UKZN Graduate Goes From Being Cleaner to Teaching in South Korea

• A 24-year-old in KZN who grew up poor is working hard as an educator in South Korea
• Makhosi Mthembu had many struggles growing up and even worked as a cleaner for a while to make money
• Talking to Briefly News, the UKZN education graduate opens up about her desire to give her siblings a great life

One UKZN education graduate is making her family proud by teaching English in South Korea.

Makhosi Mthembu from Pietermaritzburg, KZN, tells Briefly News about her struggles in the past. The strong woman didn’t grow up with her dad, which greatly impacted her upbringing, with her mom battling to make ends meet:

“Now, my mom is very proud of me. Growing up was not easy. Hearing my peers talking about their fathers was the most painful part of my childhood.

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“It was not easy. We only had bread at month-end when my mom got a social grant. I never carried lunch at school. I only started seeing polony when other kids shared their lunch with me.

“I couldn’t go on school trips, because my mom couldn’t afford it. Teachers only paid for me when I had to compete with other schools, for debates and oral presentations.”

KZN lady grew up poor

Makhosi notes that her mother was a farm worker, which enabled her to pay the young woman’s school fees. Later, when she got accepted into university, Makhosi obtained funding from NSFAS in her second year of study.

The 24-year-old further notes that before obtaining work in South Korea, she was employed as a domestic worker to make ends meet:

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“I decided to teach English in South Korea because I could not find a job in South Africa after two years of searching for one.

“I worked as a cleaner in a construction company, and I managed to prepare my documentation process with that salary.

“For the flight, my Grade 1 teacher helped me. I sent her a message on Facebook and explained to her that I found a job in South Korea but did not have money for the flight. She sent me the money because she had trust in me.”

UKZN graduate enjoys working overseas

The ambitious woman has been working in Korea for a year and supports her family members with the salary she has:

“Korea is a beautiful country that is technologically advanced. They love foreigners. This made it easy for me to settle well.

“I am able to support my mom now. I started a rental business for her, and also send money home monthly.”

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Makhosi shares her dreams for the future, which include ensuring that her siblings have the best future possible:

“My future ambition is to ensure quality education for my siblings. I want to be able to take them to good schools and good universities.

“I also want to go back to South Africa and practice the humanity and good culture I’m learning in South Korea.”

The inspiring sis also wants to obtain an honours degree in education from UKZN in 2024. How admirable!

Domestic worker reflects on graduation

In another inspiring story, Briefly News previously wrote about a single mother of four from Gauteng who is incredibly emotional after obtaining her degree in an applied psychology-related field from Unisa.

The domestic worker overcame many struggles to bag her degree without any funding while working full-time to support her kids.

Source: Briefly News