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Mpho Twala – the girl with the land

12 August 2022 | Story NONSINDISO QWABE | Photo NONSINDISO QWABE

The Bachelor of Community Development qualification offered on the Qwaqwa Campus develops young professionals who are able to work collaboratively with the community to come up with initiatives that build resilience and sustainability. Before obtaining their qualifications, students are required to identify community needs and to come up with viable ways to eradicate these.

It was during this period that Mpho Twala, a recent CommDev graduate, identified a once-thriving community vegetable garden that had been abandoned and subsequently stripped over the years. Further research led her to realise that the soil was still very fertile, and with a bit of work, could once again be revived to become an income-generating business. She received her qualification during the April graduations on the Qwaqwa Campus, but she did not stop there.

Bringing change to the community through vegetable farming

Twala, with no agricultural background, approached the locals for permission to revive the 1-ha garden into a community-owned vegetable garden. “The land has been uncultivated for more than a decade, and after conducting a needs analysis, I didn’t want to leave it like that, because I saw that if I worked with young people, this would help with the high unemployment rate among the youth in this area,” Twala said.

She says she was driven by bringing about change in her community, which she believes was inspired by her studies.

“I’ve always wanted to do something in my community, and CommDev taught me to see opportunities instead of challenges.”

The vegetable garden currently has 17 employees, 10 of whom are under the age of 35. They are currently harvesting cabbages, various forms of spinach, and white onion – all organic – for home consumption and community purchasing. They also occasionally sell to hawkers around Qwaqwa.

Twala dreams of expanding the garden, adding more crops, and ultimately reaching commercial level. “We are currently classified under subsistence farming – farming for home consumption and selling the surplus so that the project can remain operational. But with the right funding and support, we can grow bigger and better.”

News Archive

UFS blows the whistle on crime

2014-03-28

At the event were, from the left: Refiloe Seane, Director: Student Counselling and Development; Anastasia Sehlabo, SRC member for Accessibility and Student Support. Back, from the left: Melissa Barnaschone, Student Counselling and Development; and Mokgawa Kobe, Director: Protection Services.
Photo: Leonie Bolleurs

First-year students receive 1 000 whistles in project to combat crime.

Numerous safety measures were implemented by the University of the Free State in the past five years to ensure the safety of all the students and staff on all three campuses of the UFS. A large area of the UFS Campus is covered by security cameras. Red poles, equipped with panic buttons that can be activated to call for help, were also erected across the campuses.

At the beginning of 2013, as a further safety measure, whistles were handed out to female students in residences.

At an event on 26 March 2014, Refiloe Seane, Director: Student Counselling and Development, together with her team, handed over 1 000 whistles to the Student Representative Council to be distributed to first-year students. The whistles were sponsored by Prof Nicky Morgan, Vice-Rector: Operations and Mokgawa Kobe, Director: Protection Services.

“Female students are encouraged to use the whistles to call for help when they feel unsafe or are in danger. The objective is, firstly, to discourage criminals without suffering any negative consequences, and secondly, to get the attention of security or any other form of assistance,” said Melissa Barnaschone, Student Counselling and Development.

At the event, Mokgawa said: “The moment you blow this whistle, you say to the potential criminal:

I hate what you do
I will not keep quiet about it
I am doing something against crime.”

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