What does resilience look like? A student working late into the night while worrying about fees? A farmer holding on through years of drought? Or, as in one extraordinary case, a Merino ram named Rico, surviving alone in the Moordenaarskaroo.
Rico’s story is almost unbelievable. Discovered in 2025 by Karoo farmers Niel and
Marietjie Brink, he carried a fleece so heavy that he could barely walk. Yet, for seven years before he was found, he had survived predators, drought, freezing winters, scorching summers, and the absence of human care. “His story is a miracle,” Brink said, smiling as she remembered the day they finally caught him.
At the launch of the Rico Bursary Fund at the Naval Hill Planetarium in Bloemfontein, Brink introduced herself as Rico’s ‘mother’ and shared his story. She described it as extraordinary, not for where it began, but for where it leads – a story of hope, purpose, and people.
When Rico was finally shorn, his fleece weighed more than 30 kilograms – almost 60% of his body weight. For years, he had carried this burden unseen, just as many people carry poverty, uncertainty, or dreams that feel out of reach. Although the fleece set a record in South Africa and ranked among the heaviest worldwide, Brink reminded the audience that the true meaning lay beyond the achievement. His wool was given new life; it was woven into a wall hanging that captures the Karoo landscape, retold in a children’s storybook that teaches perseverance, and now embedded in a bursary fund that opens doors for future students – reminders that resilience can be turned into something that gives back.
Opening a door to a better future
Inspired by Rico, the University of the Free State (UFS), together with the
National Wool Growers’ Association (NWGA), has created the Rico Bursary Fund. Its aim is simple: to give deserving agricultural students the chance to study further, even when financial hardship might otherwise close the door.
Prof JW Swanepoel, Director of the
Centre for Sustainable Agriculture, believes the fund is an opportunity for young people who need someone to open the door and a chance to build the future of agriculture in the country. He emphasised that collaboration with industry and government is key to building sustainable livelihoods.
That collaboration is already visible through the NWGA.
Dan Kriek, a former Kovsie and former member of the UFS Council, now serving as general manager at the association, noted that the NWGA is engaged in groundbreaking projects that unlock opportunities across many areas – showing how partnerships like these can help support the next generation of agricultural professionals.
The Head of Department at the
Free State Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, and Environmental Affairs,
Tshepo Mabilo – a proud UFS alumnus – highlighted the bursary’s transformative potential. “We are investing in someone’s future, giving access to knowledge, confidence, and the opportunity to participate in the economy and the tools to transform families, communities, and also agriculture,” he said. He added that bursaries had given him the opportunity to study, helping him get where he is today.
The bursary also connects naturally to the UFS’ focus on Responsible Societal Futures, showing how research and partnerships can respond to real challenges.
Prof Vasu Reddy, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research, Innovation and Postgraduate Studies at the UFS, described Rico’s story as one of hope and resilience. “Resilience creates possibility, but opportunity creates transformation. That is precisely what education does. It unlocks potential, creates pathways where barriers once existed, and enables dreams to become achievements.”
Every bursary awarded, he explained, represents far more than support for an individual student. “It will uplift a family, strengthen a community, build future leadership, and contribute to the sustainability of our agricultural sector.” The fund is the next chapter in that journey, taking commitment beyond the farm and into the classroom. “When we invest in one student, we invest in many future possibilities – in knowledge, innovation, and a more sustainable and prosperous future,” he said.
An investment in human potential
Concluding the event,
Prof Paul Oberholster, Dean of the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, said he believes the fund will grow. For him, the key lies in excellence and employability, qualities he sees as important in ensuring that graduates are well prepared for the world of work.
Rico’s survival in the Karoo was a reminder of how tough life can be and how much grit it takes to keep going. That same grit is what the bursary hopes to recognise in students who apply – young people who have faced hardship and still want to push forward with their studies in agriculture.
According to
Ansie Barnard from
Fundraising and Alumni Relations, the bursary is designed with resilience at its heart. Applicants must show in a 500 word essay how they have overcome challenges such as poverty or drought and demonstrate a household income below R650 000 per year. Preference will be given to students from the wool industry and the Karoo, but the fund is open to all agricultural students who meet the requirements.
For 2027, funding has already been secured for eight postgraduate bursaries. Undergraduate bursaries are still dependent on donations, which is why the launch matters so much. The hope is to support at least two undergraduate students each year with tuition, alongside the postgraduate awards. Applications for undergraduate bursaries will open in November on the UFS website.
So far, four pledges were made to the fund, covering almost half of the tuition fees of an undergraduate student. You too can contribute. Make your contribution here. Alternatively, contact Ansie Barnard from the Fundraising and Alumni Relations office on barnardam@ufs.ac.za.
In the words of Prof Reddy, see your contribution not as a donation, but as an investment in human potential. Every contribution helps create access, build opportunity, and strengthen the future of agriculture in South Africa.