PROFILE
A lady with many talents
When you walk into Building 23, the Marketing and Communications Building, you are more than likely to hear
a very infectious and happy laugh emanating from one
of the many beecomb-like offices. The laugh belongs to
Mrs Lydia Mokgatle, whose smile is just as potent on any
person who walks through her door.
Mokgatle is the epitome of a multi-tasking woman; as not
only is she the Senior Fundraiser on the Vaal Campus,
but also a loving wife and mother. A true career woman,
her work is all about developing strategies and setting
goals to hit her fundraising targets.
The start of a great story
Born and bred in the Cape Flats of Cape Town, Mokgatle was one of the first (of 30 grandchildren) to attend
tertiary education. At University, Mokgatle was actively
involved in student politics, and was also fortunate
enough to study in Israel, Norway and the United Stated
of America. “My family had high hopes for me; she explains; which can clearly be seen with her life so far.
Before there was fundraising
As a teenager, her head was filled with romance; with
herself as the heroine of love stories. “I was going to
have people hanging onto to my lips for the words of
wisdom that were to flow from me, she says; as her biggest dream was to become an award-winning novelist
that would have her name in lights and be spoken in all
households.
Unfortunately, reality interrupted the dream during her
first year in Journalism class. The assignment was to
write a news report using the ‘inverted pyramid’ style of
writing. This involves having all the most important information in the first paragraph of an article, as well as the
five W’s and H (who, what, where, when, why and how).
“I just could not do it. I was trying to write a news story
as if it was a novel, leaving the most important facts out
until the last paragraph”, she says.
From writer, to radio
While one dream may have ended, a new one was
formed, after switching to Broadcast Journalism as her
Major. Bush Radio, the oldest community radio station
in South Africa, became a second home during her inservice training. Mokgatle began working at Bush Radio
even before it was officially licenced to go on air.
Fundraising, an ‘accidental’ love
While working on many facets of radio, Mokgatle also
began to help with fundraising, and explains she fell
into her new passion by accident. From a dreamy-eyed
romance novelist, to a fiery and passionate fundraiser;
Lydia Mokgatle has worked in the tertiary education environment for 13 years as a fundraiser, and has worked
with the University of Cape Town, UNISA (University of
South Africa), Cape Town University of Technology and
24 - Student 24/7
Central University of Technology. For the past three
years she has graced the Vaal Campus with her laugh,
smile and flare for fundraising.