Helping kids in rural Limpopo see a brighter future is a spin-off of Hugh Maleka’s own success as a mining engineer. He’s a project leader at De Beers’ Venetia Mine and is completing a master’s in engineering, majoring in technology and innovation management. As well as focusing on his own career, he and some colleagues established the Kukanang Career Expo in 2011. Their aim was to ignite hope in their communities through education. “Kukanang targets secondary schools in rural Limpopo with limited access to information and resources, and offers career guidance, coaching, mentoring and tutoring at no cost,” he says. “Our intent is to see learners in rural areas afforded the same opportunities as those in the cities, especially in ensuring they’re well prepared for higher education.” In 2019, he was nominated along with two colleagues to represent De Beers at the inaugural United Nations Young Innovators Programme.
Every morning when I wake up, I think about how even if I make a change in one person’s life, I am still making a change.