Ruth First Jeppe Memorial Trust

“Nothing comes easy. You have to work for everything you want to achieve in life.” These words define Aasia Olivier, one of our Matric Ruthies, and they come to life as she shares her story.

“My mother died when I was four months old. I lived with my granny in Port Eliz...

“We are not the first to experience events like these. Wars, depression, famine, apartheid – history shows that we have survived these. And we will get through Covid-19.” These words capture Heaven Nen in a nutshell: a realistic survivor with a positive can-do attitude...

Mid-winter 2020 in Johannesburg: taxi strikes, Covid-19 cases rising at a rapid rate, a subdued school atmosphere as the Grade 12’s move about in a disciplined manner wearing their masks. As an uplifting antidote to the gloom, we are in the process of final selection o...

Being a Grade 12 at Jeppe Girls usually involves a lot of stress. Tests, workload, senior responsibilities, extra murals, ‘last times’, university applications – it is a hectic whirl of activity. Not so in the time of Corona. The two words Vanessa Ndiangang uses to des...

Opportunities to find deeper powers within arise when life seems most challenging. Every day is a Sunday during the COVID-19 pandemic. With an open mind and a cheerful heart, I remain calm and appreciative for those risking their lives for us. Bessem Besong RF 2018

It h...

“I want to be the Narrator just like Bianca la Grange!” This was the thought etched in Mandisa Yende’s mind, as she experienced theatre for the first time, watching Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat on a Ruth First outing in May 2016. This seed has germinated and gr...

Zenadene Lazarus is on a roll. BSc Construction Management Honours, cum laude (Wits) – tick: dream overseas trip to Ireland and England on part time job savings – tick; graduate position in Finance, Corporate and Investment Banking, Standard Bank – tick! She is on top...

Our 2019 Ruth First Matrics cleaned up in their final exams, setting themselves up for an exciting 2020 and years ahead. The cheers and celebrations reverberated around the school as they collected their certificates on Wednesday 8 January. With a total of 29 distincti...

Lydia Nsenda loves to run! As the school’s top middle-distance runner, she ran to school this morning from Troyeville for her interview and choir practice – and arrived barely out of breath. A quietly composed young woman, Lydia is the first of our Ruth First girls, (a...

Shawn Slovo’s address at our tenth annual review function, held on Wednesday 23 October 2019, brought Ruth First alive for our girls and our wider trust community. Speaking of the trauma of losing her mother in the prime of her life, Shawn held the audience captivated...