What do you do for fun?: "I climb mountains"

Guest blooger Roslyn Baatjies

I imagine that the answer to this question: ‘’So, prof what do you do for fun?’’, to NMMU Vice-Chancellor Prof Derrick Swartz would be, ‘’I climb mountains’’.

I thought about that this morning when the man himself spoke about his planned climb of Mount Fuji in Japan next month to raise funds for bursaries for our financially needy students.  He mentioned that he recently did mountaineering in Norway and that he was invited to climb Kilimanjaro with another group. Unfortunately the latter clashed with his university commitments.

As part of Prof Swartz's personal commitment to the University's 10-year celebrations, he will be climbing Mount Fuji in Japan on 7 August to raise funds for academically-deserving but financially-needy students at NMMU.

The poster for the VC's #climb4nmmu

The #climb4nmmu campaign will also give Prof Swartz the opportunity to highlight the extent of the need for financial support for such students especially within the Eastern Cape, which is recognised as the poorest province.

Prof Swartz's 3,7km climb will be symbolic of the challenges many students face in order to get a tertiary qualification such as perseverance, taking responsibility and integrity. There are 10 base camps leading up to the peak, one for each year of NMMU's first decade.

All funds will go to the University's Bursary Legacy Campaign run by the NMMU Trust. Their Ignite a Candle campaign is already supporting worthy students.

The University is hoping to raise at least R500 000 to support a further students for the duration of their degrees or diplomas.

"I studied at university because of the bursary support I received from people I never knew personally. My bursary was a gift from the past to the present.”

"I strongly believe that this is our generation's responsibility too. We can give back in thousands of different ways. The #climb4nmmu campaign is just one way,’’ says Prof Swartz.

The VC, Prof. Swartz during fitness test.

The VC addressing the media this morning.

Everyday mountains have a way of humbling us. It has a way of connecting us to ourselves, nature and to others, by simply being out there. Embracing adventure means knowing it’s not always going to turn out exactly the way we want it or expect it to and so are the mountains, just like life. 

So in the same way the daily challenges give our needy students a new perspective, we bid that our vice-chancellor will embrace this adventure and not only raise funds, but come back to NMMU with new ideas to challenge us and the status quo.

The University has created a dedicated website in support of the #climb4nmmu campaign. Go to http://trust.nmmu.ac.za/VC-s-Climb-Campaign

Opportunities galore for learners and students this recess

Guest blogger Roslyn Baatjies

For many learners school’s out, but for those who intend improving their marks and getting into university next year, there is no rest.

Driving into work this morning, we saw a number of young people entering the campuses and someone asked when lectures are ending. I responded that lectures have ended and that those young people were learners attending either the accounting or engineering winter schools or the Science Discovery Week at NMMU.

This week close to  900 Grade 11 and 12 learners will be exposed to the fascinating worlds of accounting, science and engineering over the June/July school holidays at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University.

The Science Discovery Week – that will be attended by 300 learners from 56 schools in the Eastern Cape - promises to open the eyes of Grade 11 and 12 learners to the intriguing fields of Science in a fun and informal setting. Daily activities will include visits to various Science Faculty departments where learners will participate in subject-specific experiments.

Offered for the past eight years, the event started off with 60 learners and has now grown to 300 participants. With topics like ‘’Game Changers - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Science”, “Light Fantastic” and ‘’Chemistry Unplugged‘’ learners will not only be educated, but also entertained.

NMMU’s Accounting winter school programme, geared towards helping Grade 11 and 12 pupils improve their marks and their chances of attending university, boasts an impressive track record.

Almost a third of the 520 pupils who attended last year’s Grade 12 winter school successfully registered for degrees or diplomas at NMMU. An analysis comparing their June matric results with their December results has revealed that many of them shot up by as much as 30%.

This year’s week-long Accounting winter school for Grade 12s, sponsored by Deloitte, takes place from June 29 to July 3, while the three-day Grade 11 winter school, sponsored by PricewaterhouseCooper (PwC), takes place from July 7 to 9.

The annual engineering winter school has been offered for the past 10 years and will take place from 12 to 17 July. The programme for 30 learners from 14 high schools will include, among others, visits to VWSA and Continental Tyre.

In addition, a winter school project with a difference will be held off-campus by the NMMU Department of Social Development Professions and driven by social work lecturer Dr Veonna Goliath.

Dr Goliath says the winter school is truly interdisciplinary in nature and has a longer term community development focus.

