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19 February 2018

Khomotso matriculated in Lephalale in Limpopo and made her way to Bloemfontein in January 2014. She was determined to succeed in life and knew that she had one chance to achieve her objective, which was to obtain a degree. However, coming from a family with an annual income of less than R80 000 she knew she would have to find funding. She secured a bursary with Distell, although it would only cover her tuition, so her next challenge was finding funding for meals and other expenses.

Making a difference daily
When she arrived at the University of Free State (UFS) she applied for the No Student Hungry (NSH) Food Bursary through the Social Work Services office and was successful. The weekly NSH funds she received enabled her to buy food and offered her extra opportunities to develop herself through student wellness workshops. NSH funded her for the next three years. “It was a relief not to worry about where my next meal would come from, allowing me time to concentrate on my studies,” said Khomotso.

Three years later she graduated with 22 distinctions and is pursuing her postgraduate studies in Education in 2018. For her, it is important to create the change that our country needs. “It was my teachers and parents who inspired me to pursue a degree. As a future teacher, I want to be able to make a difference in the lives of young people. “

Donors key in reducing food insecurity
Like Khomotso, there are many academically strong students who lack adequate financial support to sustain them through their degree programmes. For this reason, the financial contributions made to the NSH Food Bursary Programme by staff of the UFS, alumni and other donors remains crucial. Systemic change occurs when students graduate and join the country’s workforce. Together, we continue to cause ripples of change in our country.

The South African Surveys of Student Engagement Annual Report (2016) reflects that “it is clear that financial stress impacts on different areas of students’ lives. It is also clear that the impact is magnified for those who are already vulnerable, such as students who come from poor families”.

No Student Hungry supports students on their journey to success

Figure 7 shows that 32% of black African students reported that they ran out of food and could not afford to buy more on most days or every day. Similarly, a significant difference in responses is seen between first- and non-first-generation students, with 77% of first-generation students indicating that they ran out of food without being able to buy more, compared to 53% of non-first-generation students.

The overall academic average of 2017 NSH students was 61% on all three UFS campuses, with the top 10 achievers of 2017 being females predominantly in the black African and coloured designated groups, in the fields of Communication, Law, Education, Science, Social Science and Psychology, scoring on average above 70%.

Give to the NSH Food Bursary.

Contact: Vicky Simpson, Officer Institutional Advancement SimpsonVZ@ufs.ac.za /call: +27 51 401 7197.

News Archive

Staff, students, learners and the public opened their hearts during R5 coin-laying ceremony
2012-07-19

Photo: Sonia Small
18 July 2012

Amidst a festive atmosphere on the Red Square in front of the Main Building on the Bloemfontein Campus of the University of the Free State (UFS), students, staff, learners and members of the public came together to make their contribution to stop hunger.

In celebration of former president Nelson Mandela’s birthday, the university collected money and food in the form of a coin-laying ceremony, the packing of food parcels, and a message delivered by Emeritus Archbishop Desmond Tutu in aid of the university’s No Student Hungry (NSH) campaign and Bloemfontein Child Welfare.

Representatives from schools in Bloemfontein donated their R5 coins, together with university staff, students, members of the public, and employees of Pick n Pay Hyper. Money collected at the coin-laying ceremony will be shared between NSH and Bloemfontein Child Welfare.

According to Ms Grace Jansen and Ms Carin Buys, patrons of NSH, the more than R42 000 that was collected will be donated to Bloemfontein Child Welfare in an effort by NSH to give back to the community. “We are impressed by the number of people who showed up and by the fact that people opened their hearts and pockets to give,” said Ms Buys.

Thirty employees of Pick n Pay Hyper in Bloemfontein were also present and packed 1 833 food parcels (equivalent to 11 000 meals). This forms part of a Pick n Pay initiative in cooperation with Stop Hunger Now that is being held countrywide today.

In total, 88 000 meals will be distributed in six cities in South Africa today. The 11 000 meals in the Free State have been donated to the university and according to Ms Jansen a social worker at the UFS will distribute it to other needy students. These are students who do not receive bursaries from NSH at the moment. Every food parcel contains rice, dried vegetables, soya, and vitamin and mineral enriched powder.

The university was honoured to have Emeritus Archbishop Desmond Tutu as the speaker at the event. He attended a dialogue in the Series of Dialogue between Science and Society today at the university where he took part in a conversation with Profs. Mark Solms and Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela as part of the Global Leadership Summit.

He made a special appearance at the university’s Nelson Mandela Day festivities. His message was simple but inspiring: “Everyone has, just like Madiba, the capacity to change lives. I hope there are people present who can say that they want to improve someone else’s life. You have the chance to make South Africa a country where no one goes to bed hungry. Help us to make South Africa a country where we have compassion for each other and care for each other”.

The UFS would like to thank the following schools for their contributions: 

Grey Kollege Primêre Skool
Grey Kollege
St Michael's School for Girls
Hoërskool Jim Fouché
Hoërskool Fichardtpark
Hoërskool Sentraal
Navalsig High School
HTS Louis Botha
Eunice High School 


 

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