By: Natasha Archary

With a post-graduate Diploma in Business Management behind her, actress Lerato Mvelase is now going after her MBA.
Although the SAFTA-winning actress is now successfully working towards her academic and professional goals, she reflects on her tough childhood and how that has changed how she lives life.
Speaking to DJ Fresh on his YouTube podcast, Wow! What A Week, the Home Affairs actress recalled how she used to hide in the bathroom during breaks at school, because she didn’t have enough money to buy something to eat.
“I was there with Madiba and Walter Sisulu’s grandkids…it was THAT school.
And I’m just that kid whose mom worked in a factory, as a seamstress.
I used to get R5 and, what do you buy for R5?
What do you buy for lunch at Sacred Heart with R5? So, I spent most of my lunch breaks in the bathroom, because what are you going to eat?”
Lerato shared that while she may hasve had a tough upbringing, her mother raised the actress to handle anything that life may throw at her.
“I suppose having to take care of my family from such an early age, you have to be strong. You have to grow up very quickly. As a kid I remember at Sacred Heart specifically, we didn’t have money at all at home and I would miss school.
I couldn’t afford to miss school because I couldn’t speak English.”
Lerato says she’s taking on her MBA because she doesn’t just want to rely on one avenue to not solely rely on her acting career.
WATCH: Lerato Mvelase recalling how she used to hide in the bathroom during breaks at school
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