The book consists of 25 short stories written by inspirational Africans from all walks of life who have achieved considerable success within their chosen careers. The authors share their stories about their journeys to success, the obstacles they encountered along the way, how they overcame these challenges and, finally, their hopes and dreams for South Africa and the African continent at large. Despite the differences in their gender, ethnicity, countries of origin and fields of study, these authors share the message that education can help to shape your life and the lives of those around you.

The pursuit of education has come at great personal cost for these individuals. Some had to leave their families and travel long distances to receive an education, carrying nothing but their hopes and beliefs that their dreams would one day be realised. Many have come from very difficult family backgrounds, where there was little or no money to pay for their education, and from communities in which there were very few positive role models and high levels of poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, gang violence and HIV/AIDS. What is very evident is that these circumstances did not deter them from reaching their dreams, but they have had to work extremely hard to ensure that they got the necessary grades to get into tertiary institutions.

Hard work and perseverance have resulted in many rewards in their lives.

These rewards have included graduating from university with undergraduate and, sometimes, postgraduate degrees. Some have been offered opportunities to study abroad, as were Collet Dandara who studied in Sweden and Siyabulela Xuza who had the opportunity to further his studies in the United States of America. Continued persistence and hard work resulted in Moreira Chonguica winning multiple music awards, performing at major international jazz festivals and collaborating with international jazz musicians. Some of these individuals have become pioneers in their fields of study, such as Heather Wilmot who is now one of the leading aviation lawyers in the country.

One of the most profound success stories is by award-winning musician, Sipho ‘Hotstix’ Mabuse, who matriculated at the age of 60! He has had an incredibly successful music career, both locally and abroad, yet he still saw the importance of getting his Matric. His inspirational story teaches us that it is never too late to get an education.

Although these individuals have already achieved much success in their lives, they will go on to achieve more because the pursuit of knowledge and success is a lifelong journey. The important thing is that their education has laid a strong foundation which will enable them to continue to be successful in the future.

We hope these stories will serve as a tremendous source of inspiration and motivation and will generally spark your interest in education. Furthermore, we hope these stories will teach you about the importance of hard work, discipline, honesty and perseverance as a means to achieve your dreams, and that they will ignite your interest in reading more inspirational books in the future.

Enjoy!

The Dikakapa Everyday Heroes Family