Zizo Vokwana is a second-year student currently doing a BSC Earth Science degree at Stellenbosch University. She is the Vice-Chair of SASCO Stellenbosch and is definitely A FORCE to be reckoned with.
Introduce yourself and what role in SASCO is? My name is Zizo Vokwana and I am a 19-year-old womxn from Khayelitsha in Cape Town. The day that I entered this campus, I saw that this place does not favor the needs of the minorities and I made it my duty to fight for my people because some people don’t have a voice like me.This is one of the reasons why I joined SASCO because it is the only organization that fights for the poor and working class. This term 2017/2018 I am the vice-chair of SASCO Stellenbosch and I am responsible for the discipline and the structure of the branch.
2. What influence does SASCO have on campus and tell us about the projects you’ve been involved in?
SASCO is well known on campus for championing student issues and making sure that we are in a non-racist and non-sexiest campus and everyone be black or white is in a fair learning environment.
One of our biggest projects that helped about 200 student this year in Stellenbosch campus is THE RIGHT TO LEARN campaign. In RTLC we help students access the institution, get residence and help with historical debt. We prioritize the poor and the working class because they are the students who suffer the most and unlike the rich we as the poor don’t have money to buy ourselves out of things.
3. How significant do you think a womxn’s perspective is in this organization being that it is male dominated?
We, as womxn play a very powerful part especially when it comes to activist roles (look at role womxn played in Apartheid era) and we don’t even realize that we have power because of society. Society has oppressed us and our potential. I believe we has womxn, we are the driving force of SASCO and the voice. Luckily SASCO does accommodate womxn, its even in our constitution that men and womxn should have 50/50 leadership because we are EQUAL.
4. The University is CELEBRATING 100 years, how do you feel about that?
100 years of what? I can’t relate to this concept because firstly, we as people of color haven’t even been here for that long and secondly this university is celebrating but black students don’t have accommodation, students from Africa suffer every year with finance because they are under the international policy. We as South African students suffer with historical debt and academic exclusion every year. The workers of this University (our mothers and fathers) are not catered for (they clean toilets and cook for us every day from 7-7 and yet are not even paid enough to afford rent. Khayamandi (township were our workers and some of our students live) doesn’t have water and yet Stellenbosch produces world class engineers every year. So therefore,I HAVE NO REASON TO CELEBRATE.
5. With your leadership position in SASCO, what do you still want to achieve in the future?
I just want to see an equal society where people from poor backgrounds get fair opportunities to uplift themselves and live a decent life. There is a large gap or difference between the poor and rich in this country and I will die building a bridge for my people, because I know its possible. Our parents die every day working like slaves for capitalists and inherit nothing in return. As long as I am in a leadership position, I will fight against injustice.