Mangaza is one of the few young people who did well on their Botswana General Certificate Secondary Education (BGCSE) and received letters of placement from tertiary institutions of their choice however, scholarships are not included in the placement. Currently refugees do not receive tertiary funding from the government. Furthermore,Mangaza joins the group of top performers from the Dukwi refugee camp who were unable to obtain government sponsorship nor scholarships from the SkillShare International Botswana. Skillshare Internation Botswana is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) which is aimed at promoting social and economic justice by building capacity of the marginalised communities (including refugees and asylum seekers) living in Botswana to contribute to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Furthermore ,the NGO has previously helped a number of Dukwi top achievers secure tertiary education scholarship for their preferred programme of studies from different higher educational institutions. In an interview with The Monitor,Mangaza was wished for the new administration to consider including refugees for tertiary sponsorship. She stated that a lot of refugees including herself performed well for their BGCSE but the educational setup for tertiary financing did not favour them. The 20-year-old who aspire to be a business specialist said her dream is farfetched looking at the current government sponsorship scheme. For instance ,she attained 41 points in the 2023 BGCSE which is believed was exceptional performance to get her to study any programme she was interested in. " Consequently due to my good results I received admission from the University of Botswana (UB) to study Business administration and Botswana International University of Science and Technology(BIUST) to pursue Computer science,"she added. Disappointedly,she stated that was stuck at home as she could get the sponsorship nor any scholarship opportunity. "My heart is burdened with distress as I find myself facing prolonged stagnation due to the absence of financial sponsorship. I have worked tirelessly in my academic endeavors, obtaining commendable grades that I believe would warrant a transition to university,"added Mangaza.
Additionally ,she stated that her refugee status was an obstruction to her path to higher education. She elaborated that despite the good grades refugee students even after receiving free education at primary and secondary level they are not eligible to government sponsorship. The brilliant young woman indicated that Skiillshare International Botswana even tried their best on looking for a potential sponsors to no avail. She said that staying at home despite having the best grades was the most painful thing ever Therefore ,she implored anyone to come to her rescue so that she can pursue her dreams. "I am merely a young girl in need of being in a classroom pursuing my passion of being a computing with finance student please help me out because currently I am in a depressed state of mind and in deep pain,"she added. Sharing her personal background,the 20-year-old stated that she came to Botswana about five years ago due to some political instabilities back home(DRC). The Dukwi top achievers said that she lots her family back in DRC and was currently siding with her uncle at the camp. Upon arrival at the Dukwi refeguee camp,Mangaza indicated that she struggled a lot with English because she was coming from a French speaking country.
She further said that because of her dedication and commitment to excel academically she took a few steps back on her academic calendar to learn English. According to the dedicated 20-year-old,she managed to learn English and went back to school. At the time she stated that because she was aged 16 years she was enrolled to Form 2 class . Mangaza stated that although the JCE syllabus was different from the early secondary level at their home country she managed to pass with flying colours. "I was admitted at Nata Senior School for two years and I performed well as previously stated,"she said.
