A Freedom Park meisie has beaten all the odds to matriculate with flying colours on Friday.
Mauhicia Gilbert, a resident of the Ottery informal settlement, completed her matric at Lotus River High last year and is now looking to enrol into the army, alternatively law enforcement or the police.
“Since primary school, I have dreamt of being in the army and wanting to serve my community. I also want to join the army so I can provide a better future for my 16-year-old sister Felicia and my mother Elize,” she says.
“They have never lived anywhere else except Freedom Park, so I want to make something of myself so I can buy a house for my family and also show the people here that where you come from does not determine your future.
“How you start does not matter, it is how you finish.”
The 18-year-old achieved a diploma pass after writing exams for business economics, consumer studies, math literacy and her favourite subject history, among others.
On Saturday, Ottery resident Keith Blake hosted a party for Mauhicia to celebrate her achievement.
The former police captain says he is pleased the teen is passionate about serving her community.
He says the meisie was the only matriculant from the area after all her peers dropped out.
She walked to school while also looking after her younger sister while their mother was working.
The family lives in a shack with very little resources, in an area infamous for gang shootings.
Keith says: “It was not easy living in an informal settlement and getting her matric.
“She achieved this because she was motivated by her mother and her passion to get educated, so she can make a better life for her and her family.”