UBF awards P360,000 worth of Graduate Studies Scholarships
Post date: Aug 26, 2010 8:6:0 AM
The University of Botswana Foundation awarded P360,000.00 worth of scholarships on August 10, 2010 to cover 24 students pursuing Masters Programmes across all disciplines. In addition, one student received the BIFM Master of Business Administration scholarship while two received the Books Botswana scholarship. To date, 74 students have benefited from such scholarships since the inception of the Endowment Fund in 2003.
The University of Botswana, in pursuance of its strategic plan, has committed to providing excellence in the delivery of learning to ensure society is provided with talented, creative and confident graduates; hence the interminable efforts made by the UB Foundation to raise funds towards the Graduate Scholarship Endowment Fund.
The Graduate Scholarship Endowment Fund scholarships are given to deserving self-sponsored citizen students of Botswana, studying full-time at University of Botswana and have performed exceptionally well. The UB Foundation has reached its potential through the support of private and corporate partners. The UB Foundation fundraising dinner dance held in July 30, 2010 received the most in donations and pledges with the donation of R200,000 from a group of companies in which an alumnus of UB, Dr Anna Mokgokong is a shareholder. This is an exemplary gesture of generosity, which invoked the spirit of self-reliance and the Botswana University Campus Appeal (BUCA) of 1975, which led to the establishment of the Gaborone campus of the University College of Botswana and Swaziland, and the foundation on which UB came about. As a result, the University has contributed significantly to the National Human Resources Strategy by producing alumni of significant potential occupying leadership positions in society.
During the same ceremony, the Rotary Club of Gaborone presented the Rotary Award on Volunteerism 2009/10 to Ms Andina Thandi Wendy Ramokate, a graduate student for the Master of Education (Curriculum and Instruction), in recognition of her voluntary charitable work and community services.
As a volunteer at and fundraiser for the Holy Cross Hospice Pre School, as a voluntary counsellor at the Kids Club, an Orphan and Vulnerable Children (OVC) Sub Program, and as a voluntary teacher at the Boswa Primary and the University of Botswana Child Lab she demonstrated activities beyond the normal call of duty and values of care of compassion. As the referees who were commending Wendy's efforts, the members of Rotary were impressed with her engagement and the results she has achieved.
Rotary is the world's first service club organization with more than 1.2 million members who volunteer their time and talent to further the Rotary motto, Service Above Self. As one of five Rotary clubs in Botswana, the Rotary Club of Gaborone and its nearly 50 members are involved in multiple charitable projects and decided in 2007 to recognize volunteer efforts (with a Certificate of Recognition and 6,000 Pula) to point out role models for others and to cultivate a culture of volunteerism at UB and BCA.