Inspiring hope was at the heart of a recent Service-Learning project in the Southern Cape town of Mossel Bay.

The Service-Learning and Civic Engagement (SLCE) Unit, under the leadership of Jacqui Scheepers, recently joined forces with the Faculty of Education, Wellington Campus, and the Department of Emergency Medical Sciences for the Hearts of Hope, Health and Happiness project.

Mossel Bay is one of the areas where the Faculty of Education’s students do their practice teaching and Department of English lecturers, Valencia Theys and Dr Hanlie Dippenaar, heard about a soup kitchen that was started in Asla Park during the lockdown. It was started by Pastor Thys Wagenaar from the Filippense Christian Church, Community of Africa, Angelina Wagenaar and Mary-Ann Michaels and feeds around 50 children twice a week.

“The learners were previously beneficiaries of feeding schemes at their schools but were now going hungry. Pastor Wagenaar and his team purchased food and supplies from their own pockets and rose at 4 am to cook the meals, before they went to work to earn a living,” said Dippenaar.

The two lecturers approached the SLCE Unit to conceptualise an intervention and the project was born. Students created motivational posters of hope for the Asla Park learners while Scheepers assisted in securing donations from local businesses who supplied vegetables and fresh fish to feed the learners.

Theresa Burns from the SLCE Unit contributed learning materials and other items which they transported from Cape Town to Mossel Bay.

Lovetta Bolters from Camissa Solutions, who is engaged in a broad range of community projects in Mossel Bay, partnered with CPUT and contributed care packs, transport and accommodation costs.

“The learners were invited for an afternoon of fun and educational games on 7 October where they received the posters and goodie bags. Bolters presented an inspirational message to the learners, telling them that they ‘matter very much’. Theys played educational games with the learners and, joined by two postgraduate students from the Faculty of Education, conveyed the students’ messages of hope and support,” said Scheepers.

The programme was supported by CPUT’s EMS Department Head, Lloyd Christopher, who invited EMS Master’s student Daniel Tilley, who is based at the Western Cape Government in George, to facilitate a session on health and safety. Tilley reminded the learners of the importance of safety during COVID-19 and taught them about the paramedic services. After the event Wagenaar and Michaels provided a warm meal to the learners. 

Scheepers said the highlight of the event was the feedback from students that working across disciplines was an enriching learning opportunity that gave them broader insight.

Scheepers thanked Grandslots for their support.

*The SLCE Unit supports staff and students across faculties and departments and advises on ways to collaborate with government agencies and community-based organisations in implementing relevant projects in urban and rural locations. Such projects are important experiential learning opportunities for students and enable the university to contribute to society in its aim to be an engaged and relevant university. 

Written by Ilse Fredericks
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The Service-Learning and Civic Engagement Units (SLCE), Community Engagement and Work Integrated Learning embarked on a food garden project at Excelsior High School in Belhar.

The initiative was driven by the Green Legacy student team, the Civic Engagement Student Leadership Academy. In the Student Leadership Academy, student teams are required to align their individual projects with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. This project is aligned with the second goal, creating a world free of hunger by 2030.

Excelsior High School in conjunction with the Western Cape Education Department feeding scheme makes provision for approximately 300 learners to have a meal daily. “Each student and staff member at CPUT represents a community. As a university who strives toward accountability in terms of social responsibility, we must embrace our neighbouring schools and communities. Embarking on projects of such nature reduces food insecurity and instils a sense of responsibility in learners at a very young age to adjust their thinking in terms of food security,” said David Haarhoff, Project Lead.

Luthando Ndayi, group leader of Green Legacy, placed emphasis on the importance of food garden projects and the positive impact it has on society in general. Learners committed to their involvement by signing a pledge indicative of their commitment to the project and the broader goal of creating a world free of hunger. The programme started off with formalities, followed by a quiz and then the planting of crops. Horticulture students (Advanced Diploma as well as postgraduate students) partnered with the SLCE units by offering expert advice and guidance to both learners and students.

“We are also extremely grateful for Shadowlands Nursery’s contributions toward crops planted at the school. Each little contribution adds to the success of the bigger picture,” said Haarhoff.

Feedback from learners was they had fun activity and would love to do it again and learning about the environment was the best thing ever. They were grateful to CPUT before urging the team to come back and teach them more about gardening so that they can tell others at home how brilliant gardening was.

Jacqui Scheepers, Manager SLCE, indicated that projects like these provide opportunities for students to engage and contribute to society in an interdisciplinary and intercultural environment, which is in line with CPUT’s Vision 2030. “This project is important for our institution as it encourages learners to see learning as fun and positive. Engaging with our students in Civic Engagement projects allows for learners to consider and to view post-school studies, hopefully at CPUT, as a future option.”

Written by Aphiwe Boyce

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The Service-Learning and Civic Engagement (SLCE) Units, Centre for Community Engagement and Work Integrated Learning, in collaboration with Lovafriworx CEO, Lovetta Bolters, recently hosted an Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Interdisciplinary project in Mossel Bay.

This was led by EMS Lecturer and SL Departmental Coordinator, John Meyer. The purpose of the project was for students to empower a group of thirty community members from the Southern Cape region with the necessary basic first aid skills. The skills acquired during the engagement was intended to enhance the participants’ life skills and, in essence, promote their chances of employment. The focal points of the project training included: Basic Life Support (BLS) Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), BLS Relief of choking and basic first aid level wound dressing and bleeding control.

David Haarhoff, Project Lead for Civic Engagement, said the Community Engagement projects of this nature have become critical, and could be the decider between life and death before medical emergency services are dispatched to a scene, particularly in remote and under-resourced communities. Haarhoff said the skilled first responders are able to assist a distressed patient and save a life. He added that in South Africa, the unemployment figures have increased exponentially, forcing youth and society to be more agile in their approach, by finding ways and means to increase their chances of employability.

“The excitement exuded by the participants, as well as the participating students, is noteworthy. The dedication and commitment displayed by community members to complete their project training was commendable. The participants engaged well within the group work activities and were eager to learn. CPUT’s social footprint has evidently become more prevalent within communities. It is extremely important that we continue to make inroads in relation to our vision 2030 strategic blueprint,” said Haarhoff. He added that Community Engagement requires staff members to have a well-rounded disposition when dealing with the myriad of challenges when engaging with members of the community.

EMS Course facilitator, Athenkosi Sobada, was happy with how the project went and with the great teamwork. Sobada said the students were great to teach, engaging very well. “You could tell they wanted to learn by the interest they had about the course content and asking questions to get clarity about previous cases they encountered. Since the course is Seta accredited, the learners can go to the nearest schools and ambulance services to work as first aiders when they have sports events and they can be renumerated.”

The EMS staff members and students were also joined by students from faculties of Education, Engineering and the Built Environment, Informatics and Design, and Business and Management Sciences. SLCE Manager, Jacqui Scheepers, said the students were inspired by the passion and dedication of the community participants and by the positive impact which the programme and their contributions had on the community. “Working across academic disciplinary boundaries is the hallmark of SLCE and is aligned to CPUT’s Vision 2030.”

The Film and Video students were given an opportunity by Camissa Solutions to practice their craft at the festival, guided by Randel Lakay, a professional film and TV producer. The students also participated in public health and wellness campaigns at the cultural Mossjazz festival for two days. Scheepers said that building relationships and partnerships with external university organisations are imperative to community engagement projects. “This contributes to the holistic development and sense of citizenship of students.”

Written by CPUT News

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