A promise that SA business tycoon Dr Christo Wiese made to CPUT came to fruition and forever changed the life of one special graduate.
Wiese attended the Informatics and Design graduation personally to congratulate the inaugural recipient of the Caro Wiese award. Named after his wife, the award is offered annually to a CPUT student who has succeeded in overcoming extremely difficult circumstances and achieved full academic potential.
The recipient Matthew Benjamin is originally from Sudan and arrived in Cape Town in 2011, speaking very little English and with only R200. Determined to study he taught himself English using YouTube videos and eventually enrolled for a Masters course in IT. Using the amenities on offer to CPUT students like the IT labs and E-Learning Centre Matthew successfully graduated last year and has plans to continue his studies thanks to the Wiese family’s generosity.
“Thank you to everyone who helped me along the way including my CPUT lecturers and Dr Christo Wiese,” he says.
“When you have nothing you feel like a second class citizen but I told myself I will be able to be someone through education.”
Dr Wiese congratulated Matthew and pledged a second award to CPUT in future, one for a male and a second for a female student. The awards will be granted annually.
News of CPUT’s extraordinary alumni can be found in our Grad Mag 2016.
