While academics are important to your life as a student at the University of the Free State (UFS), meaningful friendship and culture-sharing (integrating) is also an important part of your experience. Adjusting to South African life can sometimes be a little hard. The Umoja Buddy Programme is a programme designed to help with the adjustment process by pairing newly admitted international students with current students at UFS.
Every year, the UFS welcomes international students across our three campuses who enrol for a wide variety of programmes. Students may be doing full-time undergraduate or postgraduate programmes or participate in study-aboard programmes such as Erasmus+ and Incoming Exchange programmes.
Many international students find that their expectations of South Africa are very different from the reality of living in Bloemfontein in the Free State. To aid your transition to South African life and enhance your experience at the UFS, the Umoja Buddy Programme pairs NEW international students (like yourself) with CURRENT students at the UFS.
Students requesting an Umoja Buddy Programme ambassador have the opportunity to start their time here at the UFS with a friend they can hang out with, as well as help them acclimatise on campus. The Umoja Buddy Programme is a fun and easy way to learn about South African culture, and it is also a great way to share about your own country and culture. The programme provides both international and current students at the University of the Free State an opportunity for an enriching cultural exchange and allows both participants to gain a broader perspective on the world.
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