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Warren Makgowe, director for stakeholder relations, tells us more about the “Greater together” campaign.
Where there’s a will, there’s a way
Despite the challenges the Covid-19 pandemic posed in 2020, the NWU – through its Ikateleng project – still managed to offer supplementary teaching to 847 learners, including 563 in Grade 12.
This is fewer than usual but a remarkable feat under the circumstances.
“Last year all six of our centres had to close during hard lockdown and only opened again when the schools reopened,” says Lemogang Masethe, Ikateleng programme coordinator.
This year, a total of 1 320 learners have joined Ikateleng, and formal teaching started in April. “The NWU will continue to comply with Covid-19 regulations and ensure that the necessary personal protective equipment is available at all our centres,” says Lemogang.
“The NWU is dedicated to showing its ethic of care and social responsiveness. To our donors, NWK, Sanlam and Safripol: you have helped us become greater, and for that we thank you.”
Watch this video to learn more about the Ikateleng project’s life-changing journey to empower school learners to become greater and accomplish more.
Sowing seeds and watching them grow, knowing we are greater together
See them grow, blossom and continue to flourish … and know that it is the seed you have sown that started this beautiful process.
During the past years, “seed” money from alumni like you has enabled the NWU to produce dynamic graduates who are making positive contributions in South Africa, the continent and abroad.
You, together with our other donors and partners, believed in our dream and changed the lives of many of our students. You have helped us to help them, our students, to become great. That is why our fundraising campaign is called “Greater together”.
The NWU & U talked to Warren Makgowe, director for stakeholder relations, about the campaign, which will see different projects being showcased over the next few months.
Let’s build a future, together
“We want to show you how your contributions have positively impacted our students and communities,” Warren says. “We would also like to invite you to be part of the campaign and continue to support us as we develop our students and build a future that we will all be proud of.”
One of the success stories the campaign will feature is how the Hillensberg Trust has been turning the dreams of several NWU students into reality. (See text box, Making dreams come true.)
Another empowering enterprise that will be showcased during the campaign is our thriving 33 year-old Ikateleng project offering supplementary teaching to Grades 10, 11 and 12 learners. (Watch the video to learn more about Ikateleng.)
“The stories that we are compiling for the campaign are not limited only to our own projects,” says Warren.“For instance, we will also be including stories about the Women in Engineering project, which is run by the Faculty of Engineering.
“By sharing these stories, we give substance to the words ‘together we can accomplish even more’. Join us for this campaign and invest in our efforts to see our students becoming value-adding graduates – just as seedlings grow into majestic fruit-bearing trees. We are, after all, greater together.”
Alumnus Sibusiso Simelane is grateful for the support he received from the Hillensberg Trust.
Making dreams come true
The Hillensberg Trust is helping him to live his dream, says BA Music and Society graduate, Sibusiso Simelane. “I had a number of opportunities to travel overseas and expose my talent. Every time I had to leave the country, the Hillensberg Trust assisted me to get my travelling documents in order,” he says.
With the help of the trust, Sibusiso is currently enrolled for subjects that will allow him to study towards a postgraduate certificate in education next year, as his dream is to become a teacher specialising in music.
In 2020, the trust donated R1, 8 million to support NWU students. “We are extremely grateful for the Hillensberg Trust funding and hope to continue with the partnership for many years to come,” says Celeste Rossouw, senior specialist for stakeholder relations at the NWU.
“Without their financial support, approximately 20 students a year would not be able to continue with their studies.”
The trust funds students who are studying towards a qualification in the fields of medicine, technology, visual arts or music. It targets students who have enrolled for a second qualification, as well as missing middle students – those who can’t afford university fees but do not qualify for NSFAS funding.
The NWU & U
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Help us by sowing seeds
Should you want to join us in building a better future together, you can send an email to Celeste Rossouw, senior specialist for stakeholder relations at the NWU.