The team from Vanderbijlpark will now go head-to-head with representatives from eight other South African higher education institutions, namely: Central University of Technology, University of Fort Hare, University of Limpopo, University of Mpumalanga, University of Pretoria, University of the Free State, University of Zululand and the Walter Sisulu University.
The competition saw 25 institutions of higher learning enter in 2017. Leading the Enactus Vaal team are Banele Ngemntu (president) and Mondli Mathonsi (project leader). The team entered their ReVaal Rejuvenation Project.
More about the ReVaal Rejuvenation Project
The ReVaal Rejuvenation Project’s initial aim was to rejuvenate the local community of Boipatong a township near Vanderbijlpark, by means of a waste management intervention. It soon became clear that an innovative solution was needed to not only address the growing waste problem, but also to empower the residents of the area.
The Enactus Vaal team – made up entirely of students from the campus in Vanderbijlpark – henceforth developed a system wherein waste hubs were introduced. These waste hubs represent facilities where local unemployed community members can gather to assist in the sorting of waste for the purposes of recycling. Through recycling these community members are empowered to generate an income.
In addition to the waste hubs, the team also envision to furbish the community with resources such as rubbish bins and recycle-trolleys. According to the project plan, this specific intervention will represent a dynamic collaboration between Enactus Vaal, the community and the local municipality.
According to Mondli Mathonsi, the project enjoys several spin-off gains such as food-waste that can be utilised as fertiliser by local farmers as a way of sustaining their farming activities. The greatest outcome is the impact the project will have on municipal costs in terms of waste removal and management. “We are hoping that these savings will be reinvested back into the project to further enhance and develop the waste hub system,” explains Mondli.
More about Enactus
Enactus provides students with the opportunity to transform themselves into business leaders of tomorrow. They learn how to practically enable progress through entrepreneurial action. Through educational outreach projects they assist communities to improve their quality of life and standard of living.
Currently Enactus South Africa consists of 2 868 members, 27 teams, 94 projects and a total of 201 023 (and counting) hours of volunteer work have been done so far. As a non-profit organisation Enactus believes that a better world begins with taking responsibility and developing leaders who are socially conscious individuals who have the ability and the willingness to meaningfully contribute to their communities. Through this movement – which aims to bring together students, academics and business leaders – Enactus creates and implement various community empowerment projects around the globe and by doing so young people not only transforms lives, but are also aided in developing the kind of talent and perspective that are essential to leadership in an ever-more complicated and challenging world. The main denominator between the active participants – be it students, academics or business leaders – is that they are all committed to using the power of entrepreneurial action to improve the quality of life and standard of living for people in need.
* Enactus Vaal resides within the bhive EDC (Enterprise Development Centre).
