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Enactus students planting seeds of hope in the Qwaqwa community

29 June 2022 | Story Nonsindiso Qwabe | Photo Supplied

Enactus Qwaqwa Campus — Owning Their Future – Enactus students on the Qwaqwa Campus.

Empowered by the Enactus platform, a group of students on the Qwaqwa Campus are planting seeds of lifelong goodness in the Qwaqwa community.

Enactus is an international non-profit organisation that equips students to improve the world through entrepreneurial action by providing a platform for teams of outstanding students to create community development projects that put communities at the centre of improving their own livelihoods.

The group of seven students, namely Salima van Schalkwyk, Lehlohonolo Mokoena, Tubatse Moloi, Jennifer Links, Boikanyo Madisha, Bonagani Makwakwa, and Vuyo Mbamba, who are all pursuing undergraduate degrees in various disciplines, form part of Enactus.

Van Schalkwyk, the team leader and second-year Bachelor of Community Development student, said being part of Enactus has enabled them to make a tangible difference in the community around them.

“[As a team], we always assumed we knew what people go through on a daily basis, but we were in for a surprise. Despite the beautiful mountainous views of Qwaqwa, the people are in pain, one that is a cycle. When we look at all that we have discovered, all that we have heard and seen, we are moved to give the people of Qwaqwa a hand in being lifted to the surface.”

Leaving footprints of greatness for future generations

The team is currently competing in various competitions that seek to bring about social change. In 2021, the team was selected by MTN ICT as part of the top 12 nominees countrywide, receiving funding to develop an app that will assist students with mental health challenges. Apart from developing the app, they are also working on 7 Seeds, an agricultural enterprise that seeks to address the agricultural difficulties of a farm they identified in Qwaqwa.

Van Schalkwyk said they will be participating in the Enactus National Competition on 14 July 2022 and are gunning for the Enactus World Cup that will take place in Puerto Rico in October this year.

“Our vision as Enactus students is to create a better, more sustainable world for future generations. In the current economic situation our country is in, we believe that social entrepreneurship is the key to economic development and empowerment. Through Enactus, we hope to inspire many more students to submerge themselves in entrepreneurial activities. We live to leave footprints that lead to greatness for future generations,” she said.

News Archive

Minister praises MUCPP initiative

2004-10-04

The Minister of Labour, Mr MMS Mdladlana, singled out the Mangaung University of the Free State Community Partnership Programme (MUCPP) for high praise during a conference at the MUCPP complex on 30 September 2004 .

“I am very pleased with what the partnership of different stakeholders can do and I thank all stakeholders for contributing to this initiative. This is the kind of energy that our country needs,” the minister told delegates to the conference.

He said the MUCPP was a very unusual and important partnership that is related directly to the mandate of government and supports two strategic objectives of government, namely halving poverty and halving unemployment.

The MUCPP was launched in 1991 as a partnership between the University of the Free State , the local community of Mangaung, local and provincial government and the private sector, in an effort to develop skills and contribute to fighting poverty.

Some of the existing projects of the MUCPP include:

Health centre (including a 24-hour maternity ward)
Dairy producing yoghurt and amasi
Sewing and knitting project
Indigenous food production (Tsa se tso)
Bakery
Bed and Breakfast accommodation
Etsa phapang (a hydroponic facility growing various vegetables)
Welding project
Low cost housing project
Sport and recreation facilities and programmes

According to the Minister, hundreds of young people, adult learners and people with disabilities have benefited from training and skills development and have become involved in carpentry, welding, painting, cleaning services, gardening and HIV / AIDS awareness programmes.

Minister Mdladlana said he was pleased that through partnerships with several Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs) which fall under the Department of Labour, the MUCPP could access hundreds of thousands of rands for such training and development.

“I can just salute those that have made it possible, and to encourage you to keep up the good work,” the minister said.

The MUCPP also provides a means for students of the UFS to render community service. The UFS was one of the first universities in South Africa to adopt a comprehensive community service policy in 2002. In terms of the policy, community service is integrated into curricula through service learning modules.

It is therefore of great importance that the UFS should support community sites such as the MUCPP where a holistic and integrated approach to mutual and reciprocal development of all partners is followed.

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