Sanlam awards bursaries to students

Michelline Nawatises

Sanlam announced the five recipients of the Sanlam bursary scheme for the 2021 academic year on 22 April. The five students are currently pursuing their tertiary education in the fields of economics, marketing, informatics, human resource management and software development at the three main universities in the country.

As part of the company’s corporate social responsibility programme, Sanlam has been awarding students bursaries for the past 18 years.

The bursary programme has benefited over 50 students since it was first introduced in 2002. The Sanlam bursary scheme aims to reward well-performing Namibian students from disadvantaged backgrounds studying at Namibian universities with an opportunity to pursue their education. The bursary scheme further aims to make a meaningful contribution to the country by developing the much-needed skills in the fields of accounting and finance, IT, marketing, human resources, business administration, legal and actuarial science.

The Sanlam bursaries are awarded on merit after an extensive search and interview process with potential candidates. Over 200 applications were received for the 2021 Sanlam bursary. The following students emerged successfully and will receive full support for their tuition fees.

Eva Ngivelwa –Marketing Management - IUM – Walvis Bay Campus

Obby Siyayo – Science: Software development - UNAM – Windhoek Campus

Webster Mainga – Human Resources Management - IUM – Windhoek Campus

Marlyn Jagger - Informatics – NUST – Windhoek Campus

Halleluiah Ndimulunde – Economics – NUST – Windhoek Campus

Sanlam’s manager for marketing and communication, Hilaria Graig, said: “Despite the challenging times we now find ourselves in due to the current pandemic, we at Sanlam understand that now more than ever is the time for us to hold hands and plough back into our communities”.

Graig encouraged the students to take their studies seriously and work hard to achieve their goals, saying that at the end of the day, each student will reap what they sow.

Graig also added that a Sanlam bursary can open many doors for students, as it has for previous recipients.

“Some of our bursary students have gone on to establish their own businesses where they have created employment for others; others are working in various sectors including government institutions, and some now work as permanent employees in various departments within Sanlam.

One of the bursary recipients, Marlyn Jagger, said words cannot describe how she feels. “This is an opportunity of a lifetime; I am very honoured and grateful,” she said. Another awardee, Eva Ngivelwa who is a third-year student said that she was beyond happy as her mom was paying for her studies all along. “I ended up crying, the first words that I uttered when I called my mom, ‘we got it’,” she said. Ngivelwa plans on obtaining her honours after she has completed the bachelors of Marketing.

The next call for bursary applications will be announced through the press at the end of November.