Mandela Day not only honours the former stateman’s life and achievements but also inspires individuals and communities globally to devote their time and efforts to make a positive difference in the lives of others.
As the heavy rain and gusty winds continued to batter the Western Cape on this day, the staff and students were excited to engage in a meaningful act of kindness that brought joy to children in low-resourced local schools such as Balvenie Primary School, Astra Special Education School, as well as The Saartjie Baartman Centre for Women and Children.
Led by the Service-Learning and Civic Engagement (SLCE) Unit, the Community Engagement Student Academy (CESA) project group, known as The Community Connectors, groups of staff members and students visited the classrooms at these venues and read stories to the learners. The teams also delivered an entertaining programme that included the performance of a children’s story, a quiz and other interactive activities.
SLCE Manager, Jacqui Scheepers emphasised the importance of institutional projects that express the Ubuntu philosophy through action within the communities around CPUT. “The support, teamwork, good spirits, and camaraderie displayed by staff and students from across the institution and various campuses was evidence of what could be achieved in communities when there is unity and purpose,” said Scheepers.
She also quoted Tata Madiba who said: “What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.” Scheepers said this was displayed by the CPUT community who visited three community sites to engage in activities with school learners to celebrate the legacy of Tata Madiba and express the spirit of Ubuntu as part of CPUT’s Vision 2030.
CPUT Libraries has coordinated the drop-off sites of reading materials at all campus libraries which were donated by staff and students. Scheepers said the donation of new/pre-owned books and reading materials of all genres children’s books, CDs, magazines and many more) “contributes to the educational development of our communities”, adding that reusing pre-owned reading materials is also environmentally responsible as it reduces waste.
Scheepers stated that the Balvenie Primary School Library is a long-term project site for SLCE interdisciplinary projects in conjunction with Architectural Technology, Construction Management and Quantity Surveying, Interior Design, Mechanical Engineering, and Graphic Design departments. Industry and service-learning partner, Nadeson Consulting staff members joined CPUT at Balvenie Primary and handed over books, a laptop, and a printer to the library. They also raised R5,000.00 through crowdfunding for the library.
The school principal, Farieda Wakefield expressed her gratitude to CPUT and Nadeson Consulting for their kind donations and for engaging with their learners.
Wakefield said: “It's such a joy to see people come on board to invest in our community. One of our mottos at our school is always: This can be Elsie's River, but we don’t need to be like Elsie's River … One of our challenges is getting people on board to come and invest in our school… So the fact that CPUT and Nadeson Consulting came on board to have a library, I must say thank you very much to CPUT and other role players who after so many years want to see this project through…Thank you very much for whatever you're giving to the school, small or big it doesn’t matter what it is, we are just happy that at the end of the day, we will have a library to at least see what we can do to enhance the academic performance of our learners.” She added that the school needed more interventions to improve the dire situation at the school.
Regina Sikhosana, Branch Manager, Bellville Campus, brightened the room when she mentioned the available assistance from the library and said: “So we are going to adopt you until you graduate”.
In The Saartjie Centre for Women and Children's new therapeutic library, the Community Connectors and library staff sorted out the books, packed the bookshelves, and then engaged with the learners. Miriam Fredericks said: “Your support is instrumental in our ability to continue to provide essential, life-changing services to survivors of domestic violence and their children.”
The SLCE unit have undertaken to conduct a life skills programme with the hostel learners at Astra Special Education School in the future.
Scheepers also conveyed “a special thank you” to all the stakeholders, staff and students for their participation.
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Written by Aphiwe Boyce and CPUT News |