The project, located in the Northern Areas at Bethvale Primary School, was initiated by the Uniting Reformed church in Chatty and part of Dr Goliath’s  post-doctoral work. From Monday 29 June to Thursday 2 July 2015 tutors from mainly the Faculty of Education’s postgraduate programme will tutor Grade 10 and 11 learners in specific subjects.

And in rural Eastern Cape, our SRC is making information accessible in a bid to assist high school learners in raising their awareness of matters relating to access to higher education.

At NMMU there definitely is no lack of opportunities to share or gain knowledge. 

NMMU funny man in the running for SA Comics Awards

 Guest Blogger Khanyisa Melwa

Accolades amassed by NMMU students and staff are never in short supply. It is not everyday however, that we can say that one of our own IT students stands a chance of winning awards at the South African Comics Choice Awards.

Our very own, Lukhanyiso Matshoba’s people-centred style of comedy has earned him nominations at the 5^th Annual South African Savanna Comics Choice Awards.

Lukhanyiso has been nominated in the following categories: Best friend of Comedy and the Audience Choice, for which he will need the public’s votes in order to win.

The budding comedian recently returned from Johannesburg where he was battling it out with stand-up comics from around the country, for the coveted Best Newcomer nomination which will be announced in early July.

Lukhanyiso "DirtyBumzz" Mathshoba on the carpet in Joburg recently.

This young man, who is currently completing his IT Diploma at NMMU, started stand-up comedy in 2013.

“It was when I was in the Drama Society that I discovered I had a knack for making people laugh,” he says.

He says he chose the stage name “DirtyBumzz” because he wanted to destigmatise the name.

"Dirty bums" is a term that is often used when one is referring to disadvantaged or marginalized people. My aim is to give those people hope and to motivate them. To make them believe that they are capable of doing so much.” says the budding comedian.

His material consists of stories about his township upbringing; and he compares this with life in surburbia, in a bid to ultimately unite people through laughter.

Lukhanyiso doing his thing on stage.

“Winning these awards would be great. No one from the Eastern Cape has ever won a Comics Choice Award. So it’s not only me who will be winning, but PE and the Eastern Cape too,” says Lukhanyiso.

For Lukhanyiso to win in the aforementioned categories, members of the public will need to vote and stand a chance to win a VIP experience to the awards. The winner will receive two double tickets to the awards show on the 15^th of August 2015, dinner at Montecasino to the value of R500, a chance to sashay down the yellow carpet with celebs, comedians and media as well as access to the after party.

SMS 3975 to 45757 to vote.

SMS’s cost R1.50 | Limited to 20 votes per mobile number | RSA Only

Let's get behind our funny man, and bring those accolades home!

From statues to random acts of kindness

Guest blogger Bev Erickson

Our country is really experiencing a lot of turmoil with what’s happening around the issue of statues and their colonial connections. Everyone has their own opinion on this and I’m certainly not going to go into it here, but it certainly got me thinking about things and about students in particular.

Having worked in the higher education environment for many years – I’ve been exposed to students, lots of students (I guess that’s what keeps me young!). According to our old friend the dictionary “A student is a person who is studying at a university or other place of higher education” and the origin of the word is from Latin - student- 'applying oneself to', from the verb studere, related to studium 'painstaking application'. It’s this painstaking application by our NMMU students that I’m referring to here.

We see it all the time – our students who painstakingly study hard to achieve great results and in the process, not only bring honour to themselves and their families, but to our university family too. Others painstakingly apply themselves to complete their studies and achieve great heights in their chosen sport or other extra-mural activities – and we have lots of them too who fly the fly very high.

Then there are those who are painstakingly apply themselves to helping others. There are so many examples of this taking place at NMMU every day – I think of our Human Resource Management students’ “Pay it Forward” project which they run each year, the Beyond the Classroom students who do so much good for others, the Enactus Society putting service first and now the Random Acts of Kindness group, started by first-year Computing Science students who filmed a video and have started a Facebook page as “a platform for everyone to post and share their random acts of kindness - spreading the love for one another.”

Check out why NMMU students make us proud - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruDlOPx9OzY

So these things got me thinking. Are our students different? Are they special? Do they care more than others?

My answer is YES, I think they are special. We so often see our value of ubuntu being demonstrated and lived by our students and it is so heart-warming and uplifting. Many a time I walk away from a student interaction and think that our future is bright.

So with faeces being flung at statues, riders being flung from horses, our namesake’s likeness in front of the Union Building under threat of being toppled – what I see at NMMU is upliftment, kindness and the building of a great future.

NMMU students – you make me proud!

Triple the joy

Only the cream-of-the-academic-cream is awarded the prestigious Vice-Chancellor’s Scholarship at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. These are the youngsters who not only get straight A’s for their final matric marks, but are among the top academic achievers in the country. An average of 85% should do it.

