Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Previous Archive
20 February 2023 | Story Gerda-Marié van Rooyen | Photo Supplied
Nthabiseng (JahRose) Jafta, a Publishing Coordinator at the University of the Free State (UFS), recently received the Silver Medal Award and other accolades at the Eurasian Literary Festival held in Egypt. She says writing is a way of life for her and she writes anywhere and anytime.

Nthabiseng (JahRose) Jafta, a Publishing Coordinator at African Languages Press in the Library and Information Services at the University of the Free State (UFS), recently received the Silver Medal Award and other accolades at the Eurasian Literary Festival held in Egypt. Jafta, an MA scholar (Creative Writing) at Rhodes University, describes herself as an international performing poet, artpreneur, teacher, festival curator, content developer, and creative strategist born in the Free State.

Being an introvert, she says her love for writing gives her a voice. “I can echo my thoughts and colour my grey sky,” she explains poetically. She feels writing is as natural to her as breathing. She is comfortable writing anywhere and anytime. “There’s no physical area needed. We type on WhatsApp in the taxi. We catch brainwaves whenever they appear.” Jafta's creative juices seem to be overflowing, as she confessed to even getting an idea while contemplating her love for writing. “Life throws you prompts from all spheres, but you have to be present to recognise its call. And sometimes the piece decides if it wants to be happy, erotic, or sad.”
 
Her literacy cap serves Jafta's career as a publisher and her creative writing when time allows. “I read and write. Publish what I read or write. I also happen to recite, read, and sing what I write. It’s all in alignment.” This Deputy President of the National Writers Association of South Africa and founder of the Poetic Blues Virtual Festival writes in her mother tongue, Sesotho, and English. She also has additional experience in the poetry industry, as she was previously the Curator of the Macufe Poetry Festival. She also attended the International Writing Centre at Beijing Normal University part time. Her poems have also been translated into Mandarin and published in Chinese literary magazines.

Jafta says besides the growing catalogue of more than 40 publications, she also has an upcoming multilingual poetry compilation featuring Spanish, Danish, Mandarin, Arabic, KiSwahili, IsiZulu, and Sesotho translations from English. This poet believes poetry is a gift that feeds lyrics to melodies. “And that song carries us to humanity's highs and lows. Prose is how we navigate that gift daily. They are rainbows on melting clouds, events plants rejoice on their rhythmic drops.”

News Archive

Right to Learn cyclists cross the finish line
2017-12-05

 Description: R2L Finish  Tags: cyclists, Right to Learn, Cape Town, Paarl, GivenGain Foundation, donations 

The Right to Learn cycling team are happy and thankful that they have completed
their journey.
Photo: Mike Rose

After a seven-day journey, the Right to Learn cycling team have finally reached their destination. Having travelled for over a 1 000 kilometres from Bloemfontein, they arrived safely in the Paarl on Monday 4 December 2017. During their final stretch, they travelled 130 kilometres from Montagu to Paarl, where they ended the Right to Learn Cycling Tour.
 
Gratitude for support
Asive Dlanjwa, Bloemfontein Campus SRC President, says, “It's been good, it's been tough, and it’s been an amazing journey.” He expressed his gratitude to everyone who has been supporting them throughout the journey. “Thank you so much for every cent that you have given, for every prayer, and every thought.”
 
Thulasizwe Mxenge, one of the guest cyclists from Johannesburg, says, “Asive had informed us that most students struggle with access to higher education, and we saw the need to assist and take part in the initiative.” He says the journey was tough, because they had to cycle for about five hours every time they went on the road. “I’m very tired but also happy to have completed the journey.”

Donations received
Since the beginning of the Right to Learn initiative, they have managed to raise R80 000 through corporate giving, R15 584 on Dlanjwa’s GivenGain page, and $500 (about R6 845) from the GivenGain Foundation as part of the #GivingTuesday Twitter campaign which took place on 28 November 2017.
 
Annamia van den Heever, Director: Institutional Advancement, says, “Congratulations to Asive and the team!  It has been an absolute pleasure to work with such positive and passionate young people.” She also thanked all donors to the Right to Learn campaign for their support, saying it will ensure that talented students who cannot afford university fees will have access to the UFS next year. “We are hoping that more people will donate now that the tour has been successfully completed. There is no better Christmas gift,” she says.

Dlanjwa says, “We are committed to helping learners who are coming to the UFS next year. The trip was amazing and I feel stronger than I expected. I’d definitely do this again.”
The community is still encouraged to donate towards the initiative, using the following details:

EFT transaction:
Please use the following bank details:
Bank: ABSA Bank
Account Number: 1570850721
Branch Code: 632005
Account Type: Cheque
Reference: R2L: Right to Learn
Send the proof of payment to Rinda Duraan: duraanmj@ufs.ac.za

Debit order: Download the form and email it to Rinda Duraan

All donations are tax deductible in terms of South African income tax legislation.  

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