Zethembe Lihle Mbhele (18) from Indonsa Technical high school in KwaZulu-Natal is one of the children who received the Child Support Grant (CSG) since he started school. During his Grade 12 year, he turned 18 and his social grant lapsed. But his unemployed parents received the R350 Social Relief of Distress Grant to assist him on top of the other social security services provided by government to keep children in school. His fear of failure was the driving force behind his exceptional results. The CSG was the biggest grant collected by caregivers of the 2023 Grade 12 class to support their children. Zethembe was one of the 62 social grant beneficiaries out of 110 top performing learners as identified by the department of basic education. His advice to the Grade 12 class of 2024: “firstly, remember that the harder the course, the sweeter the victory; secondly, revision is key to attaining excellent results.” He wishes to study Mechatronic or Industrial Engineering and wants to create job opportunities to the youth of South Africa.