An average of 85.1% did it for Deon Beauzec – just.

Yes, that’s how clever the 25 Vice-Chancellor’s Scholars are …

But few are likely to be as kind as Deon who has opted to share his R82 742-a-year bursary with his sibling, Michael, especially since the twin brothers and their parents do not have the means to fund their studies.

Michael and Deon Boezec

Deon’s windfall will now cover both boys’ tuition as they tackle a three-year BSc Chemistry degree.

Besides, Michael’s average mark for matric was none too shabby either at 83.5%.

And, according to Deon, his brother might have beaten him. It’s as they have done throughout their school careers – shared academic awards or taken it in turns to outdo the other.

“Not for one moment did I think about keeping it for myself. We have never competed. We just try to support one another,” says Deon.

This is also why the boys forewent their favourite past-time of soccer in 2014 so that they could concentrate on their studies as they were both hoping to find spots at a medical school.

Sadly, for them, they were not accepted.

Fortunately for us, both boys can pursue a degree and then be first in the queue for the new general medical practitioner degree that NMMU hopes to begin in 2018. (The university has already introduced a number of medically-related programmes as part of its ‘bottom-up’ approach to establishing a fully-fledged Medical School by 2020 – but more of this in subsequent blogs).

“We’d like to study medicine here. After we heard about the approach, we’re keen on enrolling for medicine here.”

That approach is one of building a medical school that responds to the real needs of South Africa, particularly within the public health domain.

And both boys are set on serving society.

It’s just who they are.

Like their sisters, Bianca, who is a teacher at an underprivileged township school, and Simone, who works as a radiographer in a state hospital, they are intent on helping others.

“It’s not something that can be taught. It’s just been a way of life for us,” says Michael.

So not only are these boys brainy. They’re kind too. And they’re committed to being part of the solution when it comes to health care in South Africa.

That's triple the joy for us!

Helping the ‘rabbits’ … New beginnings at NMMU

You can spot them the proverbial-mile-off with their uncertain body language, trying to fade into the background along with that rabbit-caught-in-the-headlights look of theirs.

Well, that’s to be expected, isn’t it?

It’s certainly how I feel when dropped into new situations – more than a just little anxious in my new unfamiliar surrounds.

And that’s as it’s likely to be for the bulk of the class of 2015 that will be officially joining us from Saturday 24 January when Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) hosts the Welcoming Ceremony for first-years and their parents.

For 12 years, most of the near-6 000 students who will be joining NMMU, have lived at home and attended the same schools. They’ve grown accustomed to certain routines, people and their environment. They were comfortable.

That’s all about to change – so there’s bound to be anxiety.

The changes are bigger for some than others. The child who attended a high school in Summerstrand, Port Elizabeth, and already has siblings at NMMU, for example, is likely to find the shift far less daunting than the matriculant from a rural village in the former Transkei.

But all, regardless of their background, will have some anxieties.

Those anxieties will range from not knowing a soul to finding a place to live; from raising the necessary financial support to not understanding words like “VC”, “DP” and “being an undergraduate”; from the fear of getting lost to that of making new friends; from the worry of not letting your parents down to what to wear to lectures …

We know these worries will fade but they’ll dissipate far sooner with the right support.

NMMU has all sorts of support structures with its How2Buddies, Student Counselling and Campus Health services and the like to ease the process of adapting to a whole new lifestyle, but in my experience, the best support (or lack of support) comes from those we encounter in our daily interactions.

A cheery hello, a smile or an offer of help all go a long way to easing anxieties for newcomers, along with invitations to social events and the presence of other newbies (you are never alone).

So here’s my appeal to those who work and are already studying here … at the very least, please spare a smile for all newcomers.

And to all newcomers, embrace those smiles and other offers of help in making you fill like you belong as a Madibaz because this time next year you’ll be doing the same – you’ll be helping the “rabbits”.

Be the change you want to see …

Sister Ethel with a young recipient from the Christmas party 

“I may be only one person. But I am one person who can make a difference.”

This phrase, painted on a wall of the Missionvale Care Centre in the impoverished shack lands of Missionvale in Port Elizabeth, is one I will never forget.

In fact, it‘s one I cling to in difficult circumstances and one my colleagues, family and friends are probably tired of hearing about from me. And that’s ok, because it’s not going to stop me - or others at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University – from spouting the truth.

We all have the ability to change things – if we are simply committed enough.

A message of encouragement to us all from the Missionvale Care Centre

That change is up to you, and of course, it starts with yourself. Understanding, reflecting, dissecting and getting to know who you really are and what you want to be and what you want to see change (for the better).

