Former NWU student wins award

A former North-West University (NWU) Masters’ student, Ofentse Rabaji (29), was awarded the Man of Honour award at the Heroines Awards in Bloemfontein on Saturday, 28 August 2021.

The Heroines Awards celebrate and honour South African women who are changing the lives of others. The prestigious awards focus on selfless women who go out of their way to change, feed or empower others.

As a male candidate in the female-dominated event, Ofentse was selected as one of the winners because of his involvement in female projects, while doing his best to empower women. “I am extremely passionate about empowerment and transferring my knowledge to others,” he said.

This wasn’t the first time Ofentse was honoured for his contributions. In June this year, the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) recognised him after he defied the odds and proved that entrepreneurship was a key contributor to the country’s fight against unemployment.

During the pandemic, he proved that one man’s waste is another man’s resource, producing masks from recycled waste. His passion for environmental sustainability motivated him to make affordable, quality masks with “scrap” fabric.

Originally from Atamelang, a small township just outside Delareyville, Ofentse has come a long way since his family moved to Potch when he was in Grade 5 in 2003. Fast forward to 2011 and he had to improve his matric results to obtain university entrance. That didn’t stop him from pushing through the challenges, though. “I have quite a supportive family,” he said.

The following year (2012), he enrolled for a BSc and graduated in 2015. He continued with his Honours and graduated in 2016. In the same year, he was on a CSIR (NCPC-SA) graduate programme in Pretoria. In 2019, he graduated with a Masters degree. That year, he founded ReFentse Environmental Solutions, a company that focuses on environmental authorisations and waste management.

“I take part in several extramural activities (Science Expo, Astro Quiz, YCAP, NTA etc.,” he said. “I strongly believe in empowering others – I am a mentor for Eskom Science Expo for Young Scientists. I believe my academic accolades need to multiply into multiple qualifications in the township.”
Ofentse thanks all those who support and keep motivating him to do better and looks forward to many more milestones ahead.