Keep them like that. Now try to read the rest of this article squinting through your lashes.
I bet you are already opening your eyes much wider and wondering what this is all about. Well, imagine you are a new first-year student at the University of Pretoria (UP), studying on a scholarship and really struggling to adapt to the frenetic pace of life at the University. You have to settle into residence and find your lecture halls, you miss your school crowd who made life bearable only a few months ago and, on top of it all, you have to read, read, read to keep up! Under normal circumstances this would not be a problem, but a large number of financially disadvantaged students suffer the added burden of not being able to see properly. Unable to afford spectacles, but very grateful for their bursaries, they are determined to be successful. All they need is a pair of spectacles.

By becoming a Contributor to the Tuks Scholarship Fund you can make a major difference in the lives of these students. The Contributor fund supports students requiring bridging funds to cover academic eventualities such as registration fees, essential text books or, in some cases, spectacles. More than 100 UP staff members already contribute and have assisted more than 30 students with top-up bursaries in 2014.

If everyone gives what he or she can, UP students will benefit from the power of collective giving. Feed the spirit of excellence at Tuks: donate via the staff online payroll giving system.*

The following is an extract from a letter of appreciation from Morongoa M, an Education student who benefited in 2014:

‘Varsity is very different from high school in so many ways [such as] getting used to dealing with all the technology used to teach in classes, the larger classes and the advanced reading methods required to keep up [with] my studies. I always had problems with my eyes but it became worse during this time and that's when new glasses changed my life. With my new spectacles I can read and concentrate much longer, and it [is] also easier to concentrate in class. It was almost like for the first time in a long time I had a clear vision of things and [I] couldn't be happier.’

*In order to donate via the staff payroll donation system, log on to the Staff Intranet, navigate to ‘PS Human Capital Management’ (where you will need to log in again) and then click on ‘Employees Workcentre’. Click on the ‘Rem’ tab and navigate to the ‘Staff donations’ link. You can then select your donation start date and decide on the following options:

• Once-off donation
• Monthly donation with: no end date
• Monthly donation with: end date

Check the authorisation box and click on ’Donate’. It’s that easy! Your monthly donation will be reflected on your monthly payslip.