Day 3 of the annual Missional Care Centre Christmas party for the children of Missionvale

There are few better examples of being the change you want to see in the world than Port Elizabeth’s own Sister Ethel Normoyle.

Almost 27 years ago Sister Ethel began a journey into the informal shack lands of Missionvale that would begin to change the welfare of an entire community.

She had neither money nor supplies to reach out to the forgotten masses of this deprived community. But she had faith and determination (and nursing know-how).

This week I had the privilege of spending time in the company of the people of Missionvale as they celebrated an early Christmas thanks to the ongoing efforts of Sister Ethel. (For three mornings the Missionvale Care Centre hosted the annual Christmas party for the community’s children.)

And this party, during which 3 000 children each received a gift and some sweets, is but one aspect of what one’s woman’s commitment to change can bring.

Today, Missionvale has its own primary school, clinic, clothing warehouse, child development programme, 291 community gardens, community health practitioners, nutrition unit, church and community hall, crafter’s unit, adult development programme, eye clinic, doctor’s service and a team of volunteers from around the globe.

Not bad for a tiny Irish nun with faith.

As much as Sister Ethel will shy from the limelight, she is the one person who made a difference for Missionvale. She inspired others to the same deep compassion she has for the people of Missionvale.

She practiced the change she wanted to see in the world.

What about you?

What change do you want to see in the world?

At NMMU, we encourage you to take responsibility and do what you know will add value, not just for yourself, but for others. 

The volunteers and staff of the Missionvale Care Centre

'An amazing generosity of spirit'

The NMMU Alumni team lead by example when it comes to supporting its students

Calling all naysayers, prophets of doom and down-in-the-mouth pessimists out there ...

There is hope. There is a better future. There is light at the end of the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University kindness tunnel.

Anyone fortunate enough to have attended the Alumni Thanksgiving breakfast would have surely recognised this too as speaker after speaker shared inspiring snippets as to how they had been helped or are helping dozens of students achieve their dreams of obtaining a university education.

Or to use the Vice-Chancellor’s response: “What an amazing generosity of spirit” within the room.

(Incidentally, that room is the South Campus boma that was moved from Bird Street Campus many moons ago to its present location below the university’s many cricket fields).

There was the Alumni Student Association, whose past and present chairmen and women shared the story behind the alumni bag. At R25 for a shopping bag, you are contributing to students whose journey to graduation is full of financial challenges. (The Vice-Chancellor however bought one for R2600 during an impromptu auction).

A little can go a long way in helping students achieve their study dreams

And then there was the story of lecturer Paul Tai-Hing’s initiative – to put theory into practice. It’s an approach that benefits both his students and so many others.

His business management students run their own student businesses with the profits ploughed straight back into the community for education purposes.

In less than two years, his students’ entrepreneurial enthusiasm has raised R384 500 from the sale of a recipe book.

As a result, the students have been able to:

· Restore classrooms at Lwandlekhazi High School in New Brighton

· Contribute R80 000 towards disadvantaged students at NMMU in the form of food parcels, transport costs and study fees

· Buy stationery for Missionvale Primary School learners

· Buy toys for children at Missionvale Care Centre run by Sister Ethel Normoyle and donate R30 000 for general expenses

· Donate R85 000 to the Masenyusane Development Corporation, an organisation that helps the poorest schools in the metro

· R25 000 to the Laphumilanga Orphanage in Zwide

· Sponsorship for 10 matric students to attend the Accounting Winter School at NMMU

· Building of a toilet block, valued at R74 000, at Ben Sinuka Primary School in New Brighton

· Donate computer cabling, valued at R10 000, to Kwezi Lomso High School in Zwide

· Donate R9 500 for security gates at Kwa-Ford Primary School in New Brighton and

But students also gave of their time in the form of:

· 983 hours of one-on-one English tutoring

· 148 weeks of food parcels to families in need

Just as the boss man was moved to be the highest bidder of the bag, so those attending were inspired to do their bit. I am so grateful that generosity rubs off to the benefit of others.

So join the goodwill drive at NMMU, and buy your alumni bursary fund bag for just R25.

To learn more contact paul.geswindt@nmmu.ac.za, call 041 5044371 or e-mail shop@nmmu.ac.za

NMMU Alumni (from left) office bearers Vernon Naidoo, Randall Jonas, Renita Affat of the NMMU Trust and Vice Chancellor Prof Derrick Swartz

NMMU lecturer Paul Tai-Hing (centre) is joined by Vernon Naidoo (left) and Randall Jonas

Living his Legacy

By Bev Erickson

As we celebrate the life of  Tata Madiba, our namesake,  on the first anniversary of his passing – it got me reflecting on the legacy he left behind, and the great leader he was.

