{"id":24528,"date":"2025-07-02T11:13:39","date_gmt":"2025-07-02T11:13:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vut.ac.za\/?p=24528"},"modified":"2025-07-07T12:46:49","modified_gmt":"2025-07-07T12:46:49","slug":"community-outreach-in-sekhukhune-promotes-empowerment-and-unity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vut.ac.za\/nso\/community-outreach-in-sekhukhune-promotes-empowerment-and-unity\/","title":{"rendered":"Community outreach in Sekhukhune promotes empowerment and unity\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

02 July 2025 | Story By: Qhawekazi Memani | Picture: Supplied<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2 minutes read time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Community<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Recently, a community outreach event was held at the Kgwana Community Centre in Sekhukhune, Limpopo Province. The event was organised by the South African Police Service (SAPS) Sekhukhune Management and Social Crime Prevention Team in collaboration with local church leaders. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr Sefako Marweshe, a VUT Human Resources Lecturer representing VUT, described the event as bringing together \u201ca diverse group of stakeholders, including SAPS members, priests and bishops, ward councillors, representatives from the Community Policing Forum, delegates of the Chief Nkadimeng Tribal Authority, as well as elderly and young men from the local community.\u201d He elaborated, \u201cThis wide representation highlights the inclusive nature of the outreach.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The outreach aimed to provide men in the community with vital information and support, while fostering relationships and connections among different community groups. Dr  Marweshe emphasised that \u201ca key objective was to raise awareness about avoiding and reporting criminal activities and to promote harmony and collaboration within the community.\u201d Additionally, he explained, \u201cThe event encouraged attendees to explore opportunities for collaboration and growth that could benefit individuals, the community, and organisations such as government bodies, educational institutions, and youth groups.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the goals of the engagement, Dr  Marweshe said, \u201cWe sought to increase men\u2019s awareness of their roles within families and the wider community, strengthening community values and responsibilities.\u201d He added, \u201cThe outreach addressed critical societal issues and encouraged harmony within the community environment.\u201d He further highlighted, \u201cThe engagement empowered community members by giving them a voice in decisions affecting their villages, neighbourhoods, and towns.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking about leadership, Dr Marweshe said, \u201cLeaders from various community structures were encouraged to adopt the philosophy of Servant Leadership, which prioritises the growth and well-being of the communities they serve.\u201d He noted, \u201cThis leadership approach aims to build trust, respect, and tolerance between community members and organisations.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the benefits of such initiatives, he explained, \u201cAt an individual level, these engagements empower men by providing information and support to improve their quality of life.\u201d He continued, \u201cOn a broader scale, community engagement strengthens bonds between individuals and facilitates cooperation among diverse community structures, fostering mutual respect and harmonious relationships.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regarding VUT\u2019s role, Dr Marweshe stated, \u201cParticipation in these engagements helps build a positive reputation within communities.\u201d He added, \u201cSince VUT draws its students and workforce from across the country, such initiatives promote understanding and interest in the university.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He concluded, \u201cThese engagements serve as effective marketing tools for the \u2018BRAND VUT,\u2019 encouraging community members to connect with the university in various capacities.\u201d <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

02 July 2025 | Story By: Qhawekazi Memani | Picture: Supplied 2 minutes read time. Recently, a community outreach event […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":24529,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24528","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news-vaal-university-of-technology"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vut.ac.za\/nso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24528","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vut.ac.za\/nso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vut.ac.za\/nso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vut.ac.za\/nso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vut.ac.za\/nso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24528"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/vut.ac.za\/nso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24528\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24598,"href":"https:\/\/vut.ac.za\/nso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24528\/revisions\/24598"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vut.ac.za\/nso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24529"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vut.ac.za\/nso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24528"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vut.ac.za\/nso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24528"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vut.ac.za\/nso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24528"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}