By: Phetogo Mabuza- 08 May 2023

A group of destitute students from the Vaal University of Technology (VUT) recently received food parcels to aid their living conditions – thanks to President Hyper Vaal, a well-known retail store in Vanderbijlpark area.

The handover took place last week at the University’s Victim Empowerment Centre (VEC), a one stop station dealing with psychosocial support for student victims of GBV, sexual harassment, substance abuse, and keeps a database of disadvantaged students.

With more to come, this was the first consignment which is part of the one hundred-thousand-rand (R100,000) donation that VUT received last year from the retail giant. The generous gesture follows President Hyper’s Annual Charity Golf Day where proceeds go to deserving organisations and institutions that apply and go through a rigorous selection process. The cheque was handed over to VUT at a high-end prize giving event that took place at the retailer’s main store in Krugersdorp in October last year.

According to Ms Kediemetse Mokotsi, the Marketing and Public Relations Director at VUT, the University is not a debutant on the retailer’s charity beneficiary list when ploughing back to the communities within which it conducts business. “The collaboration dates back to 2015, when we first launched the Poverty Alleviation Project as part of Mandela Day,” she said. She also said that getting the project off the ground was made possible with the assistance of other departments including the Student Counselling and Support, as well as individual staff members who are good Samaritans. “Over the years, the donation from President Hyper has been of significant contribution towards the Poverty Alleviation Project,” emphasised Ms Mokotsi, adding that the VUT community appreciates the donation and is thankful to Mr Nick Karayiannides, the Executive Marketing and Fresh Produce Department at the store for his years of unwavering support.