I recently had the privilege of listening to the former private secretary of Madiba, Zelda la Grange. Her 60 minute presentation had everyone hanging on her lips as she told humorous and touching stories of her time with Nelson Mandela. She was just so “real” in her approach – nothing pretentious or fake about her – I guess like the man she called boss for more than half of her life.

The story I found particularly fascinating was his attention to detail and what a stickler he was for honesty and integrity. She spoke of a foreign visit when he was given the most beautiful hotel suite – complete with designer bottles of shampoo, body wash and fragrances in the bathroom. Late that evening, Zelda was summoned to his room and asked to fire the entire security team. Madiba had noticed that one of these little bottles had gone missing and would not rest until he had found the perpetrator. As the peacemaker, Zelda lined the entire team up in his room and the perpetrator was identified.  He took note of the little things and he had zero tolerance for dishonesty.

The interesting part of the presentation was the question time afterwards. And of course there were many! She handled them diplomatically and knew where the line was that she wouldn't overstep illustrating her own integrity. 

What a wonderful relationship these two totally different people had. A true testimony to both of them.

Then, last Sunday – I watched Long Walk to Freedom on TV with my husband and 17 year old daughter. I was reluctant to watch the movie as how could anyone even begin to portray such a colossus of a person? But Idris Elba did a pretty good job! It was wonderful to watch the life of Nelson Mandela played out in chronological order – giving a perspective of what he did and achieved in his life time.

Something else that opened my eyes were the comments by my 17 year old on the atrocities of our past and how foreign they were to her. “Did that really happen?”, “Didn't you know it was wrong?” 

But despite the wrong-doings, our beloved Madiba showed compassion and love for his country.

Tata – we will never forget you.

Living his Legacy 1918 - 2013

Bianca inspires us to give of ourselves

Guest blogger Ros Baatjies

I’ve never met Bianca-Anne Harper Agherdien. Like the rest of Nelson Mandela Bay who make it their business to keep abreast of what is happening in the region, I knew that she was Miss Port Elizabeth 2010. I also knew that she was a Pharmacy student at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University at the time of winning the title.

She often smiled at me from the photographs of mutual Facebook friends. She also often smiled from the pages of the daily newspaper. And wasn’t that smile just bright and beautiful.

People might ask why there was so much hype about her motor vehicle accident, the appeal to donate blood and her passing last week.

Bianca was the sweetheart of the city.

Goodwill did not end when her reign as Miss PE ended. It went far beyond that. She lived an inspiring life. Trying to live an inspiring life puts the focus on others and that is what she did as a young woman in her twenties.

NMMU alumnus & Miss PE 2010 Bianca Harper Agherdien leaves us an inspiring legacy.

She gave herself away so that God could use her. I am sure that many citizens of the beautiful Bay can share stories of how she touched their lives.

Bob Marley once said: “The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively”.

But let us spare a thought for her husband, Anver, her parents, Denzyl and Patty, and her brother, Charles. Judging by their Facebook appeals for blood donations, they would have done anything for her to survive. Their love for her was obvious in the words of the stories in the newspapers.

She, no doubt, inspired them to do their best and focus on the needs of others rather than their own needs. And the legacy she left is one of giving of yourself until it hurts.

Perhaps your name is not Bianca-Anne and you were never a beauty queen, but you do your bit for the community, the sick, elderly and the disadvantaged. You may not have featured in newspapers, but you feed the homeless every week. People might not know your name; yet you are famous in the area where you serve soup and bread at community clinics.

Keep on doing it, because your greatness is in your ability to affect those around you positively.

I’ve never met Bianca-Anne Harper Agherdien, but her short life has inspired me to be better, do better and do more to make this life better for others. 

Those teachers who change our lives …

By Nicky Willemse

Guest blogger

We all have one of them – a teacher or lecturer who made a big impression on us, someone who changed our lives in one way or another, and whom we’ll never forget. A “Morrie”*, for those of you who’ve read the book.

Mine was Mrs Carol Scheepers, my Standard three teacher at Clarendon Park. I had just moved to Port Elizabeth from Polokwane (then Pietersburg) and somehow, with her as my teacher, I went from a diligent pupil to an inspired one. I can’t remember exactly what she did, but I remember she was warm, really spoke to us as individuals and expected the best. Somehow she reached the 10-year-old me – and I was the better for it, for life.

