Help Me Finish My Care Worker Course

I have started a BackaBuddy Campaign to ask for financial help to complete my QCTO accredited occupational certificate in Home Based Personal Care through Waterfall School of Business.

At 55, I’m starting over again.

After I was made redundant in 2017, and after 9 years trying to build a career as a professional actor, I was broke, hopeless and demotivated.

Considering the massive investment of time and effort it took to end up in a worse situation left me exhausted and puzzled. How could I find motivation when I could see no way out? I sought and found help. A kind friend provided Councilling services that have been very helpful, and I was able to access medical care through government hospitals. I received treatment for my ailments and medical tests have shown that I am essentially healthy.

In effect, I almost died because of money stress. I felt worthless because I couldn’t pay my rent and felt unable to do anything to change it. I’d ended up in a self-destructive downward spiral of depression and in that state, it seemed that the disappointments I’d suffered outweighed the benefits when it came to work and earning money.

I would not be alive today if it hadn’t been for the caring support of my family and friends. Their investment in me helped me survive some dark nights and motivated me to begin the process of recovery.

I needed a new path. I made a decision one night: I would train for work that matters, work that’s needed, and work I can do well into the years ahead. It’s no secret to me that helping others overcome their own challenges is my best way out of depression. I enrolled in a Home Based Personal Care correspondence course, determined to create a goal to work towards.

The occupation certificate in Home Based Personal Care is a QCTO-accredited qualification that will let me care for the elderly, the ill, and the vulnerable in their own homes, or to fill in as a relief care worker. It will go a small way toward balancing the books – I have a moral debt to those who have helped me, maybe if I can help others I’ll recover a sense of dignity.

When I signed up I made a commitment to pay the monthly installments for 18 months, even though I had no idea how I’d manage. To my surprise, I got through it. I only owe a small amount toward my course fees.

This isn’t a small thing to me. It’s the difference between financial security and real hardship. As the world-wide population ages, there is a need for skilled, empathetic carers, but before I can access opportunities in South Africa or overseas, I need to complete my training. It’s the first step on a demanding journey.

I still need financial support to complete my practical assignments and I need to spend another 330 hours doing unpaid work as a student/volunteer by September 2026. I’ve done 144 hours at a Frail Care Centre, and I enjoy the work, though it’s exhausting. It’s given me a feeling of self-worth that I’ve been missing for a long time.

I’m earning a little money on days where I have time off: I’m walking dogs, house sitting, helping local folks with maintenance work and helping at My Sweet Art Café in Table View to glaze and fire their pottery. I’m still involved at Blessings Coffee and Creative when I get the opportunity. They have been very kind to me. I’d like to expand my repertoire to include chores and companion work – taking old folks for doctors’ visits, or even shopping. I’m a pretty good reader to for those with failing eye-sight.

I’m reaching out for your help because my family is also under financial strain. They’ve helped carry me for so long and I’d like to pay them back when I’m able, but my ability to complete my course and qualify for the external exam by October seems to be slipping away.

Training providers, local hospices, and community organisations won’t provide me with hardship funding and payment plans, I’ve asked. They recognise that South Africa’s home-based care sector is short of trained workers, especially as our population ages — but most funding programmes for this kind of training are aimed at learners under 35. At 55, I don’t qualify for most bursaries or learnerships, even though I’m just as ready to do this work and I’m doing everything I can on my own side to make this work.

But I still need R24 000 to cover:
– my rent and some groceries for two months while doing required unpaid work experience hours.
– fees for an invigilator and suitable venue to catch up on internal assessments I missed due to my financial position.
– assistance with completing my practical assignments.

If I can get all of this done I’ll be able to qualify before the end of 2026.

Your contribution — big or small — goes directly toward helping me meet the requirements for a qualification that will let me support myself through dignified, needed work, caring for people who need it most. I have the discipline and the will to finish this. I just need help crossing the finish line.

Thank you for reading my story, and thank you even more if you’re able to help.