The crew from UWC's Innovation Hub. Image: SuppliedSeptember marked the start of the University of the Western Cape’s (UWC) annual Staff Giving Campaign, reminding employees that transforming a student’s future does not always require a large donation.
Sometimes, it starts with as little as R50. It could be a monthly contribution deducted directly from a salary or simply the decision to help a student when they need it most.
Since the campaign began in 2016, UWC staff have come together year after year to support academically deserving students facing financial barriers to their education. For some of the University’s longest-serving donors, giving is deeply personal and motivated by the belief that everyone has a role to play in opening doors for the next generation.
For Mrs Loïs Dippenaar, that belief began with an encounter she has never forgotten. About two decades ago, during registration, a father and son arrived at her office. The son had achieved excellent matric results but had no way of paying his upfront university fees. The father was close to tears.
Loïs phoned her husband. Their own budget was tight, but together they worked out how they could help and paid the student’s upfront fees. She did not see him again until graduation day.
“He came back with his father to show me his degree,” she recalls. “I can’t remember his name, but I know that a small gesture helped someone, and that there are many like him.”
That experience reinforced a lesson Loïs had learned from her mother: not having the means to change the world does not mean we cannot make a difference. It is a philosophy that has kept her giving to UWC for a decade.
Mr Vincent Morta, former Director of Quality Assurance and Management Information Systems, believes giving is an expression of gratitude. The relationships, camaraderie and knowledge he gained at UWC helped shape a career spanning almost 50 years. He began making a monthly contribution in 2000 and, even after retiring in 2018, continued to give.
“This is my way of keeping the door open for future generations,” he says, “ensuring that today’s students benefit from the same opportunity that transformed my life many years ago.”
Mrs Zahra Arendse, an Administrator in the Faculty of Education, started donating R50.
“I just knew that students were struggling with outstanding fees and I wanted to do something to help ease that burden. No contribution is ever too small when it comes to supporting our students,” she says.
Prof Saadika Khan of the Faculty of Dentistry takes an equally quiet approach to giving. Guided by the saying, “What the left hand does, the right hand should not even know about,” she prefers to contribute without fanfare. For Prof Khan, it is simply “money well spent”.
And Mr Essa Sadien, Finance and Administration manager for Institutional Advancement, explains: “Because it’s deducted by HR before the salary reaches my bank account, I didn’t really feel it,” he says. “If everybody is consistent, we can collectively make a big difference with a small donation.”
These stories capture the spirit of UWC’s Staff Giving Campaign. One person can help a student cross a financial hurdle. A group of colleagues can help more students stay the course. And when an entire university community gives consistently, those individual acts of generosity combine to become a powerful investment in student success.
UWC is immensely proud of the staff members who have made giving part of their journey with the University — some for a year, others for more than a decade. As the Staff Giving Campaign continues, their commitment is a reminder that every contribution can help keep the door to higher education open.
Celebrating our longest-serving staff donors
UWC extends its heartfelt thanks to the staff members who have demonstrated an exceptional and sustained commitment to supporting students:
- Laetitia Permall — 12 years
- Prof Saadika Khan — 11 years
- Zahra Arendse — 11 years
- Shameega Couert — 11 years
- Nita Lawton-Misra — 10 years
- Loïs Dippenaar — 10 years
- Vincent Morta — 10 years
- Mandy Coetzee — 10 years
- Essa Sadien — 10 years
