Tshegofatso Thobane – “What keeps me motivated is all the luck I attract when I keep working hard.”

Business owner, social entrepreneur, activist & Master’s candidate Tshegofatso Thobane is a walking gallery of success & sheer determination.

“There’s a lot of passion for the things that I do, whether, in academics, leadership & entrepreneurship, I have found a common pillar in these that allows me to keep pushing on”

A faith machine gun, true to his tall and slim stature, is the greatest way to describe Tshegofatso’s work ethic. “What keeps me motivated is all the luck I attract when I keep working hard,” he explains as he boasts his academic & entrepreneurial achievements. Understood to be a man with many hats, the one he likes to wear the most is undoubtedly excellence.

Tshegofatso is currently studying his Master’s degree in molecular biology/ virology, described in layman’s terms as in line with drug discovery & vaccine development. Which is quite the fitting field of study during a global pandemic? “I grew up seeing viruses torment our people in Africa. Intrigued by possibly finding himself in a position to assist, alleviate or delete these viruses, drug discovery became one of his many passions. “Biochemistry gave me that opportunity to put my foot first into the drug discovery world, and what I was studying had a direct link into the problem’s I wanted to solve,” he explained

True to his name, Tshegofatso inspires and activates hope not only in himself but back into his community, Soshanguve. Together As One RSA, a non-profit organisation aimed at helping people in rural areas with career guidance and academic opportunities is likely his most prized project. However, the difficulties of a pandemic, we are living through, left no ground uncovered and has too affected his mentorship programme.

“2020 has been a difficult year, it approached us during the peak of TGA1RSA, we had to move a large number of our content online and couldn’t physically go out and assist people,’’ he said

Together As One RSA also had a collaboration with Golden Key UFS chapter in which Golden Key had online fun quizes and Together As One RSA sponsored some of the winners with data bundles. Over and above everything else Tshegofatso’s work aims to bridge the inequality gap and create greater access to all as he didn’t have a lot of choices at his disposal growing up, “Limited options limit your choices,’’ he explains that life can feel very linear to people who are not exposed to anything else. University to him much like the multitude of students from disadvantaged backgrounds felt like a lifeline. “I have been in difficult spaces from where I grew up, I don’t want to produce a poor generation.’’

“You can’t do anything if you are unhappy, passion correlates highly with happiness & joy.” A mantra the cum laude graduate lives by, The latest project is an arts development project collaboration between TGA1RSA & The Afrikan Post, an independent online newspaper.

Mu Duka has recently partnered with Together As One RSA & Itheteng with the mandate to raise funds that will cover the university application fees for learners from disadvantaged backgrounds. This is in line with the vision of TGA1RSA which is to try and increase the number of learners that have access to institutions of higher learning. The collaboration has currently raised over R 9 000 for this initiative.

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