The video of 28-year-old Njabulo Ntombela and his 90-year-old great-grandmother Nomkikilizo Ntombela went viral on social networks during the graduation season last year at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
Many commended Ntombela’s act of honouring his great-grandmother. Now, the Bachelor of Laws graduate held a graduation ceremony at his Nkandla home alongside other graduates and their grandmothers as a sign of gratitude for their upbringing.
Gogo Ntombela singing a hymn, praising Njabulo saying, “Even when I’m hungry, Njabulo never forgets about me. I’m so proud of him. I always pray and thank the Lord for bringing him into my life because not even my own children have shown me this much gratitude.”
The 90-year-old Nomkikilizo Ntombela has been singing Njabulo’s praises since he shared his graduation moment with her ten months ago at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
He was orphaned at the age of 15 when both of his parents died.
Now, he and other orphaned graduates in the community of rural Nkandla north of the province held a joint graduation ceremony to honour their grandmothers. One of them, Doris Biyela was swamped with emotions.
“I’m so thankful, God bless them for not forgetting where they come from. We helped raise them and it wasn’t easy. I think it’s a sign of intelligence, coupled with a great sense of initiative for them to even think of celebrating us.”
Her grandson, Ntobeko Ngubane says it was important for them to show appreciation to the women because they had a huge impact in their success.
“It’s important to also make them happy, to appreciate their efforts and all that they have been trying for your success, so it’s important that even yourself you show appreciation to them.”
The event was also a celebration for Nomkikilizo Ntombela’s 90th birthday. However, Ntombela says the event was an idea he had thought of since graduation last year. But he admits planning the event was not an easy task.
“It was still July when I had this idea. I wrote my proposal letters, I sent them to different sponsorships. When the date is too far people give you hope, “don’t worry we will help you”. Come January you remind them – some don’t even answer their phones, they don’t respond to your emails. So I had to push and find other people or sponsors. Mostly it was my church, close friends that contributed and the municipality.”
Looking back on the event of his graduation day, Ntombela says he had planned it long ago.
“When I wrote my last exam paper, I had it in my mind that you know what, I can’t wait for graduation. Because I’m going to do something different. When I watched videos of other people graduating I was not happy because it was just a normal routine. You go there, you get capped, they call your name, you go collect your Degree and that’s it; but there was no sign of happiness.”
Ntombela says after walking off the stage with his great-grandmother, he was bombarded with messages of support and even received three offers to serve articles and life has changed for the better since then.
“Life changed minutes after graduation, from walking down the stage to my seat the videos were already trending. When I got to my seat and I attended to my cell phone, I was already trending on Facebook. I already had inboxes, one lady asked me do you have articles we saw what you did for your grandmother, me and my husband are interested, and he owns a law firm. And that was a life changing moment for me because I had been looking for articles before, back then I was even applying for anything even at Shoprite. I just needed to do something; I couldn’t sit at home because I know the demand for an income. I got three offers and I took the first one because the lady had a passion for helping me and so I got articles and started working at Thulamlondo attorneys.”
His great-grandmother shares the same sentiments. “I was beyond ecstatic when he graduated. It made me realise that God has kept me alive for so long in-order to witness Njabulo’s big day. I thought of his mother and I was so teary because I thought if only she was still alive, she too would have witnessed her son graduating. I wish God could watch over and grant him all the success and prosperity he deserves so he can revive this home.”
As the sole bread-winner of a family of six, Ntombela says he dreams of building a proper house for his great-grandmother and family.
