When Bianca Brebnor BAcc (2003) returned to South Africa after three years in the UK, she was struck by the realisation of what an awesome country this is.

In thinking about how blessed her family, friends and colleagues were, her conscience was nudged by media stories and pictures of countless poverty-stricken people suffering and struggling to survive.

Her response was to establish the Pay it Forward Bursary - based on the idea that if someone does something for you, instead of paying them back you pay it forward to benefit someone else.

'The grand vision is a world where everyone does something for somebody else to change their life,' says Bianca. 'And the best way I can think of to change someone's life is through education.'

Anyone who has been blessed in life, either through the circumstances of their birth or the opportunities they were given to get a great education and become successful, can contribute a small amount towards the education of another person who hasn't been so lucky.

Since November 2009, the Pay it Forward Bursary has raised over R47 000 and made its first award in 2010 to Ms Thato Ndlovu, a second-year medical student.

Your stories ...

'We established the WHV Perrow family bursary in honour of my father, who was South African, and my mother, who was an inspiring teacher.

'My father had emigrated to England and then to Canada in the early 1950s. It wasn't until 1997, when I came to South Africa to conduct field work for my doctoral dissertation in education, that I learned about the complex challenges facing education in South Africa.

'I believe that individual teachers have the greatest power to make a difference in students' lives -- especially in developing student's sense of themselves as people who can make a difference in their world. We wish this bursary could have been more substantial, but it means a lot to us to know that it is helping empower Annie to be that kind of teacher!'

– Margaret Perrow

'I have always tried to be involved in things that have an real impact on people. One of the activities that gave me the greatest pleasure was founding The Legal Recourse Center in my final year at The Wits Law School.

South Africa is a place where real impact is possible. A society, in my view, is defined by its commitment to Health and Education so most of my non profit activities are focused there.

Wits had an enormous impact on me. It was awful that people were restricted from having the wonderful education I had because they were not born white. Also my dad had to leave Wits early after returning from the serving in the second world war because he could not afford to continue.

All these ideas added up to me wanting to help those whose lives would be enriched by an endowed bursary. An added benefit was to honour my parents who made all that I have achieved possible and always stressed the importance of an education.

It gives me enormous pleasure when the Foundation arranges for me and my mother to meet with the scholarship graduands and see how successful they have been.'

– Geoff Matus, B.Com '71, LLB '73