Zoleka Mayiya has achieved her childhood dream to become a teacher.
Zoleka Mayiya, a single mother of four from Masiphumelele, has made the transition from domestic worker to teacher, thanks to help from a non-profit organisation.
Ms Mayiya was employed as a domestic worker until the family she worked for emigrated in 2012. Through night school, she completed her matric in 2016 and later took a position as a cook/cleaner at an educare run by Masicorp, a non-profit that has 26 education and training projects.
Revealing that she had ambitions to be a teacher, Ms Mayiya was employed to work with a small class under the guidance of a qualified teacher.
Masicorp spokesman Craig Meyer said the organisation paid for its ECD staff to undergo further training.
Masicorp’s Stay & Play programme trains owners of informal crèches in Masiphumelele.
"By uplifting the owners of unregistered and under-resourced childcare facilities with training workshops and educational resources, we try to raise the standard of early childhood education in Masi," Mr Meyer said.
Through Masicorp, Ms Mayiya completed further qualifications at the College of Cape Town, and in 2020 Masicorp paid for her to study through Unisa to become a Grade R teacher.
Mr Meyer said Ms Mayiya had completed the studies with two distinctions and was now doing an entrepreneurship business and management diploma in the ECD sector.
“Masicorp helps a lot,“ said Ms Mayiya. ”If I didn’t meet Masicorp, I wouldn’t have been able to realise my dreams. I was a domestic worker, and now I am a teacher.“
Visit masicorp.org or call 021 782 1923 for information about Masicorp’s programmes.