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28 December 2020 | Story Xolisa Mnukwa | Photo Supplied
Simple stories band members - CJ van Wyk, Naledi Mohapi, and Samuel Akach
The Simple Stories band, consisting of three members – CJ van Wyk, Samuel Akach, and Naledi Mohapi – is enthusiastic about their love of music and serving the world through their melodies of hope.

The band reflected on their study careers at the University of the Free State (UFS), describing it as an amazing experience. “We really made sure that we took advantage of the opportunities presented to us by the university.” 
They described the cultural offering at the UFS as the highlight of their varsity careers, with Mohapi’s inclusion in the Vishuis Ser team helping the team to beat Veritas in the competition for the first time in years.

Akach and Van Wyk were also no strangers to victory, as they were both part of the Veritas team that won the National Serenade competition. 

Akach, a former House Kagiso’s Residence Committee member for Culture, was a well-known soccer player on the UFS Bloemfontein Campus. Van Wyk played first-team hockey and was involved in a number of theatre productions, in addition to being a dedicated Accounting student with a rigorous study programme.

“Our biggest achievements and most memorable moments are all linked to becoming Simple Stories and being recognised by the university for the quality of our work,” remarked Van Wyk.

“Music serves as our escape from the harsh realities of the world that we live in today. Today’s youth look at music, and the entertainment industry as a whole, as a form of education and a means of expression, and through this we are able to serve the world as all musicians do – through music,” Van Wyk added.

The band said they are honoured and grateful for the opportunities presented to them as musicians and are blessed to travel the country to spread messages of hope to the South African population. 

News Archive

Community engagement must be a core function of universities
2009-05-21

 
 Members of the NatCEMF Steering Committee are, from the left: Mr Jerome Slamat, Senior Director: Community Interaction, Stellenbosch University, Ms Beatrix Bouwman, Manager: Community Engagement, North-West University, Rev Kiepie Jaftha, Chief Director: Community Service, UFS and chairperson of the committee, Prof. Allan Femi Lana, Director: Institute for Rural Development and Community Engagement, Mangosuthu University of Technology, Prof. Seth Pollack, Fulbright Scholar, University of Western Cape (guest speaker at the meeting), Prof. Denver Hendricks, Director: Community Engagement, University of Pretoria, and Prof. Priscilla Daniels, Chairperson: Human Ecology and Research and CHESP Research Coordinator, University of the Western Cape.
Photo: Lacea Loader
 It is important that all tertiary institutions in South Africa should work together and commit themselves to advance the cause of community engagement in the country.

This was one of the main outcomes of the second meeting held by the National Community Engagement Manager’s Forum (NatCEMF) at the South Campus of the University of the Free State (UFS) in Bloemfontein recently. The meeting was attended by 34 representatives of 16 higher education institutions in the country.

“I am astounded at the interest in this matter. The representatives are committed to make community engagement a core function of their institutions and we all agreed that we should get more involved in expanding this across all institutions. A need for a formal structure for us all to work together and have a more collective voice was also identified,” said Rev Kiepie Jaftha, Chief Director: Community Service at the UFS and Chairperson of the NatCEMF Steering Committee.

“There is a growing need to expand and develop our engagement with communities – to share our experiences and best practices and to learn from each other. There are universities that are doing excellent work in this field and, by having a formal structure, we can do a lot more towards advancing community engagement,” said Rev Jaftha.

The meeting identified matters such as the coordination of higher education institutions’ involvement in community engagement, the facilitation of research about community engagement, promoting service learning as transformation, the establishment of a community engagement resource centre and the organisation of a national community engagement conference as some of its aims. A national steering committee was also elected.

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