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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

Prof Luyt says young researchers should not allow circumstances to determine their future
2016-02-01

Description: Prof Riaan Luyt Tags: Prof Riaan Luyt

Prof Riaan Luyt, an NRF B-rated researcher
Photo: Supplied

Young researchers, who spend their life at a disadvantaged and rural campus like the University of the Free State’s Qwaqwa Campus, should not be deterred from achieving their dreams.

This is the view of Prof Riaan Luyt, former Assistant Dean in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, who achieved his B-rating by the National Research Foundation (NRF) late in 2015. This was by far the highest-ever rating on the Qwaqwa Campus.

“When I moved to the Qwaqwa Campus many years ago, having had the opportunity to do a post-doctoral fellowship in Polymer Science at the Leeds University in the United Kingdom, I was determined to get the Department of Chemistry off the ground, and to embark on serious research,” said Prof Luyt, who is now the Affiliated Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Research Associate Professor at the Centre for Advanced Materials, based at Qatar University.

“It was through sheer determination that I managed to obtain enough funds to equip a decent research laboratory. There were many obstacles over the years, but I managed to attract more and more postgraduate students and published more,” he said.

At first, Prof Luyt was not successful with his NRF-rating applications.

“My first couple of attempts to get rated produced no success. I was then awarded a C3-rating, which was later followed by C2 and then C1,” he added. “Getting a B-rating is the highlight of my research career. It shows that it can be done. Young researchers should not allow their past or present circumstances, or their work environment to stand on their way,” said Prof Luyt, who has supervised 38 master’s and doctoral students as well as 11 postdoctoral fellows. He has also published 185 papers in international and accredited journals.

Although abroad, Prof Luyt will continue to supervise eight postgraduate students at the Qwaqwa Campus.

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