Kent student seeks support after sepsis fight

Mellvon Edwards  needs to fund a whole extra year of tuition fees himself to complete his degree.

Transcript

00:00Melvon Edwards is the final-year engineering student from the University of Kent that needs your help.

00:05Working in his dad's auto shop in Grenada inspired him to become a mechanical engineer.

00:10So when the opportunity to study abroad, free of charge, popped up, it was a no-brainer.

00:15One day, a customer, who happened to be in charge of the university's admissions,

00:19offered him a scholarship.

00:21But in Melvon's second year, he fell severely ill and developed life-threatening sepsis whilst his relationship crumbled.

00:27I caught a cold, a small little virus. It festered and turned into sepsis in my throat.

00:35I passed out on my bed at home. By the time they called the ambulance, I was already passed out.

00:40They said, you could have died. You actually could have died tonight.

00:45His scholarship funding does not account for his changes in personal circumstances.

00:50He is now in the middle of repeating his final year while holding down two jobs and living in a friend's spare room.

00:56It was also at this time that his mum had a cancer scare back in Grenada.

01:01I'm not from a rich family, so I'll try, and it's my mum, so I'll try to help my mum as much as I could.

01:05So I was sacrificing a bit of what I had for myself for my mum.

01:09Things got so bad for him mentally that he almost took his own life after a long battle with depression.

01:14I was stressed. I was depressed. I had anxiety.

01:19Melvon is now desperate to raise enough money to complete his studies.

01:22He's raised enough for his first instalment, but still has two left to go.

01:26Melvon needs a total of £9,000 to pay off his second instalment by the 13th of January.

01:32My biggest concern is getting this close to finishing uni, to graduating and all.

01:37I am very enthusiastic and interested in renewable energy.

01:42That is what I want to get into after I graduate.

01:45The University of Kent said,

01:47we encourage any student who is experiencing financial hardship to get in touch with us as soon as possible

01:53to discuss how we can support them.

01:55We have a range of emergency support options and packages available to students experiencing financial difficulties.

02:02Kent Union's Student Advice Service also offers free, impartial and confidential advice and guidance.

02:08His future is in your hands.

02:10Xenia Nakvi for CAME TV in Canterbury.