Marcelino Delcarme

I am Marcelino Delcarme, a 20-year-old Bachelor of Paralegal Studies student, studying at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT). Growing up, I thought that I would never study and would just take a regular job after matric and work for the rest of my life…. I passed grade 12 in 2016 but without having a career choice. I accepted my fate and started job hunting, which was really difficult. Finally, in 2017 I got a job but I only worked for about six weeks and then resigned, realising that working in the retail industry was not for me.

I started looking at other life choices, and that’s when I came across a college called The Communiversity of South Africa. a non-governmental organisation that enriches the lives of many Capetownians living in underprivileged communities like Lavender Hill. Life at the Communiversity was amazing. I learned so many skills that I use in my life today, including Transcendental Meditation. They helped me apply for university and a bursary. If it were not for Communiversity, I would be unemployed or doing something that I hated.

They made me see that I am better than what I think I am, that I am worthy of success and helped to show me that I can be great, and they taught me how to be great. They put the lives and dreams of their students before their own lives. They gave me career options to choose from and basic skills and knowledge in those careers.

I am truly grateful to the Communiversity and for the connections and opportunities that they gave me. One of the courses offered at Communiversity was sponsored by the Tore’s Foundation. The course helped me understand the fundamental values of politics and how to empower young minds through education. As a result, I started a Paralegal Studies degree. The Foundation arranged an internship for me with the Projects Abroad Human Rights Office (PAHRO), where I now spend my semester holidays interning. Without the Tore’s Foundation, I doubt that I would have ever have thought about law and politics. It really inspired me to make a difference in my community. I always thought that politics was for rich people with power, but to my surprise, my mind-set changed. I understood that I have the ability to change politics in South Africa and to change the lives of poor South Africans and also that such change is possible.

I read a quote from Tore Eikeland, “Borders in itself are a man-made construction. We are all world citizens, and regardless of borders, we should familiarize and have sympathy with the people on the planet who involuntarily are born into a completely different life than us.” That quote made me realise that we set our own borders and that we are responsible to deconstruct those borders.

I am heading into my third and final year. I have had the privilege to do a three-week internship at the Western Cape Provincial Parliament, where I learned some of the ins and outs of our politics and how law is intertwined into it. Being a paralegal student has opened my eyes to see that our communities really do need a better understanding about our law, especially the communities that cannot afford legal services because it is too expensive. The Bachelor of Paralegal studies degree equips us to help communities with their legal problems at an affordable price or no price at all, and I love it because helping the community is really a passion of mine.

When I graduate, I aspire to do a two-year post-graduate honours degree in law and to become a lawyer. I want to get my law degree to be able to appear in the high courts. I also aspire to further my career in law by getting my Masters and Ph.D.in law.

I am really excited for what God has in store for me for my future endeavours, and I hope and pray that I will have the strength to pursue those goals that I have set out for myself. My motto is to never give up, despite the challenges. If you have a goal, stick to it and achieve it. Go get your degree or degrees and make a better life for yourself. Never let anyone tell you that you are not worthy of becoming successful. Refuse to stay in an impoverished environment. Break out, break free and be the change you want to see.

As said by our late president Nelson Mandela,” It always seems impossible until it’s done!!” And I thank you, Communiversity, for making the impossible possible!