You can be better than your own heroes, says Rendani

“If you refuse to give up you can also do well, and you can be even better than the people you dream to be like,” says Rendani Tshishonga. Rendani is one of many young people who left the Vhembe District to chase their dreams in the big cities.

The 33-year-old finance specialist at the University of Pretoria was born in Ha-Mutsha village near Thohoyandou. His dad is a pastor and Rendani was the fourth child of the Tshishonga family.

“Growing up for me was both difficult and easy,” says Rendani. He explains that some years his parents did well and could pay for school and university fees, but some years they struggled, which ultimately affected him.

“I did most of my secondary schooling years in the time that my parents were struggling to make ends meet. It was during those years that I decided to make my education come first. I did not allow any setbacks to discourage me. Things did look like they were fine at home, but I knew that things were not exactly what they seemed,” says Rendani.

Rendani realised that he could not squander his family’s meagre income and he worked very hard to improve his grades at all times. “In 2003, I passed my matric and went to study for a three-year bachelor’s degree with the University of Pretoria. I successfully completed that degree in five years. I almost gave up, but my parents and the church that I am part of continuously encouraged me to finish what I had started. In fact, they said then that it was a big sin to not finish. Therefore, I believe without any doubt that if it were not for the people around me who never stopped encouraging me, even when I had lost hope, I would never have succeeded,” says Rendani.

Rendani currently works at the same university where he graduated. He is a specialist responsible for finance, governance and HR. “I see working at the University of Pretoria as a privilege, because it is one of the top universities in South Africa and it is highly recognised internationally,” he says. He is also a motivational speaker in the process of writing his own book.

He has some useful advice for other young people. “You have to have a dream that is bigger than your challenges in order to overcome the challenges that confront you. Many things could have caused me to throw in the towel, but I did not. You must continuously apply your mind, so that the universe can grant you what is rightfully yours. I have learned that hard work always pays in the end,” he says.

Date:02 June 2019

By: Anton van Zyl

Anton van Zyl has been with the Zoutpansberger and Limpopo Mirror since 1990. He graduated from the Rand Afrikaans University (now University of Johannesburg) and obtained a BA Communications degree. He is a founder member of the Association of Independent Publishers.

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