Qhama Babana

Class of 2018

Master of Arts (International Business & Foreign Trade)

Worms university of applied science (Germany)

Born in Tsholomnqa Village in the Eastern Cape province, Qhama proved to be a talented student. His strong academic performance was rewarded with a place at Selborne College in East London, a top South African school, financed through a partial scholarship and a private donor. Qhama worked hard to maintain a high performance standard, and received numerous academic awards during his time at Selborne.

Qhama moved to Cape Town after completing Grade 12 in 2007, where he was sponsored by Investec to attend university. After a break in his studies to work in 2012,  in 2013 he obtained his Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Cape Town, majoring in Financial Accounting. In 2016, he took a leap of faith and moved to Germany to continue his studies in International Business and Foreign Trade. Qhama is currently halfway through his degree, and in addition to speaking fluent English and isiXhosa, has picked up German as a third language. He's also actively involved in the local German club rugby scene!

Qhama hopes to return to South Africa one day and apply the experience he gains in an international environment to the local economy. At the James Christopher Foundation, we firmly believe that South Africa - as a player in the global economy often punching above its weight - can only benefit from her top students gaining experience outside of her borders; a belief borne out by numerous studies. Whilst Qhama benefits from the European belief that education should be accessible to all and that a diverse international student population is desirable, he still needs assistance with his monthly living expenses, which are not covered entirely through his part-time job.

The Foundation has agreed to help Qhama in this regard, and we need your help to do it! If you'd like to donate to Qhama, please click on the button below!