I’m not a staff member at NMMU, but I write a lot of stories for the university. One of them was about Dr Kathija Adam, lecturer and director of NMMU’s School for Continuing Professional Development in the Faculty of Education.

She received an accolade for excellent teaching from the university last month. While interviewing her about this, I soon recognized the “Morrie” in her. She doesn’t just teach. She leaves her students changed for life.

For instance, when she had to teach “Curriculum Design and Development” to NMMU students completing the Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) last year, she could have followed the typical talk and chalk approach, giving her students all the theory they needed to pass. And that would have been fine. It would have been enough.

But instead, she chose a different mode of delivery, shifting them from the comfortable corridors of NMMU’s South Campus in Summerstrand to the university’s Missionvale Campus in the heart of Missionvale township.

Then she took it a step further and partnered with nearby Khwezi Lomso High School so that the teacher candidates could get first-hand experience of where and how 80% of the country’s learners study, and gain insights about whether the current national curriculum is truly meeting the needs of most South African learners.

It was a perspective-changer for the PGCE students – many of whom matriculated at former Model C schools in suburban areas, and had never set foot in a township. They found themselves visiting pupils’ homes, talking to their families and caregivers, and even getting a glimpse of township life after dark.

“I have a living systems approach to module design. It allows me to teach in ways that tap into my student’s learning beyond the content being taught,” explained Kathija. “The biggest gift is when students have a paradigm shift in their thinking. It’s an authentic process – they do their own learning and make up their own minds.”

Perhaps that’s the crunch when it comes to these great teachers, I thought. Those that inspire their students to think for themselves, using creative means that in turn inspire creativity. Mrs Scheepers used to get us to write poetry and compile entire newspapers. Creative fodder for the journalist I would one day become?

And in Kathija’s case, she is no doubt building future change-makers. And don’t we need them, desperately, in education in this country?

By the end of the Missionvale project, the students had produced eight short films, which were collated into a 60-minute documentary called “Heart of the Who” which was screened at the Grahamstown National Arts Festival this year.

But more than that, the project inspired the awakening of a social consciousness in the students – and a desire among many of them to teach in the country’s more challenging schools, where they can make the most difference.  “If we can make a student excited about those contexts, and equip them so they believe they can make a difference, that they will be different – it is a transformative experience.”

Sixty-five per cent of her past students teach in schools like Khwezi Lomso.

And she stays in touch with them, providing advice and insights – especially as many of them find themselves working against the system when trying to implement positive change in schools that are more used to surviving than thriving.

“One of my students is teaching in Bizana. He sent photographs of the learners writing exams without proper furniture … The students keep in touch with me about the wider issues. We’re in this together. This drives me, this continued communication with students in the field. I continue to engage with them.”

As her students graduate and become teachers, I can only wish that they are as bold as Kathija, with the courage to teach in a way that truly makes a difference, that they share even just a fraction of her passion and that they rub off on their learners, as she has rubbed off on them.

What a difference it would make.

As Henry Adams so aptly said: “A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.”

*Refers to the teacher in the book “Tuesdays with Morrie”, by Mitch Albom

Kathija Adam recently won a prestigious “NMMU Excellent Teacher” award.

PGCE student Lee Abrahams surrounded by kids in Missionvale township.

Kathija with Khwezi Lomso High pupils (from left) Apalele Makanda, Yolanda Meleni and Lungilwa Fanti. They appeared in the film “Heart of the Who”, made by Kathija’s PGCE students.

Pay it forward

By: Bev Erickson (guest blogger)

“One person can’t change the world, but you can change the world for one person”. Yes , I know it sounds like a cliché, but if you had attended the presentations that I attended last week, you would know why I’m quoting it.

For the past six years, the second year National Diploma Human Resource Management students embark on an outreach project which they call “Pay it Forward”. Initiated by their passionate lecturer, Bridget de Villiers, this project encourages students to form groups and to go out into the community to look for a need which they can assist with. This year was the fourth time that I have attended the presentations by the student groups and once again, I was blown away by the sense of ubuntu that our students have.

“Our world is very good at generating wealth, but not very good at sharing it” were the words of the Dean, Prof Niekie Dorfling who addressed the students before their presentations. “Use this project as a laboratory to practice what you are being taught” he advised.

The six groups who were chosen to present their projects shared their stories of getting stuck in to helping their various charities and the incredible personal journeys they all took.

The Luthanda Luvuyo Special School was on the receiving end of assistance from one of the groups, with students making the children “feel valued” and in turn, learning skills from the children. Another beneficiary of this project was the Soqaqamba Educare Centre, a crèche for impoverished children. The group who took on this needy organisation were unable to achieve their goal of finding sponsors for mattresses, blankets and toys for the children, so they buckled down and planted a veggie garden for them so that they can reap the benefits of food in the future.

