Community Outreach and Engagement Focus Group donation to student affairs

The Community Outreach and Engagement Focus Group has undertaken to donate food items to the Student Affairs department.

Zama Khanyile, one of the co-ordinators associated with the Mandela Day initiative, initiated contact with the Student Affairs Office to contribute two boxes of non-perishable food items, which were “left over" from the group's Mandela Day activities.

The purpose behind this act is to extend support to students who are experiencing economic hardships and consequently, are reliant on external aid, particularly in the form of canned food, staple provisions such as mealie meal, rice, samp, and essential sanitary items.

Thank you to the dedicated Mandela Day team for their invaluable contributions, and for lessening the challenges faced by some of our financially disadvantaged students. While this donation may appear modest in scale, it can make the daily hardships of a student a lot less.

The objectives of the focus group are deeply rooted in their mission to effect positive change through a variety of community engagement activities, both within the local University of Pretoria (UP) community and in the formal and informal residential areas around Tshwane.  The dedication of the Department of Library Services' focus group members is to their guiding principle, "I was born in this community to love the people in this community”. This is truly a testament to their unwavering commitment to enhancing the well-being of our community.

The presence of numerous focus group members at the handover event, as captured in the images taken on 4 October 2023, underlines their collective commitment to this cause.

Group photo of the focus group and representatives of Student Affairs.

Group members handed the donations over to a representative of Student Affairs.

Packing boxes and getting ready for the donation.