MANGAUNG MAYOR, THABO MANYONI GIVES SCHOOL SHOES AND FOOD PARCELS TO THYE NEEDY.

Mangaung Mayor, Thabo Manyoni, visited the Tala Primary School, to hand out School  shoes and  food parcels to the needy.

220 families that live below poverty line and learners from Tala primary school, accepted food parcels and school shoes from the Mangaung mayor, Thabo Manyoni.

 During the last visit in September 2012, the mayor was made aware of the situation and conditions that the families living in the village of Talla are facing.  

The mayor promised to intervene and help the communities, particularly school children.

He said the municipality is going to introduce a clothing bank system, where people are going to donate clothes of all kinds, and make sure they are donated to the needy families.

Manyoni explained that people should not abandon rural areas; they need to be supported and cared for.

 “This is a sign that the Free State province cares about education and we take it as one of our priorities as a province, amongst these children there might be our future president. So we should take care of these children, give them quality education and good support,” he said

The Schools principal, Mokebe Oanyane said despite the challenges that the kids face from their respective families, this primary school with only 55 learners still performs outstandingly with their pass rate.

“These gifts will empower our learners to come to school and work hard  so that they can try to alleviate poverty in their families through education, the family background also plays a huge role in the children’s education,” said Oanyane

One of the learners that got the gift, Katlego Dikgole was very excited about the gifts told Express that the new shoes mean a lot to her as my parents couldn’t afford to buy her new shoes. 

 “I am really grateful with what the mayor done for us, sometimes it’s hard to come to school without shoes especially in winter, now I am going to wake with confidence and do my best in my schoolwork.” she said  

Maria Mamogapi , 32 year old mother was one of the people that got the food parcels, and she said this going one of the best nights for her family.

“I am really happy with what the mayor has done for us, I am rally thankful because I don’t have food in my house but tonight is going to be a different night at my house,” said Mamogapi

68 year old excited man Abram Maoke said he enjoyed himself and he was not expecting so much “The mayor is making a positive impact on our lives, this shows that they care about us and that means a lot to me, I just wish they can come every term or twice a year,” he said

LEARNER'S HOPING TO GET ACCEPTED AT CENTRAL UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, FREE STATE.

It’s just the second day of registration at the Central University of Technology in Bloemfontein, and the short queues at the University shows the opposite of what is happening at other institutions around the country.

Learners came as far as Kroonstad and Hertgozville to try and get space in the university, they arrived as early as 04:00 in the morning and they don’t even have a place to sleep, but they are prepared to do anything just to get accepted into the University.

Lerato Mahlangu is one of the parents who accompanied her daughter to the institution for registration and she is pleased that her daughter is accepted.

“I am glad that my daughter has been accepted, we have been on the queues since five o’clock and our patience has paid off. I am really happy with the way things are handled in the university,” she said

Lerato said she saw it very important for her to accompany her daughter for registration, because of the safety reasons and to support her child whatever the outcome.

“Our children are being victimized they are being mugged, to some extent, some are being raped especially the new ones, so I didn’t want to take that chance with my daughter,” said Lerato

The local student representative council president Morare Sekoai said the SRC is also doing their part in helping with registration, by going to the queues and help the learners with applying and accompanying them to other departments.

“We advice students which courses to take, as some of them are clueless, we also help with applying for (NSFAS) national students financial aid. We also plead for learners who need one mark to be accepted into the university, and I think our work is paying off because we have less queues and everything is going according to plan,” he said

Morake advised the first years not be influenced by peer pressure or fact of staying far away from home, they should focus on their studies and make sure they study hard and avoid academic exclusion.

He further said the students should associate themselves with the student wellness centre, if they have any problem with settling in or any challenges they might face, whether it’s social or academically.