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Thandiwe Mchunu is tapping into her background as a chemical engineer to turn food waste into compost for her emerging farm.

Born in the agriculturally vibrant village of Mahlongwa, near Umkomaas, in KwaZulu-Natal’s South Coast, Mchunu (38) says her decision to study chemicals was to help marginalised communities, particularly women, to produce food at a cheaper cost.

She believes that everything revolves around chemical engineering, just like agriculture.

Nomalanga Sibinda (21) from Pudumong village, just outside Taung, North West, is a proud graduate who holds a Diploma of Agriculture in Irrigation from Taung College of Agriculture.

Sibinda is one of nine students who were supported through a bursary programme that was started in 2019 by North West Agriculture and Rural Development MEC, Desbo Mohono. The students received financial support to complete their three-year diploma, setting them on the path to become serious agribusiness operators.

More than 500 South African medical students who recently graduated from Cuban universities are expected to help address challenges that continue to plague the country’s health care system.

The 594 South African medical graduates were part of the Nelson Mandela/Fidel Castro Medical Collaboration Programme. The graduation ceremony took place at the University of Pretoria’s Mamelodi campus.

Learners between Grade 8 and 12 should take advantage of the University of Pretoria’s (UP) free online learning content for maths, physical sciences, accounting, life sciences, natural sciences and English.

The team behind UP’s free JuniorTukkie programme saw the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) as an opportunity to support even more learners with their schoolwork and career choices.

Kutlwano Tshatiwa (17), is taking the South African technology scene by storm with his revolutionary phone application that can help to diagnose pneumonia and skin cancer in a matter of seconds.

Tshatiwa is a matric learner from Gabonewe High School in the North West.

Tshatiwa recently won a gold medal at the International Festival of Engineering Science and Technology that was held in Tunisia. His application ranked in the top 10 projects in the world.

Five years ago, #CodeLikeAGirl was launched to equip young girls with skills and bridge the gender disparity in technology in South Africa.

Sponsored by Vodacom, the initiative encourages young girls to explore Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) careers.

The programme was launched in 2017 in Tembisa, east of Johannesburg, with only 20 girls. Today, Vodacom seeks to train 1 500 young girls in coding this financial year, bringing the total number of girls trained to 4 000.

Parents and guardians need to ensure that their children’s vaccinations against measles and other preventable diseases are up to date.

The National Institute for Communicable Diseases recently reported confirmed cases of measles in the country.

Huge improvement to the size and services of Mafube District Hospital in the Free State

Residents of Mafube Local Municipality in the Free State are set to receive improved healthcare services after Mafube District Hospital was refurbished.

Free State Premier Sefora Ntombela and Health MEC Montseng Tsiu recently opened and handed over the newly refurbished hospital, which is located in Frankfort in the Fezile Dabi District.

Researcher and academic, Thuli Khanyile (34) from Durban in KwaZulu-Natal is proud to be contributing to the fight against HIV/AIDS in South Africa and promoting innovation among young learners.

She holds a B-Tech degree in Biotechnology from the Tshwane University of Technology and did her in-service training at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research in 2011, which is where she was introduced to HIV research.

From The Union Buildings

Over the past few weeks, severe load shedding has disrupted our economy and caused extreme hardship for all South Africans.

Stage 6 load shedding was triggered by the loss of more than 18 000 megawatts (MW) of generation capacity due to unit breakdowns and an unprotected strike by Eskom workers.