Nyathela and Idah
Ten days apart, both women are walking across the stage, not just as first-time graduates, but as survivors of a journey that has tested them, transformed them, and ultimately, made them whole.
At 24 years, Nyathela finally walked up the stage to be hooded as a Bachelor of Health Sciences in Biokinetics graduate, whereas her older sister (30) will graduate with a BA in Media, Communication and Culture.
Together, they have overcome poverty, personal heartbreak, near dropouts, and life-threatening illness to break generational chains — and rewrite the story of their family.
“I didn’t avoid university because I wasn’t capable,” Idah often says. “It just wasn’t an option back then.”
After matriculating in 2015, the only thing on her mind was putting food on the table.
From vending in the streets to working construction jobs and cleaning homes, Idah hustled hard to support her family. It wasn’t glamorous, but it gave her purpose, until the day someone called her “stupid.” That moment stung deeply.
“It wasn’t that I couldn’t learn. I just never had the chance,” she said.
Meanwhile, her younger sister was on the brink of finishing high school in 2019. As she prepared for her final exams, their mother unexpectedly slipped into a coma. The crisis shook their world, but the younger sibling held tight to hope, believing that if she worked hard enough, their mother would recover. She did. And the day her final exams ended was the same day their mother woke up.
But just as relief began to settle, another obstacle struck. A mistake in her ID number blocked her university applications, threatening to derail her dreams. When the issue was finally corrected, she quietly submitted applications, not only for herself but for Idah, too. “I didn’t even know she applied for me,” Idah laughs now. “The offer came, and she had already accepted it.”
In 2021, their university journey began. But it wasn’t smooth. Idah almost backed out before orientation, but their mother — firm and unshaken — insisted that she should go. “PE is where you’re going,” she said. And she went.
The sisters chose to live in separate residences at first. “We were like cat and mouse at home,” Idah jokes. But life had more tests in store.
In 2022, just as things were falling into place, a call from home changed everything. Their father had suddenly gone blind. Idah, a mother of two, had to rush home to support her children while their mother tended to their father. Everything shifted. Idah fell behind academically and failed a major. But her focus remained on one thing: her sister. “Even if I dropped out, I was going to make sure she continued,” she says.
In 2023, they decided to share a room. They clashed, they laughed, they grew. It was a year of bonding, of understanding one another in new ways. And just when they thought the worst had passed, 2024 hit — a year Idah describes as the darkest yet.
Financial strain tightened its grip. Then sickness crept in. Nyathela fell seriously ill — weak, frail, and unable to keep up with her studies. “I had never seen her like that,” Idah says. “We thought it was something small. It wasn’t.”
Hospital visits followed. A diagnosis came. Still recovering, Idah herself fell ill with a condition she had never heard of. She couldn’t attend class. Both sisters were overwhelmed, physically and emotionally.
“There’s a song by Dax,” Idah says, “‘I’ve never seen God’s eyes, but I’ve seen the devil.’ That was 2024.” But even in the shadows, their light refused to go out. With faith, the love of their family, and the strength drawn from each other, the sisters pressed on. They supported one another, leaned into their faith, and refused to let go.
Now, as they are both graduating — Nyathela first, her sister ten days later — their story is a quiet triumph wrapped in courage. “This isn’t just about degrees,” Idah says. “This is about redemption, purpose, and proving that we are more than what life threw at us.”
The two sisters will walk into the future their family once only dreamed of. And somewhere in the crowd, their mother will be watching with tears in her eyes, whispering, “Mama, they made it.” With faith, the love of their family, and the strength drawn from each other, the sisters pressed on. They supported one another, leaned into their faith, and refused to let go.
“This isn’t just about degrees,” Idah says. They will stand on that stage, not just as students, but as warriors who fought through loss, fear, and self-doubt — and won.