Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Previous Archive
16 July 2021 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Supplied
Katlego Mpoihi says the Engaged Learning Festival equipped him with skills that changed his life in such a way that he could build his own business and provide employment for others. The festival is one of the initiatives of the Directorate Community Engagement to benefit the community, an initiative that also supports Mandela Day.

In celebrating Mandela Day, Bishop Billyboy Ramahlele, Director of the Directorate Community Engagement at the University of the Free State (UFS), believes that when we were born, all of us were clinching a fist holding something in our palms. “As we grew up, we discovered that what we were holding in our palms were our talents and gifts. We therefore exist to unfold our palms and share what we are holding. I challenge each of us to open our palms, stretch out our hands, and share what we are holding with those who are in need.”

It is also with this sentiment that the university, through its Engaged Citizenship programme – which is part of Engaged Scholarship – mobilises and trains communities to take charge of their own lives and development. Bishop Ramahlele describes engaged scholarship as using academic scholarship and professional expertise at the UFS with the intentional purpose to benefit the community. 

In the coming year, Community Engagement will pursue strategic partnerships with government departments at all levels to address the goals of the National Development Plan. The university will also continue to create opportunities for staff and students to engage in the development of communities. “We will ensure that all our staff and students contribute to building social cohesion in our communities by bridging economic, social, and cultural gaps within society,” says Bishop Ramahlele. 

Community Engagement is involved in more than 70 service-learning modules annually, and the university contributes no less than R9 million to set positive change in motion in the community. Some of the many programmes and organisations where an estimated 3 000 students spend at least 127 000 hours, include the Association for People with Disabilities, Bloemshelter, the Trompsburg Clinic and schools, and the Tshepo Foundation. 

Engaged Learning Festival, a beacon of hope

One initiative that stands out, is the annual Engaged Learning Festival

Bishop Ramahlele states that for the past five years, the university has organised and hosted the festival presented in partnership with non-governmental organisations, business, higher education institutions, and government departments.
 
“The festival, which is at the end of every year, runs over three days, with at least 50 different skills presented to about 1 500 attendants. In addition, the university trains no less than 400 people, including the youth, women, and the unemployed, in different skills that will enable them to create jobs for themselves through our ‘Building Social Cohesion through Enterprise Development Programme’,” he proudly adds. 

Despite the fact that the last festival was presented in 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the positive results of this event continue to impact people’s lives for the better. What comes to mind is the success story of 31-year-old Katlego Mpoihi, who attended the Engaged Learning Festival in 2016.

Mpoihi, who learned about the event at one of the Directorate Community Engagement’s training sessions in Thaba ‘Nchu, says before he left to attend the festival, he had no skills. However, he left his home dreaming about many opportunities for skills development.

“The festival did not disappoint me.”

“I knew nothing when I arrived there, nevertheless, in the three days of the event I learned furniture manufacturing skills, such as carpentry and upholstery that later allowed me to start making headboards, cupboards, pedestals, TV stands, and upholstering.”

“The Engaged Learning Festival changed my life. I feel better about myself now that I can stand on my own.”

“In the five years since I attended the festival, I registered my business, Golukisa Trading. After posting photos of my work on social media, the orders started to come in. With the profit I made, I bought more equipment and expanded my business to installing ceilings, tiles, floors, and walls.”

“Later, I was in the position to help others by creating employment and developing the skills of my staff. Two of the persons I taught started their own business,” says a successful Mpoihi who also managed to buy a car and land for himself.

Mpoihi later also attended training sessions on entrepreneurship, offered by the Directorate Community Engagement. “He is now playing an important role in training other youths and the unemployed during our workshops,” says Bishop Ramahlele. 

Giving back to ensure a better tomorrow for all

Although successful, he keeps on dreaming. “My biggest vision for the future is to open a factory where I can manufacture all types of furniture from scratch. I also see myself spreading my wings beyond the Free State borders, not only creating employment but also opportunities for people to open their own businesses,” says Mpoihi, who is planning on giving back in a big way. 

Was this not also what the late President Mandela had in mind – for us to recognise our individual power so that we can change the world around us?

News Archive

UFS celebrates Kagiso Trust’s 30 years of commitment to the empowerment of impoverished communities
2015-07-15

From the left are: MEC Tate Makgoe, Free State Department of Education; Busi Tshabalala, Thabo Mofutsanyana Education District Director; Dean Zwo Nevhutalu,  Kagiso Trust Trustee  and UFS Director of Community Engagement, Bishop, Billy Ramahlele.
Photo: ?Thabo Kessah

Future sustainable partnerships in education will survive only if all partners are committed, honest, and transparent.

This is the view expressed by the Free State MEC for Education and UFS Council member, Tate Makgoe, during the panel discussion at the Qwaqwa Campus of the University of the Free State celebrating Kagiso Trust’s 30 years of commitment to the empowerment of impoverished communities. The topic was “The future partnership models for education in Africa”.

“Over the years, the partnership between the Free State Department of Education, the UFS, and Kagiso Trust has helped to expose the potential in our mainly rural children in the Qwaqwa area of the Thabo Mofutsanyana district,” said Makgoe.

”When we started in 2009, the matric pass rate in the district was 64%, and this rose to 87% in 2014. In Qwaqwa alone, we have managed to build 51 computer and 26 physical sciences laboratories. It was these laboratories that enabled the Free State to be the best performing province in the Physical Sciences in 2013,” added Makgoe.

“None of these achievements would have been possible if all the partners had not been committed to the course. Partnerships built on honesty and transparency are the best model, which we hope to export to other provinces and, indeed, countries,” Makgoe said.

Representing the UFS on the panel was the Director of Community Engagement, Bishop Billy Ramahlele, who added that collaborations can be successful only if the leadership was exemplary.

“As the university, we have had many collaboration with various government departments, and great strides have been achieved only with the Department of Education under the leadership of MEC Makgoe,” said Ramahlele.

”With the MEC on board, the UFS ended up dedicating its South Campus in Bloemfontein to supporting Free State schools. We now have 70 schools that benefit from live television broadcasts of lessons by some of our outstanding academics. This also enables our best academics to make a valued contribution to empowering our teachers. It also allows the university to maximise scarce resources to attain social cohesion,” he said.

In his remarks, Kagiso Trust Trustee, Dean Zwo Nevhutalu, said that Kagiso Trust was looking forward to continue working with its partners to maximise outcomes through limited resources.

“Kagiso Trust will continue to work with the poor and the marginalised and there is no better partner than the government itself. The government provides basic services, and education is one of them. This allows us to be innovative and not just dump books and equipment at schools because we are forced to by our corporate social investment obligations. Therefore, we challenge the government also to be innovative in building a sustainable future partnership model in education,” he said.

Among the dignitaries attending the panel discussion were Kagiso Trust Chairman, Dr Frank Chikane, and the late Dr Beyers Naude’s family.

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept