Under the theme of ‘60 Years of Paying It Forward’, Waterford held a series of events to raise funds for additional scholarships.
This year, Waterford Kamhlaba United World College of Southern Africa celebrates its 60th anniversary. Waterford is one of Southern Africa’s first multi-racial schools and a member of the United World College Movement (UWC). Under the theme “60 Years of Paying It Forward”, the anniversary celebrates the school’s past and shapes its vision for the next 60 years, as it creates transformational leaders who will contribute significantly to Africa and the world at large.
“We commit to continue providing quality international education through which we aim to produce leaders who will positively impact the world. Our 60th anniversary provides an opportunity for us to recommit to this vision, hence our ambition to increase scholarshipfunding to a higher percentage of our student body.
Among other things, our scholarship programme enables us to achieve something which is in our DNA – deliberate diversity. Through our scholarships, we can give a world-class education to academically gifted students from inadequately-resourced backgrounds. At the moment, we have over 600 students representing 67 nationalities,” says College Principal Jackie Otula.
Waterford held a series of events in 2023 to celebrate its anniversary, including a visit from His Majesty King Mswati III’s representative, Prince Lonkhokhela and former president of Botswana Seretse Khama Ian Khama (an alumnus of the school).
The event was attended by other distinguished guests including senior government officials in the Kingdom of Eswatini, the chief of the area where Waterford is located, diplomats, UWC International Chair of the Board Dr Musimbi Kanyoro, UWC International Executive Director Faith Abiodun, WK alumni, governing council members, students, alumni, parents, media, staff and their families, donors, partners, and friends of the college.
“It was such a great day and Waterford students rendered exciting performances, including poems, music, and dance. Attendees also visited stalls and bought various items during the event. Among the many activities on the day was the opening of the College’s history museum. The day ended with Africa Night, which was part of the UWC Africa Week events,” says the College’s Communications and Public Relations Officer, Mancoba Mabuza.
The school’s history museum was officially opened by His Excellency Seretse Khama Ian Khama. As part of the celebrations, the school aims to fundraise for its scholarship programme, IT connectivity, sustainability initiatives, and to improve the physical infrastructure. Waterford aims to go 100% solar and remove itself from the national grid.