Ikamva Lethu 2018: Helping Students Achieve Success

The Student Representative Council of the University of the Western Cape (UWC) Fund is encouraging donors to help students overcome obstacles to success by giving to the Ikamva Lethu Fund, a legacy project of the 2015/2016 SRC - and on 9 February 2018, the SRC allocated R435 000 from the Fund to assist students with financial clearance. The SRC remains committed to raising funds for this initiative and to keeping the campaign going from strength to strength.

UWC launched the Ikamva Lethu campaign as a Student Representative Council initiative in 2016. Since then, successive SRCs have kept the campaign going, raising funds to support students with bursaries, studying resources and food subsidies, ensuring they are not in want during their academic year.

“As the SRC we have been in continuous engagement with donors both in the public and private sectors about possible contributions to the Ikamva Lethu Fund,” said SRC President, Lumkile Thomas. “We believe that students who are financially secure will perform to the best of their abilities, and make the most of the opportunities granted to them by UWC - both academically and otherwise.”

The campaign aims to help academically-deserving students who are struggling to secure funding to complete their studies. With many registered students in the institution needing some sort of financial assistance, the campaign comes at a time when collective and sustainable solutions are needed for students.

“As the SRC, we remain committed to the course of redress and transformation of the higher education sector,” the SRC President continued. “We encourage the class of 2018 to work hard against all odds, and achieve all their dreams.”

Amongst many obstacles to access to success, the SRC has identified the pillars that the Ikamva Lethu Fund must focus on:

• Registration and Clearance;

• Course Materials;

• Food Security Programme.

“We understand the challenges we face in the higher education system within the country at large, and at UWC.” Thomas said. “Ikamva Lethu is aimed at providing holistic assistance - and we need to reach as many people as we can.”

Given the wide-ranging challenges students face nationally, particularly the growing number of students who cannot fund themselves, the SRC calls upon the UWC community and friends of UWC - parents, sympathisers, the business sector, alumni and staff alike - to support this noble cause.

“The SRC welcomes the continued support by Tyger Brands and others, and we’re looking at fundraising more money to ensure our students receive the support necessary for their studies,” Thomas concluded.

“But we’d like to challenge all stakeholders of the University to support this clarion call. UWC historically has been a beacon of hope for many who have gone on to make their mark. We challenge all South Africans to help us keep that tradition alive.”

Ikamva Lethu: Determining Our Futures, Together

The Ikamva Lethu - Our Future Fund aims to be the consistent supporting arm, driven by the students for their peers, to assist academically deserving students to successfully complete their studies, with the support of the SRC and University Exec.

“Every student deserves the best chance at a decent education,” said Professor Pamela Dube, UWC Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Student Development and Support. “As a University, we salute the iKamva Lethu initiative, and we look to the university community to continue to support our students in their quest to grow from hope to action, through knowledge.

“As universities we are called upon to continuously assess and seriously evaluate our contribution to the knowledge economy, to the various areas of skills development and to preparing students as a prospective workforce and as engaged citizens. As a University we are also counting on the academic, research, professional expertise of our internal stakeholders with whom we are working together to address this challenge,” she said.