MUSINA – He is bright and will soon jet off to Trent University in Canada as part of a student exchange programme to study abroad.

Freddie Motsamayi(24), a third-year Bachelor of Social Science student at the University of Kwazulu-Natal (UKZN), majoring in social antropology and history, will be doing part of his honours degree at Trent University for a period of six months. In exchange, the Canadian University will also send its students to UKZN.

As Canada is comprised of a multi-cultural society, Motsamayi revealed that he will be conducting research about social matters such as disease, poverty, and culture, as well as interacting with other students from different countries and finding out how they could share information about their field. “I will also research how the Canadians deal with racism,” he said.

Before joining UKZN in 2003, Motsamayi was a BA Social Work student at the University of Venda. As a result of financial constraints, he dropped out of Univen, but fortunately, he managed to secure a bursary for students with good academic records from other universities at the University of Kwazulu-Natal. “When the going was getting tougher in 2002, I applied for a bursary at the Musina Local Municipality, but failed to get it,” he said.

When asked what influenced him to study for a Bachelor of Social Science, Motsamayi, who claimed not to be seeking publicity, said “I don't want to be defined, so by doing this course, I want to define myself as well as everything about the culture, tradition and religion of my African community.”

Motsamayi's message to other young students is that they must work very hard and refrain from relying on people faced with a bleak future. “In the next academic year, make sure that you claim no easy victory,” he said. Student Exchange Study Abroad co-ordinator from UKZN International, Tasmeera Singh, said that the criteria used to select students are that learners must achieve a good academic record and must be South African citizens. “This exchange programme is going to provide these students with a new academic, social and cultural environment and our view is that, when they come back, they will share their experience of a different environment and perspective on life,” she said. Singh said that her university has been participating in the programme for some time.