The Ubomi Obutsha Centre – a community ministry centre – saw students running a soup kitchen, paying home visits to the elderly, and assisting with the Centre’s homework club. The students have also committed themselves to ongoing support of this organisation. Go students!

“We wanted to do something different!” said one group who took on the Carehaven Home for people living with psychiatric illnesses. “We were a little apprehensive at first, but gained so much from the experience” they said. They helped with cooking, cleaning and laundry. They played games with the residents and had a lot of fun whilst doing good for others.

One of the groups decided that one charity was not enough, so they helped out at two! Astra Primary School – where they encouraged learners to steer away from gangsterism (a real problem in the area) and introduced the sport of basketball to them, taking the role of leaders. At their other project, Cheshire Homes in Cleary Park, they assisted with basic things like cleaning and cooking, taking the role of servants. So many lessons learnt for these young people!

The most emotionally touching project was by the group that took on the Thamsanqa Cluster Home. This home is an orphanage for abused children and the students assisted with feeding, cleaning, helping the youngsters with homework and playing games. These children have only the most basic of food – a lunch for instance, which consists of bread and butter. To bring some happiness, on one particular day, the students baked muffins so that the children could have a treat! Listening to this group share what each member gained from their experience required a tissue which I didn’t have! Next time I’ll be more prepared.

Hats off to the Department of Human Resources Management staff and the incredible second year students.  You rock!!!

 (Left to right) Amanda, Nombuso, Anele, Lorna and Zezethu definitely live the value of ubuntu!

Hangout4ubuntu ... thanks Team NMMU!

Hangout4ubuntu was a great team effort

650 metres of clothing, hundreds of contributors, 60 bags for charity, 30 "peggers", seven thrilled recipients and one great value in action – Ubuntu.

That, in short, is the sum total of Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University’s clothing charity drive, Hangout4ubuntu, during which clothing was pegged along the fencing from North to South campuses in a visible show of what happens when people come together to support a worthy venture. Watch a four-minute video to get a better idea...:


It’s called teamwork.

It’s also called Ubuntu.

The project was hugely successful for so many reasons:

• It benefitted seven charities with clothing

• It highlighted what happens when you work together for a cause

• It showcased NMMU’s value of Ubuntu to about 12 000 motorists who visit North and South campuses

• It had great teambuilding benefits (within departments, across departments and between staff and students)

• It’s ability to spread good cheer

All round, Hangout4ubuntu is a winner – and likely to become an annual project for NMMU.

Personally, it was the team aspect that won the day, the coming together of so many individuals to benefit others.

It started with Carmen, a mature BPsych student, who arrived at my office with four black bags of shoes and clothing prior to the actual event. She’d had a clean out and wanted to contribute.

The same sentiment – that of wanting to contribute to something bigger – pervaded NMMU’s airwaves too, as the newly-launched Madibaz Radio mobilized students to spring clean their wardrobes and donate clothing to the initiative.

The team from Madibaz Radio walked their talk delivering a car-full of goodies and “peggers”, as did all NMMU’s student residences, whose contributions filled the back of a bakkie (the transport was provided by NMMU’s Technical Services for free that day).

Then there were the student societies like Golden Key, galvanized into action by NMMU’s Student Governance team, and all the individuals, like Carmen, who took heed of the call to action and donated clothing. Miss NMMU was there too!

It was a joint outpouring of kindness that will benefit the following seven charities:

• Oosterland Child and Youth Care Centre

• Algoa Frail Care Centre

• Cheshire Homes Cleary Park

• Enkuselweni Secure Youth Centre

• Angel Network

• Healing Hands

• Love Story

Originally, there had been five charities, but in a further expression of Ubuntu, we invited Queen V, of Veritas residence, to join the party instead of flying solo in her mission as a PR student to support the charity Healing Hands. Similarly, as the team sorted the clothing contributions, they opted to add Love Story to the mix because of the large number of baby clothing items donated.

So to those who donated, those who pegged, those who rallied others to spring clean, those who collected, those who hooted in support, those who committed to getting involved next time, those who put up posters, those who got involved … we say THANK YOU!

Thank you TEAM NMMU!

Thank you for living out the value of Ubuntu.

Madibaz Radio staff get pegging

Miss NMMU Pache Oranje

MCR's Nicky Willemse (centre) with Maggie and Iqbal of Healing Hands

NMMU's Marketing and Corporate Relations team hand over clothing to Oosterland

Slipping into slippers ... at work

Putting your feet up at work

There’s something so comforting about slipping into a pair of slippers – down-time, home-time, relaxation, no-fuss, no-bother, no-worry about what we look like, cup of tea, feet-up, couch-time, fire-side comforts …

Not so when we are at work.

