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21 April 2022 | Story NONSINDISO QWABE | Photo Supplied
Lerato Mbongo and Opheleleyo
Double belted! Opheleleyo Qwabe and Lerato Mbongo revel in the moment.

Their friendship began in high school, where they were constantly told by teachers that they would not make it to university, but these best friends never gave up. On Thursday 21 April 2022, they received their honours degrees in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences together during the afternoon ceremony of the University of the Free State’s April Graduations.

Lerato Mbongo and Opheleleyo Qwabe, who have been friends since Grade 9, said being picked on in class for not being the brightest learners brought them together and motivated them to work harder.Mbongo obtained a Bachelor of Agriculture Honours majoring in Wildlife Management, and Qwabe received a Bachelor of Agriculture Honours majoring in Agricultural Economics.

“We’ve always dreamed big, but if you had told us back then that we would one day be two-time graduates, we wouldn’t have believed it. During one of our Maths lessons back in Grade 9, our teacher went around asking the ‘smarter’ kids what they wanted to study after matric, but when he got to us, he said there was no point in asking because we wouldn’t make it that far anyway,” Qwabe said.

The friends, who both started at the university’s South Campus, said they were grateful for the UFS Preparation Programme, as it boosted both their marks and their confidence. “The programme helped us to believe in ourselves again, and also played a big role in helping us discover what we wanted to study. The courses we enrolled in really unlocked an unstoppable passion in us and helped us realise that nothing is impossible. Today, here we are celebrating 10 years of friendship, and our honours degrees. We’ve conquered once again, and we're sharing our victories together,” Mbongo said.

News Archive

Institute hosts Artistic Social Justice Week
2012-08-15

The International Institute for Studies in Race, Reconciliation and Social Justice at the university is hosting its first annual week of Artistic Social Justice from 23 to 31 August 2012. The week consists of performing arts activities such as plays, live music, poetry and an art exhibition.

In what is expected to become one of the annual highlights on the Kovsie calendar, students will have an opportunity to express themselves artistically while creating an awareness about social responsibilities.

Activities lined up for the week include the cabaret Vagina Dentata, a musical satire which looks at the unique stories of South African women. The line-up also include a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersexed performance piece with participants giving oral narratives of issues affecting the LGBTIQ community.

The exhibition, The F-word: Images of forgiveness, tells the stories of people whose lives have been shattered by violence, tragedy and injustice and who are learning to forgive, reconcile and move on.

Paul Chappell, Research Consultant at the Centre for the Study of Aids at the University of Pretoria, will deliver a guest lecture on sexuality and disability.

For more information, contact Angelo Mockie at MockieSMA@ufs.ac.za

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