The North West University’s (NWU) Faculty of Law recently hosted an extravagant gala event in Potchefstroom, with students, staff, alumni and stakeholders celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, among others.
The first of November was truly a night to remember. Women were draped in beautiful garments while the men showed off their best suits.
Deputy vice-chancellor for Potchefstroom Campus operations, Prof Daryl Balia, welcomed everyone and commended the faculty for its social justice projects and how each and every staff member worked tirelessly and contributed to the full accreditation of the NWU’s LLB programme by the Department of Higher Education and Training.
“With full accreditation now achieved, the uncertainty and stress are now things of the past,” said Prof Balia.
Your efforts are noticed
Honourable Judge President Monica Leeuw, the first female Judge President in the country, was the guest speaker. She said that she has come across a number of lawyers who are NWU alumni in her court, who passionately represented children and are doing a significant job representing the university.
She applauded the faculty for its law clinics and for being visible within the community as they address various social ills. “The NWU’s efforts do not go unnoticed,” she added.
Law Student Well-being fund
During the gala event the faculty also launched its Law Student Well-Being Fund. This fund aims to make life a little easier for law students across the NWU who are struggling financially, and will assist them with their extracurricular needs.
The fund was established after a student survey administrated by the faculty indicated that a majority of the students found it difficult to provide for expenditures such as food and groceries, prescribed textbooks, accommodation, transport, printing costs and IT resources (both hardware and data).
"The student wellbeing fund is important to the faculty - we want to ensure that all our students are put in the best position to make a success of their studies,” said Prof Stephen de la Harpe, the executive dean.
“This we can only do with the assistance of our alumni and other sponsors. All contributions are appreciated and will certainly make a difference,” he added.
After pledging her own donation, Judge President Leeuw encouraged alumni and stakeholders in attendance to open their hearts and donate towards the Law Student Well-Being Fund.
The faculty also auctioned paintings by young children from various schools in the Dr Kenneth Kaunda District Municipality during the event of which the proceeds were donated to the fund.
Here are Prof Stephen de la Harpe, executive dean of the Faculty of Law with Prof Daryl Balia, deputy vice-chancellor for Potchefstroom Campus operations, and Mr Nkosinathi Tom, executive personal assistant to Prof Dan Kgwadi, vice-chancellor.
