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Faculty of the Humanities: Engaging and empowering local Soutpan community

24 April 2023 | Story Anathi Nyadu and Avela Ntsongelwa | Photo Supplied

Humanities Soutpan community outreach — Collaborating to uplift the community of Soutpan. Staff members from the Faculty of the Humanities met with representatives of the Soutpan community to engage in community-enriching projects.

Universities have an important role to play in the healing of communities by engaging in initiatives that address social ills such as drug abuse, teenage pregnancy, violence against children, women, and the elderly.

This is according to Prof Mogomme Masoga, Dean of the Faculty of the Humanities at the University of the Free State (UFS). Prof Masoga was addressing guests, including faculty staff members and community members of Soutpan, at the launch (18 April 2023) of the faculty’s community engagement partnership with the community of Ikgomotseng in Soutpan, some 40 km outside Bloemfontein. He informed guests that the partnership was the first of many initiatives that the faculty will be engaging in with the community of Soutpan.

Flagship partnership

The flagship partnership will see participation by various departments within the faculty, including a parenting project with carers at day-care centres and in the communities, led by students from the Department of Psychology. The Department of Drama and Theatre Arts will stimulate the children’s minds through puppet shows, while the Department of History will collaborate with the community on heritage issues. During the engagement with the community, the Department of Sociology also indicated that it is launching an engaged scholarship month project for their honours and second-year Social Movements modules, where several guest lecturers will engage with students to bring stronger social context to sociological discussion. The faculty is also exploring a literacy project where it will contribute books and inculcate a culture of reading among community members.

Talking about the origin of the collaborative engagement, Dr Rosaline Sebolao, Teaching and Learning Manager in the faculty, says “the partnership emanated from a visit by the faculty to a day-care centre called Halaletsang, founded by a community leader, Belina Nhlapo, who demonstrated her passion for empowering communities. With the intention of expanding the faculty’s engaged scholarship programme, the team entered into a number of engagements that led to the identification of potential collaborative projects by departments and the community”.

Maximum societal impact with sustainable relationships

This partnership is one way in which the Faculty of the Humanities hopes to contribute to the UFS’Vision 130. The faculty aims to bring Vision 130 to reality by conducting community research and establishing quality relationships that will yield sustainable results. These results will not only impact communities but also our students who, through their engagement, will become globally competent and competitive graduates.

According to Israel Mawoyo, First-Year Success Programme (FYSP) coordinator in the faculty, the partnerships involve a working relationship for the Faculty of the Humanities and the community of Soutpan. “This partnership will create a platform for staff and students to engage in the scholarship of community engagement practices within the community. Ultimately, the Soutpan and the faculty community are to work together so that they both benefit from this partnership.”

News Archive

Different religions introduced at UFS forum

2010-08-18

Mr Ronnie Rosen, leader of the Jewish community in Bloemfontein.

The Inter-Religious Forum (IRF) of the Faculty of Theology at the University of the Free State (UFS) has started a discussion series which offer the opportunity to different religions to introduce themselves. According to Rev. Maniraj Sukdaven from the Department of Religion Studies at the UFS, the purpose of the discourse series is to get to know more about one another’s religion within an atmosphere of respect.

During the last IRF meeting, Mr Ronnie Rosen, leader of the Jewish community in Bloemfontein, gave a talk about the Jewish religion. According to him there is a wide range of Jewish people.

“The one thing, however, that all Jewish people have in common is the Torah or Law-Book. There are 613 instructions that help a Jewish person to organise his life according to the Jewish way of life. For example, a Jewish person who wants to obey the Torah would not consume dairy products and protein together. This life style is not only regarded as a religion, but a way of life, which constantly makes a person aware of his relationship with God,” he explained.

Another interesting fact that transpired during the discussion was that, for the first time in the history of the world, there are more Jews in Israel than in other concentrated areas across the world. Five (5) million Jews are currently living in Israel, while the remaining 10 million Jews are spread across the world.

During the meeting of the IRF forum, persons from amongst others the Baha’i, Hindu and Christian religions participated in the discussion. Other religions that have already been discussed are Hinduism, Christianity, Islam and Rastafarians.

The IRF will also be involved in the structuring of course material about the different religions and an inter-religious conference will be part of the IRF’s programme in 2011.

The IRF is the only institution of its kind at South African universities.

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