Students Initiatives
Student Community Engagement Initiatives
The Rhodes University Student Volunteer programme gives students an opportunity to go beyond their academic environment, and offer their energy and skills to the Grahamstown community. Coordinated by the Centre for Social Development, the student volunteer programme facilitates over 300 students volunteering at 30 community-based placements on a weekly basis. The placements include multi purpose community centres, shelters and day care centres as well as local NGO’s such as Raphael Centre, Child Welfare and Hospice.
There are also a variety of educational and English literacy orientated projects such as the Public library reading circle, the High Schools Tutoring Programme and Love Reading Clubs where students volunteer at local schools, pre schools as teacher assistants and tutors.
The Halls of Residence, Oppidans and the student societies and sports clubs on campus all encourage their student membership to get involved in community engagement. Their combined efforts comprise a huge variety of activities with initiatives ranging from residences adopting pre-schools and student groups sponsoring school children, to sports clubs offering coaching clinics and societies hosting community fun days. Many involve their members in fundraising efforts and in conjunction with CSD have collected and distributed food and clothing donations.
Several provide their membership with more practical opportunities to get more involved, some examples include: SHARC who run Peer Education Training; RUPSA who facilitated Aids awareness workshops at a number of pre schools and Golden Key who run a weekly love reading club at CMVellum School.
The Volunteer Association of Students as Teachers (VAST) Outreach, headed by Caryn McNamara, began in 2006. Rhodes University students from a variety of science disciplines as well as the Young Royals and the Zoology societies teach and provide revision support learners from numerous previously disadvantaged high schools in grade 12 biology.
The Masincedane Society is a great example of student community engagement. The society was established in 2006 with the goal of running a soup kitchen for vulnerable families in Tantyi. Adopting a developmental approach and working closely alongside community members, the society’s long-term aim is to make the soup kitchen an independent community project, at the same time as creating opportunities for their student members to be personally and practically involved.
In addition to assisting at the soup kitchen each week, society members established and maintain a vegetable garden, which serves to sustain the soup kitchen. They also participate in the organising of a variety of fundraising activities e.g. live music events as well as the selling of food and beverages at student functions to raise funds to purchase soup powder and seedlings for the garden.
STUDENT FUNDRAISING INITIATIVES
The Ikhaya Losizo Campaign arose in response to the overwhelming numbers of individual students, residences and student societies approaching the CSD seeking avenues to get involved in community engagement. Child and Family Welfare had approached the University for assistance in fundraising for an emergency safe house for the Grahamstown community and the project was immediately identified as the perfect opportunity to launch a collaborative fundraising initiative. The campaign was conceptualised to mobilise and facilitate the involvement of the broader student body. Ikhaya Losizo which literally translated means Safe House, was the name given to the campaign by the student committee. For more information about the Ikhaya Losizo Campaign, click here-->>ikhaya.rucus.ru.ac.za
The Ikhaya Losizo Student Committee hand over the cheque to Child Welfare.
All Rhodes University Halls of residence, sports clubs and societies were encouraged to get their members involved in planning a interactive fundraising activity and to donate the proceeds to the campaign. Led by a determined student committee, students were encouraged to be as creative as possible in considering ways to fundraise.
All manner of events were held including among them a World Record breaking radio show, a Soccer tournament, a choral concert, a carwash, a raffle, a movie premier, as well as number of live music events, parties, cake sales and collections. The campaign was widely supported by the Grahamstown community and a staggering R200 000 was raised.
An Old Rhodian who came across the Ikhaya Losizo website was so impressed by the students initiative and has subsequently donated a further R100 000 towards the Ikhaya Campaign. Child Welfare as a direct result of the Ikhaya Losizo campaign can begin building this much-needed facility. It is envisioned the facility will offer a warm and welcoming home for children who are survivors of neglect, abuse, domestic violence and or sexual assault.
Since it was launched in 2004, the annual student-run Give Five campaign has created student awareness of the need for financial assistance for preschools in and around Grahamstown. The committee consults with the Rhodes Centre of Social Development to identify community needs, and this year’s campaign total of R20 119,46 will be used to assist Luzuko Pre-Primary School in upgrading its facilities.
