Gaborone- The University of Botswana Foundation (UBF) will on June 2, 2023, host its Annual Fundraising Golf Day at the Stanbic Bank Gaborone Golf Club. The UB Foundation Golf Day which is now in its 16th year is held annually as a tool through which the UB Foundation raises funds to sponsor graduate students who enroll for Master’s degree programs thereby contributing to the overall mission of the University to be a research-intensive institution.
Founded in 2000, to demonstrate commitment towards education, the UBF has to date sponsored over 300 graduate students and looking to add more through this year’s call for applications. Consequently, we therefore appeal to the corporate sector, government departments as well as ministries to support this noble endeavour by sponsoring teams to participate during the day and by way of hole advertising or sponsorships in kind. The proceeds of this event go into the Graduate Endowment Fund.
Known for attracting diverse participants from across the corporate world, private businesses, government and other stakeholders, the UBF golf day forms an important part of the country’s sporting calendar. Owing to its commitment to sport development in the country, through this event, UB seeks to forge partnerships with private sector, alumni and members of the public. Furthermore, the golf day provides an opportunity for the University of Botswana to deliver on its promise of helping government fight Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) which according to available information has shown to account for 46% of total deaths in Botswana.
The Botswana Telecommunications Corporation (BTC) has injected P300 000.00 (Three hundred thousand pula) split between two years (2022 and 2023) respectively. BTC has continued to support UB Foundation efforts of being a launching pad for academic excellence in the country through sponsoring teams for the all-day golf extravaganza and purchase of tickets for other events such as the dinner dance. To this end, UB calls on the private sector to come on board as the institution transitions into a research-intensive centre. That can only be achieved by being self-sustaining hence activities such as this one is a step in the right direction.
This sponsorship will go a long way in augmenting the Graduate Scholarship Endowment Fund by making funds available for the less privileged and other deserving and qualifying graduate students at UB. It is in this regard, that the Golf Day is, therefore, a vital event in that it forms a critical part of UB’s mandate of advancing education, now as we celebrated 40 years last year. The UB Golf Day is also significant because it provides a platform for networking.