Pumla Stuurman helps lost youth rise up

This Easter weekend Pumla Stuurman, 38, celebrated God for helping her to help hundreds of lost rural Eastern Cape matriculants rise up, study and graduate from university.

“I live by prayer,” Stuurman said. “My foundation is a calling from God, whispering about servanthood into my ears.”  

The Local Hero nominee gave up corporate city life to focus on her true passion, mentoring marginalised youths, initially at her old school and then at others, to rise to the next tier of tertiary education.

In eight years, she has helped hundreds of East London and Tsholomnqa pupils apply and be accepted into South Africa’s top universities.

“I’m a rural girl myself,” she said. “I’m doing what I’ve been sent to this Earth to do. This is my calling. It will never come to an end.”

Stuurman grew up in Xhamini village, about 40km from East London, and studied a BCom at Rhodes University but gave up her career in analytics to focus on her Life-Time Legacy Foundation full-time.

She established the foundation in 2014 after she realised the lack of information on the application process left underprivileged youth bewildered as to  how to proceed with their studies. 

“I have walked the journey with 232 young people and addressed hundreds more on their futures.”

Some were from child-headed households. 

“On a yearly basis, there will be at least one family that is headed by a child. I pick up those challenges.

“There were twins doing matric who had been running their home since they were 13.”

Life-Time partners with Tsholomnqa High in Tsholomnqa (Chulumna) and Lumko High in Amalinda, offering career mentorship, psychosocial support and assistance with applications for funding and tertiary education.

“In 2021 I addressed 150 pupils from Tsholomnqa High and 160 at Lumko.”

“You give them a platform to commit to.”

Life-Time had also sourced private bursaries for 28 students worth R8.4m and helped 204 NSFAS-funded beneficiaries access a total of R61.2m.

“We start as early as grade 9 when pupils choose their school subjects.

“Matriculants need to know that when they apply for each institution they have to meet the basic requirements.

“They need to know this earlier so they know what to work towards.”

Stuurman said finances were the biggest struggle and she had been funding the programme herself for eight years.

“Whatever I get paid for I put into the operations of the foundation, such as transport, applications, even data. Everything is a cost.”

In 2021, she mentored 100 pupils who took up the opportunity to “walk the journey” with her and she was now busy looking over the term 1 matric results. 

“For the next month, we will be doing one-on-one sessions so they know what they need to do to pull their socks up.

“We definitely see improved results in June, but the big difference is that there is someone there to direct you and say ‘you can be better than this’.”

Stuurman follows the journey of those under her wings and sees them through varsity and post-graduation studies. 

“It’s about transforming and bringing positivity into the darkness.This month we were celebrating university graduates — and then what? I always show them direction.” 

Stuurman said of her Local Hero nomination: “I’m not a spotlight person. I don’t take the glory, the glory goes straight to God.

“I believe for the programme and every sacrifice I’ve made, God has made sure there is a provision for it.

“We need to support as many young people out there and right now my priority and energy goes to them.” 

One of Stuurman’s Tsholomnqa High mentees from 2015, Kamvalethu Vanqa, 24, who is reading for a master’s degree in radio astrology at Rhodes University, said: “She is a treasure to underprivileged students.

“I came to Rhodes because of her. I never thought of coming to university, I wouldn’t have done the things I’ve done so far.”

He was excited to be studying a relatively new field in physics, the evolution of stars and the techniques of compressing telescope data from the universe. 

“She came up with the application forms and helped me apply. Luckily I got in,” Vanqa said.

“In rural areas there’s a lack of internet services so she comes with the latest information.”

Nominee Galit Cohen said: “Pumla is my local hero because of how she helps young adults apply for universities. 

“Pumla is there for them when they have nobody else.”

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