Portland High top pupil washed cars before community helped fund his university dream

With the help of his teachers and social media, former Portland High School matriculant Luke Armien was able to secure sponsorship for his registration fees at the University of the Western Cape (UWC), followed by a bursary covering his first year of study.

Luke Armien from Morgen Village said he almost gave up on his dream of tertiary education when he discovered that his funding applications with the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) and Fundza had been declined.

NSFAS provides financial support to eligible South African students to cover tuition and other study-related costs, while Fundza is a youth-focused scholarship programme aimed at supporting pupils with academic potential who face financial barriers.

Desperate to continue his studies, Luke turned to his teachers for help and even offered to wash their cars to raise money.

He managed to earn R400, with some additional contributions from teachers, but he still fell short of the R4 900 required for his UWC registration.

“I was in residence, and NSFAS was supposed to fund me. I was stressed, and everything came crashing down,” Luke said. “My dad said I could apply again or take a gap year next year, but I didn’t want to do nothing I wanted to do something. I asked my teachers for guidance,” he said.

Though Luke describes himself as reserved and not one for the spotlight, he placed third in his matric class at Portland High School, an 80% aggregate overall that earned him five distinctions.

Portland High School's Afrikaans teacher, Tiffany Slinger, informed Shahied Joseph, who teaches journalism as an extracurricular activity at the school, about Luke’s situation.

Mr Joseph then shared the matter with award-winning author and philanthropist Yusuf Daniels, a former Portland resident.

Mr Daniels posted Luke’s appeal on his Facebook page, Living Lekka, where it received more than 850 000 views.

He said he receives similar requests daily. “Shahied contacted me, we connected, and the rest was history,” he said.

Within an hour, Luke’s registration fees were raised. “That same morning, UWC contacted me and said Luke was sorted with a bursary. It was a complete surprise.”

Mr Daniels said the response reflected the generosity of his followers, whom he calls family, and said the post aimed to celebrate hardworking pupils and encourage others to put in the same effort.

Luke is now pursuing a Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting at UWC, a three-year course he hopes will lead to a professional and stable career.

“I wanted to study this because it will support me in the long run,” Luke said.

After all his efforts, he was overjoyed when people stepped in to help. “I thought I wasn’t going to get funding and had to apply for tuition fees myself, but I was extremely happy people came through for me. I’m truly grateful to every one for helping me reach for my dream,” he said.