This week offcials from the Nkomazi Municipality, including the executive Mayor Johan Mavuso, converged to welcome students from the Netherlands.  Seven students, rep-resenting several felds, arrived last Sunday and were warmly welcomed by the municipality.

This visit comes after the Nkomazi executive mayor and councilors went to the Netherlands to learn more about municipality management and living effciently under the municipality’s governance.

Zibonele Shabangu, from the may-oral offce, says that the journey to the Netherlands late last year grabbed the
attention of students after they visited many municipalities overseas.

The students, from Windeheim Uni-versity in Amsterdam, took it upon themselves and their lecturers to em-bark on the students and municipality exchange programme, which is led by Mrs. Magriet.

The seven students will embark on voluntary work in different spheres of the municipality.  The nursing stu-dents will be work-ing under the mu-nicipality’s health desk working with HIV/AIDS coor-dinator Emmah Mahlalela, IT and
communication students will also work with mem-bers of the commu-nity as they begin their projects.  The
students will work closely with Sin-cobile Secondary

School running a hygiene and health programme.  Shabangu revealed that the school does not currently have
proper toilets and the learners should be learning in a healthy, clean and positive environment to achieve better
results.

The students from the Neth-erlands will be working closely with the school on a variety of programmes.
In welcoming the students, the Nk-omazi executive mayor explained to the students that Nkomazi is very ru-
ral and they must expect to see and learn new things.  He expressed his gratitude to the students for coming to
Nkomazi and for their desire to leave it a better place.
“Our will as the government is to set people free in all spheres of their lives by making their lives better.  The jour-
ney is never too long if its destination is freedom.  It can be freedom from the poverty or from bad health, but every-
one needs to be freed,” said Mavuso.