Fabrice Kapya has come a long way in his quest for success. “After my father’s death, we lost practically everything,” Kapya, who received his first degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Likasi in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, told the University of Pretoria.
“His family took everything from us, but through the generosity of friends who volunteered to finance my studies, I obtained this degree.”
Kapya left the Democratic Republic of the Congo and sought asylum in South Africa in 2018. “Where I come from, we know not to trust the government as it uses terror to control people. It violates basic human rights through fear, intimidation, and segregation. No one can hold them accountable,” he said.
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Notwithstanding his lack of money and employment upon arriving in South Africa, he remained committed to pursuing his education.
After excluding his rent and grocery bills, Kapya made approximately R1 000 (now $54) a month from his job as a car guard at Wonderpark Mall, where he made roughly R2,000 a month standing in the parking lot every day from 7 am to 8 pm.
In what he calls “a miracle,” a friend submitted his application to the University of Pretoria in August 2018. He recounted, “I was returning from the Tshwane University of Technology after submitting my application when a friend who was studying at UP at the time asked me to stop by the University. After a long discussion, she convinced me to apply to UP. But there were only two days left before international applications closed, and at most universities, priority is usually given to those who apply first.”
Thus, he was surprised when he was accepted into the institution and allowed to enroll in a March 2019 Industrial and Systems Engineering course.
Kapya kept his job as a car guard and managed his schoolwork while attempting to overcome the language barrier in school. He managed to get some assistance from his classmates, some of whom provided food, covered his transportation costs and occasionally his rent, and assisted him with their notes.
Kapya invested all his money into his education and studied in the parking lot when he could. He remarked, “I stayed strong even though I could not feel my legs or my waist, even though my body was sore. When I had a block week, I wouldn’t go to the mall; it cost me R240 a week to get to UP, and not working that week put me in a position where I was almost R740 short. As a result, I had difficulty depositing the R1 000 I had planned to pay each month into my student account to reduce my debt.”
Fortunately, he was able to pay his bills when a customer offered to donate almost R18,000 for his education. In 2020, he received his honors degree and the following year, was admitted to the institution’s Master’s program, where he chose to study Industrial Systems.
That same year, the institution appointed Kapya as an assistant lecturer in Industrial and Systems Engineering and awarded him R18 000. By 2022, the go-getter had become a PhD candidate while still a lecturer at the University of Pretoria.
Though he credits his father as his motivation, Kapya reiterated, “I used a tough situation to remind myself that I was strong enough. That I was smart enough to pass a module and that I was disciplined enough to complete my course. I couldn’t change the fact that I didn’t have money when I came to UP, but I accepted that reality instead of living in denial. I welcomed the challenge and set myself a goal.”
He encouraged, “Over time, you’ll develop the skills you need to be where you want to be. Invest in self-improvement; get an education in something that is going to give you high-value skills that you can market. Be proud of your work and what you are doing, no matter how small it is.”
