A Strand mother and a number of good Samaritans are racing against the clock to make a young woman’s dream to study internationally come true, but their efforts have hit a wall with a “lost” postal package.
Kristen Mayer’s mother Henra said they were anxiously trying to locate an important parcel with original documentation for Kristen’s European passport application, with just days to spare.
Kristen, 17, has been accepted at The HAN University of Applied Sciences in Nijmegen, Netherlands, and is expected to jet off on August 20 if all papers and documentation to be submitted are in order.
However, concerted efforts to locate the parcel with original documentation – sent from Kristen’s father in Italy to South Africa – have proven fruitless, the family said.
She will be studying towards a BSc Life Sciences degree.
Mayer said the past few weeks had been a whirlwind of emotions.
“Kristen always had a sharp, inquisitive mind and we swopped a traditional school environment for a Cambridge education six months before Covid hit. Fast forward a year or two and she single-handedly chose an accelerated route that saw her doing six final exam papers in a month and a half. Writing her last subject on June 16 and done with high school six months before her peers.
“Knowing that she always had a dream to study internationally we just started applying to a number of institutions and since then everything has just happened so fast.
“At the moment this (the posted documents) is the biggest missing piece in the puzzle. This journey has been a series of little miracles happening at just the right time as we even struggled to find her accommodation, but this has also since been sorted,” said Mayer.
Mayer said the location of the missing parcel was taking priority and all efforts.
“It’s all that is on my mind at the moment. We managed to get a few people to assist us in our search because for the longest time we could only get feedback that the package ‘is in transit’.
“We were told that the package was at Johannesburg International Mailing Centre but when family of ours went there to check, they were told it wasn’t there and neither could it be located at the Germiston mailing centre.
“Because I know this is Kristen’s dream, we will do all we can to locate the parcel and make every effort for this dream to come true,” said Mayer.
After making enquiries at the SA Post Office (SAPO), a liaison person said they would “escalate this issue”.
Later yesterday afternoon, the SA Post Office said it had “successfully contacted the client and updated her on the status of the parcel”.
“We will keep her abreast of the movements of the parcel.”
In May, the Gauteng High Court had placed the SAPO under business rescue with immediate effect to restructure its affairs under supervision.
Cape Times