Student hunger continues to benefit
13 March 2019
Student hunger continues to benefit from ongoing partnerships with Menlyn Park Shopping Centre and TUKS FM
Following the success of the 2018 Back2School campaign, Menlyn Park Shopping Centre and TUKS FM continued their support with the University of Pretoria students in their Back2School campaign. In 2018, the partnership were able to provide approximately 170 students with meals for 6 months.
Research conducted by the Higher Education Department estimates that about 216,000 students in South Africa are without suitable accommodation, and almost 400,000 beds are needed to meet its enrolment targets for 2030. This has resulted in thousands of squatting tertiary students needing urgent support.
“For this reason, in 2019 the back to school campaign will continue to support students from disadvantaged backgrounds by providing them with necessities such as canned foods, stationery, toiletries and blankets amongst other things which will remain accessible to them throughout the year,” explains Olive Ndebele, General Manager at Menlyn Park Shopping Centre. “We recognise the need to support students. For this reason, we will continue working with TUKS FM and ensure that our retailers are able to help them reach their academic goals.”
Menlyn Park Shopping Centre set up collection boxes at Starbucks Court. These collection points are linked to customer purchases aimed at encouraging the Pretoria community and corporates to donate to the learners at the University of Pretoria. This year the collective efforts provided clothing, toiletries, sanitary products, cosmetics and food to the value of R 35 000.
“It is without a doubt that the donations received last year brought change into the students’ lives by ensuring that they had meals to sustain them during the day and enable them to succeed in their studies. Hunger is an obstacle which we need to remove to ensure that students are not compromised in terms of attaining academic success,” Professor Kupe, Vice Chancellor, University of Pretoria.