London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Oct 05, 2025

Cardiff University student crowdfunds £24,000 for course fees

Cardiff University student crowdfunds £24,000 for course fees

A medical student who faced dropping out after falling behind on tuition fees has crowdfunded £24,000 in six days to help pay them off.

Mazvita Manzai, a fourth year Cardiff University student, said she had become "overwhelmed" by the fees and it was affecting her mental health.

It took TikTok dances and social media shares to reach her target, the 21-year-old said.

Mazvita said she was "so humbled" by the response.

"I got to a point where I was overwhelmed by tuition [fees]. It was affecting my ability to study, emotions and my mental health."

She said she was not able to talk to her mother because they were both worried about an outstanding fee of £5,000 from her third year, as well as how to pay for the fourth year.

Cardiff University's fees for international students studying medicine, in Mazvita's entry year, is £35,000 per year.

Mazvita (left) said her mother Tokozana Dhliwayo (centre) would do "anything possible" to keep her daughters in medical school


Her mother, who works as a farmer in Zimbabwe, lost her job as an accountant in 2018 following political change in the country.

Mazvita said her mother had also started a chicken business and letting her car out for hire to raise extra money, but the pandemic had affected Zimbabwe's farmers' income.

She said her mother "just can't sustain it on her own anymore".

Mazvita and her sister Shingai have been working part-time to pay for their living expenses while at medical school, Mazvita as a carer and Shingai in a call centre.

'Overwhelmed by the love and support'


After exhausting bursary, scholarship and alternative funding options Mazvita considered crowdfunding, despite doubting it would work at first.

"I've got nothing to lose this way, I want to graduate and so this is my option," she said.

"I just kind of put my life out there with boldness, courage and a whole lot of nerves and I was just like - let's just see what happens."

If she was not able to transfer the fees by Christmas, Mazvita would have faced having to drop out.

When she posted a video explaining her situation and fundraising target on 27 October, she had hit £5,000 by the end of the day.

By the sixth day, she had reached her target.

The 21-year-old says she hopes to stay in Wales to continue medicine after graduating


"I've just been so overwhelmed by the love and support," she said.

She said on top of friends, university medical staff and strangers, a lot of the people who donated were students.

"I'm so grateful that I'm here and I've made such a family here. Welsh people, they just crawl right into your heart."

Mazvita also said her university had been "so supportive" in giving her time to pay the fees.

After graduating, she hopes to stay in Wales to work as a doctor.

"I also want to help support people who find themselves in the same financial situation as me, when I get to a place when I'm more financially stable," she added.


Medical student Mazvita Manzai said she was "humbled" after people donated £24,000 for her course fees

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
×