Hospital Welfare, initiated the Education Fund in the late 1960’s to fight poverty in South Africa. The objective was to empower determined and able but financially needy young people with opportunities for further education and play a meaningful role within a changing South Africa. In its first year the Fund dispensed R720, the amount increasing gradually in the early years but growing phenomenally to a regular dispensation running into a few million rand.

In recent years, an increasing number of matriculants find themselves in a situation in which they are eager to further their studies at the tertiary level but struggle to find the funding to finance their studies. Generally the cost of a tertiary education is relatively high and escalating every year, which makes it very difficult and increasingly challenging for lower income families to afford. Therefore, there is an opportunity to seek an interest-free loan bursary through Hospital Welfare.