NMMU students use skills in the community

Local community projects are benefiting from an empowerment campaign initiated by students from the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU).

Second-year public relations students were challenged by their lecturer, Brightness Mangolothi, to put their knowledge to the test out in the field.

Group leader Ashleigh MacKilligan said they selected the Khanya Youth Development Centre – which runs from the Edward Congregational Church Hall in New Brighton – for their project, which is titled “Make the circle bigger for Khanya Youth Development Centre”.

Amber Share, Lee-Anne Govender and Mkuseli Matyholweni are the other team members in the group.

“Khanya caught our attention with its vision and goals of being selfless and kind. Furthermore, it desperately requires a number of needs to be met,” MacKilligan said.

Khanya is an aftercare centre which provides nutritional assistance and teaches life skills to under-privileged children.

About 60 children between the ages of five and 18 visit the centre before and after school every day to receive food.

It is run by four volunteers who cook and help with homework.

“The children are so happy when they arrive at Khanya, as they know they are going to be well fed and looked after. Even though they are hungry, their smiles still light up the room,” MacKilligan said.

The assignment requires the group to promote Khanya through print media coverage, Algoa FM’s hour of kindness, and NMMU’s marketing department. They have also set up trollies at the entrance to local supermarkets to catch the public’s attention.

“We want to help the centre become self-sufficient.

“Our campaign does not include an expensive event, but rather looks at obtaining long-term and short term donations,” MacKilligan said.

“We were excited and nervous at the same time when we were asked to go out and identify a project instead of making use of fictitious PR proposals.

“But once we heard we were going to be working with NGOs, we immediately realised that this project was a lot bigger than simply excelling. It is about making a difference. That’s really what has motivated us.”

(This story is courtesy of The Herald. Used with permission.)