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07 April 2020 | Story Rulanzen Martin | Photo Supplied
Nadia read more_use
Nadia Smith aspires to become a music therapist and is grateful for the experience she has gained.
To engage in a service learning project is equal to “one hand washing the other”. This is how Nadia Smith, recipient of this year’s UFS Service Learning Award views the concept of service learning. 

Smith is a third-year BMus student in the Odeion School of Music (OSM) at the University of the Free State (UFS). “It is indeed a privilege to be rewarded as the best Service Learning student and receive the 2002 UFS Service Learning Award,” Smith says.

Service learning has been incorporated into the UFS curriculum as a module in 2020. Students have the opportunity to gain practical experience and apply and execute theory by teaching others in disadvantaged communities who benefit from the service provided by gaining new knowledge and skills. 
Smith’s service module required her to teach at the Brandwag Primary School in Bloemfontein. “On Friday afternoons we had the opportunity to teach music to learners who otherwise would not have been exposed to music education,” Smith says. The service learning module varies from programme to programme. “The Brandwag learners received us gracefully and participated with enthusiasm during lessons. I truly realised the value of these classes when the learners asked us to teach more frequently.” 

Agent of change in the making
Smith strives to be an active agent of change with her involvement in numerous community-based projects including the OSM Music Education Marimba project in Heidedal in Bloemfontein. “The project aims to teach marimba to children from the Heidedal community which culminates in a concert by the children at the end of the year,” she says. This project is in collaboration with the Reach Our Community foundation

Apart from her role in the Heidedal project she has also been teaching at the Lettie Fouche School in Bloemfontein. “It is very rewarding to experience the positive influence of music education on the children and to observe their development in various areas as a result of exposure to classroom music,” Smith says. 

“As a music student striving to eventually become a music therapist I am grateful for opportunities to gain exposure and experience in various fields.”

News Archive

Student organisation tackles difficult questions in debate
2012-05-12

 

At the debate were, from the left: Danie Jacobs, Head of the Centre for Business Dynamics, Mhlanganisi Madlongolwana, Nombuso Ndlovu and Prof. JP Landman.
Photo: Leatitia Pienaar

 

“South Africa is consumed by a monster, namely the lack of critical thinking and dialogue with regard to our problems. Now is the time to make radical changes.” This is according to Nombuso Ndlovu, who spoke at the first debate in a series of Commercio and the UFS Business School.

“Young people are more interested in social gatherings than applying their minds to the problems of South Africa,” she said. Nombuso is the CEO of Commercio.

Commercio is the student organisation in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. Two teams, one positive and one negative, debated the topic: Is South Africa’s current economic direction viable?

What emerged from the debate was that our students are well-aware of what is going on in our economy and that people cannot just sit back and expect government to deliver. Every individual has a responsibility. South Africa has a “democratic deficit” society, a “corruption-stricken economy” and “economic activism” is necessary to get the economy on the right path.

Prof. JP Landman, Visiting Professor at the Business School, economic advisor, analyst, columnist and also managing director of the Aardklop Arts Festival, was the expert panel member. He said the critical issue in South Africa is “how do you distribute wealth while keeping things going?”

“It is fantastic that South Africans have developed a collective repulsiveness for corruption.” People must know what underpins society and where aggression comes from.
– Leatitia Pienaar.

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