“I had to push myself, every single day, to take that journey to school,” says Godfrey Nefolovhodwe, remembering the harrowing journey he had to take to get an education.

Godfrey was born and raised in Gwakwani, a small village in the outskirts of Limpopo where the weather is scorching hot in the Summer months and bitingly cold during the winter season. Here, there was little to no water and no electricity.

Preparing to go to school in the morning was a difficult task that required not only physical strength but also mental and emotional preparation.

Godfrey and his friends would have to walk 14km to the nearest high school, Hanyani Secondary School, every weekday and sometimes on Saturdays.

School children have to walk the rough terrain filled with rocks and stones in school shoes that are not weather resistant.

It takes just a month or two for their school shoes to wither, resulting in them having to walk barefoot because their parents don’t have spare change to buy new school shoes.

“Our parents tried to make the journey to school less hard by getting us bicycles to ride to school but they would not last because of the distance and the treacherous road conditions.

“It was one of the toughest journeys. Something we never got used to but knew we had to do if we wanted to get an education.”

Many of his friends dropped out. For every two people who continued on, at least eight others gave up.

“I managed to pass Grade 12, though it took a little longer to get there because of the challenges I faced. I passed Matric not knowing about the opportunities to further my studies because we did not have any internet or knowledge of the possibilities outside of Gwakwani.”

Godfrey’s gratitude goes to his parents for continuously encouraging him to keep going to school.

“They used to always tell me that without education I won’t be able to make a difference.”

And that is exactly what Godfrey has been able to do since joining forces with the University of Johannesburg (UJ) to help make life better for his fellow villagers.

It was in 2013 that Godfrey met with the team from UJ while they were doing outreach projects.

He was interviewed, shared his life story and in 2014 the UJ Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering Science’s Research Connect team started their work on creating a smart village in the outskirts of Limpopo.

“For me, it was worth it to never give up. I was willing to set an example that anything is possible, even if you are from Gwakwani.”

Over the last 10 years, with the help of the UJ Research Connect team the village now has Wi-Fi access, solar lights to light the main street pathway, a solar bakery and recreational container where people can charge their phones, children can do their homework and search the internet. The team also replaced the diesel borehole pump with a solar borehole pump to ensure that the community has a consistent water supply.

At Hanyani Secondary School, a media centre with computers, internet access and solar lighting has ensured that the school children can not only dream about a better tomorrow but realise it with the help of internet access.

“It’s important to do things for yourself and your community because you can’t just rely on the government. Government alone can’t do it. Universities and the private sector can play a pivotal role as we have seen.”

Godfrey stresses the importance of being an example to the younger generation.

“It doesn’t help to sit and watch the continuous suffering and challenges people face. The challenge of crime and drug abuse will perpetuate if we do not help the younger ones see that persevering can get you far.”

Seeing Godfrey work so hard to make a difference in their community has made his parents proud.

“I am honoUring my parents with the work I continue to do. Even now they still encourage me to help motivate other children to see the light.

If the people around you aren’t working they will be your problem tomorrow. It’s our responsibility to help them. If we do this there will be a better future.”

Godfrey now works as a lab assistant in the UJ department and continues to help with projects. “I wanted to show that hard work can get you far and hopefully the next generation can follow in my footsteps.”

He hopes to see more changes, including road infrastructure, transportation and more connectivity for the villages.

Godfrey is certain that the UJ for Societal Impact project is the first of many initiatives to come for his village and others in the outskirts of Limpopo.