We simply don’t associate the comfort of our slippers with the heady, fast-paced world of work, do we?

How liberating then to swop our stilettoes for slippers for a day as part of the annual Reach for a Dream Slipper Day fundraising campaign at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) today, 1 August.

As one of NMMU’s values is Ubuntu, which recognises our compassion for others, we are encouraged to support such initiatives.

And so our department (Marketing and Corporate Relations), bought our R10 stickers to help this fabulous charity organisation top last year’s figure of R2.3m for funds raised and to enjoy the luxury of padded pantoffels in the office for a day.

Slowing the pace with slippers ...

What a small price to pay for the privilege of stepping into down-time, home-time, relaxation etc., a good few hours before official slipper-time begins at the weekend.

How liberating to sit behind a desk wearing my faithful foot servants and then schlep down the passage to put the kettle on for an accompanying cuppa. (Slippers imply a slowing of pace, hence we schlep as oppose to walk). And how gratifying to know that the out-of-kilter comfort experienced today will give youngsters with terminal illnesses the opportunity to experience something special to them …

Of course, it’s all a little easier when your colleagues are cosseted in their slippers too. Brave is the lecturer who steps boldly into a lecture hall wearing his Superman slippers …

Mind you, he or she will be in good company, not just today, but any day for it is not unknown for members of Generation Y (our students) to pop into a shop, visit friends or even casually trawl the malls in their favourite footwear – slippers. (Not to mention pyjamas pants …)

For slippers are no longer the sole preserve of grandmothers … they’ve come out of the closet (literally and figuratively) in recent years as witnessed by the support the annual Slipper Day charity drive receives.

And they’re also no longer “Grannified”, dull affairs … They’re of every colour for every taste, but comfort remains the core.

It was something that Derek “the slipper man” appreciated. According to reports, he wore his faithful footwear for 23 consecutive years … at home and at work, in fact everywhere …

Nah, evenings, weekends and once a year at work is time enough for me and my slippers! And you?

Slipper talk at NMMU - living our value of ubuntu.

Window dressing - but it's a start!

Isn’t it amazing how the naysayers always manage to pop out of the proverbial woodwork when good things are happening … as with today’s 67 minutes of goodwill in honour of the late Nelson Mandela?

As a nation we are asked to give 67 minutes’ of our time and talents towards making the world a better place. Our namesake and one of the world’s greatest statesmen gave 67 years of public service to South Africa and the world, so surely 67 minutes of our time once a year is not too much to give to bettering conditions for others and our environment?

And, of course, it isn’t. Any time that we sacrifice to try to make life better for another person is a huge plus, so why do folk still complain.

Why do folks moan about this annual goodwill offering by ordinary people in usually very ordinary circumstances? Why do they consistently pull out the “window dressing” trump card, claiming that this 67 minutes of giving is little more than an opportunity to show off to those who are interested enough to care, that we apparently care.

If you cared, they whine, you’d be doing it all the time. You’d be up and at them serving the least, lost and lonely in a full time capacity. You’d have signed up with the local green society or voluntarily offered your services to the less fortunate in some form or other.

These 67 minutes in the name of Nelson Mandela, they drone on, is nothing more than window dressing; it allows you to boast to friends about your good deeds and eases your selfish conscience. That’s all it does – so quit the window dressing they cry because you don’t really care.

Ouch. Gulp!

Hold on. Hokaai. Not so fast.

You see this so-called window dressing, this endeavour to help in the name of Madiba and this one day of disjointed dallying to put a band-aid on South Africa’s many ills is A START!

And we have to start somewhere. Our efforts to do what we can where we can, may be misguided, misdirected and even totally off target, but at least something is happening. It’s a start.

I am confident that the more we roll up our sleeves and get others to do likewise, the more likely we are to make volunteerism a way of life in South Africa. In short, if we “window dress” long enough, we’ll eventually get to the real issues.

So please stop pointing those cynical fingers at those who may have headed out to a township to provide soup for the first time in their lives. That experience may be the trigger to something better in terms of making a substantial difference to the less fortunate, but even if it doesn’t the input by one individual made a positive impact on someone else’s life today.

Put those judgmental tongues away and use them to foster, encourage and grow a spirit of volunteerism in this country. There’s huge goodwill in our country – and especially at NMMU as many of us have witnessed today – to make South Africa a better place for all her people.

Happy Nelson Mandela Day!