Student societies get R100000 boost
LEARNING is not always about academics but also about giving back to the community.
This is the legacy with which Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University would like to equip the workforce of tomorrow. And they would start by teaching students about human values, NMMU student governance and development deputy director Mxolisi Ncapayi said.
"At NMMU, we do not focus only on academic success but also on developing the students to become global citizens. Students need to practice citizenship responsibly to the benefit of their communities."
However, Ncapayi said academia was relying more and more on the private sector to help make students employable, in addition to providing them with valuable soft skills that would allow them to integrate into the working environment better.
One such a corporate is Sasol, who yesterday donated R100000 that will be used for various environmental and educational initiatives in partnership with NMMU.
As part of its Friendly Neighbour initiative, the company donated the amount to six initiatives which are mostly spearheaded by student societies at the university. The students will be supported by Sasol franchisees based in the city as well as the university's student governance and development staff.
Sasol retail territory manager Thami Ngwenya said it was important that corporate social investment (CSI) initiatives were not seen as hand-outs but as interventions to bring about upliftment.
The NMMU Agricultural Society received R10000 to plant spinach at an orphanage in Missionvale, a retirement centre in Kwazakhele and on allocated land on campus.
Society chairman Simamkele Satula, a fourth-year agricultural management student, said: "We decided on spinach because it is hardy and ... can be used continuously for four to five months."
Green Campus initiative chairwoman Zanande Xoko said the NMMU society would use its R15000 donation to put up recycling bins at five schools in the Bay. "We will also tell the pupils how to recycle."
The Law Society will use its R15000 donation to buy equipment for St Francis Hospice, while the International Association of Students in Economics and Commerce (Aiesec) will run a six-week Grade 12 programme focusing on English, maths and business studies at Chatty High School. NMMU Toastmasters will use its R15000 to promote literacy at two primary schools in Schauderville and Motherwell.
The NMMU Health Services will implement a R30000 drug and alcohol awareness campaign at all the NMMU campuses in Port Elizabeth and George. - Cindy Preller
