waiting at the hospital, I struck up a conversation with Kgosi, who was also waiting for someone," recalls Sharon. He explained he was browsing university study sites on his phone, and it became clear to me that he was serious about furthering his education."
As their conversation unfolded, Kgosi shared his aspirations of empowering himself through education to support his fiancée, Boikanyego, in her academic pursuits. Moved by their determination, Sharon reached out to their BBBEE consultant to explore ways to assist them.
"After learning about Kgosi and Boikanyego's goals," says Sharon, "I knew I had to help. With the support of our consultant, Martin Engineering Africa was able to pay off Boikanyego's student loans for her Bachelor of Social Science, majoring in Psychology and Sociology, at the University of the Free State. We also enrolled her in a Health & Safety course at the University of Cape Town. Additionally, Martin Engineering Africa sponsored Kgosi's Project Management Foundations short course at The University of Cape Town.
The impact was immediate and profound. Through his Project Management course, Kgosi secured a temporary leadership job with mentorship opportunities for a contractor at Arnot Power Station.
Reflecting on the experience, Kgosi expressed his gratitude, stating, "At first, I couldn't believe it was real. But when Sharon showed me it was genuine, I was overwhelmed with emotion. It's been a life-changing opportunity for us."
The courses, including the repayment of Boikanyego's student loans, spanned six weeks for her degree and three months for Kgosi's Project Management program.
Martin Engineering Africa believes in the transformative power of education and the profound impact of extending a helping hand to those in need, embodying our commitment to our vision: “To ignite excellence so that families thrive and communities flourish”.
Martin Engineering has been a global leader in bulk material handling for more than 80 years, continuously developing new solutions to make high-volume conveyors cleaner, safer and more productive. The company’s series of Foundations™ books is an internationally-recognized resource for safety, maintenance and operations training -- with more than 22,000 print copies in circulation around the world. The 500+ page reference books are available in several languages and have been downloaded thousands of times as free PDFs from the Martin website. Martin Engineering products, sales, service and training are available from 17 factory-owned facilities worldwide, with wholly-owned business units in Australia, Brazil, China, Colombia, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Spain, South Africa, Turkey, the USA and UK. The firm employs more than 1,000 people, approximately 400 of whom hold advanced degrees.