Athena Ditlopa

Athena Ditlopo (21 years) is from Yeoville township. Her mother couldn’t take care of her for several years. As a child she had to work very hard to make ends meet. She was taken in by her father and stepmother, where things were not at all easy.

Athena is working on finishing a Damelin certification that will give her the possibility to begin her own small IT business. She is currently studying in Cape Town.

UPDATE February 2011

Athena has had a tough year in 2010. She choice to study IT as she would like to start her own business. Due to family problems she had to move about a lot in 2010 and therefore did not have the peace to study. The one exam she did managed she achieved a result of 100%. We hope that Athena will be able to settle down in 2011 and find the time to finish the rest of her exams to be able to continue working on her career. Although her situation is not easy, we believe that she will come through. Good luck Athena.

Athena writes the following:

‘I still strive for a better way of living for in my heart I know that everything happens for a reason, and that all experiences in life only help me to become a better person with more knowledge about life. I am now a strong ambitious woman that, even though I know I don’t have the adequate education to get me to where I want to be, I know that if given an opportunity I grab it with both hands and do all I can to succeed. I am now working on gaining experience on being a personal assistant for I have a love for the corporate business sector. I am working on saving up enough money to study and get a degree on management or even secretarial. I would like to be given a chance to study and get a degree in business for I believe in creating opportunities for not only myself but for others in the near future. I want to be able to not only work for a position that creates employment but to also be in charge of that position. I know that the arts and technology is a growing corporation now and I would love to put use to the two if I were ever given the chance to make a difference in the business world today.’