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11 April 2018 Photo Oteng Mpete
UFS medical students improve life for kids at Lethabo Daycare Centre
UFS medical students donate furniture for the Lethabo Daycare Centre at the UFS Bloemfontein Campus. From left front are: Anda Gxolo, Tshepo Ntoule, the daycare centre principal Selina Keta, Andrea Bailey and Yenziwe Mbambo. Back from left: Ilyas Moola Malibongwe Jiyane, and Yusuf Moola Umar Kajee
There is strong evidence to suggest that improving a caregiver’s knowledge has an impact on a child’s development. This is according to the Human Sciences Research Council. With this in mind, medical students from the University of the Free State (UFS) decided to work with a children’s daycare centre in order to improve the quality of care.

The students, from the School of Clinical Medicine in the Faculty of Health Sciences, were encouraged to assist NGOs in and around Bloemfontein, as part of their community service curriculum. They needed to look at hygiene, sanitation, cognitive development, physical development, vaccinations, prevention of diseases, nutritional status, socio-economic status, as well as the children’s environment. Moreover, they needed to highlight how a deficit from one factor could affect the other factors.
 
Through a meta-analysis study of 67 interventions regarding the above points, the students found most interventions to be generally effective in improving the children’s lives in one way or the other.
 
Selina Keta, the principal of Lethabo Daycare Centre in Mangaung, provided a list of problems she faced and ways in which the students could help to improve the conditions at the centre. She noted that the kitchen needed fixing because it did not meet the specifications required by the Department of Education for registration. The main issue was that the gas bottle for the stove was inside the kitchen and had to be moved out. The kitchen also needed steel counters, a sink, and running water. The students moved the gas bottle outside, and provided a fire extinguisher and first aid kit. They also provided a teacher at the centre with first-aid training from St John in Bloemfontein.

The students made sure there was running water and donated cupboards and microwaves to the centre. They also helped build two new classrooms, and there are plans for a third one to cater for different age groups.
As a final gift, the students painted the playground walls and arranged for the teachers to attend skills development workshops. They are also building a toy library for the centre.

News Archive

Inter-country adoptions can offer relief
2009-08-12

 
At the occasion were, in the front: Prof. Hennie Oosthuizen, head of the Department of Criminal and Medical Law, UFS; back: Adv. Mariëtte Reyneke, head of the Unit for Children’s Rights and senior lecturer in the Department of Law of Procedure and Law of Evidence, UFS, Judge of Appeal Belinda van Heerden, and Adv. Beatri Kruger, also from the Unit for Children’s Rights and senior lecturer in the Department of Criminal and Medical Law, UFS.
Photo: Stephen Collett 


Inter-country adoptions must not be taken lightly; however, in some instances it is suitable and can bring relief to a child. These were the words of Katinka Pieterse from Abba Adoptions, which specialises in inter-country adoptions.

She was one of the expert presenters at a recent workshop on inter-country adoptions that was recently presented by the Unit for Children’s rights in the Department of Criminal and Medical Law in the Faculty of Law at the University of the Free State (UFS).

Judge of Appeal Belinda van Heerden, an expert in the field of Child and Family Law, gave an overview as well as a Southern African perspective on this controversial topic. The Hague Convention sets international standards to protect children from the inherent dangers that accompany inter-country adoptions. The South African law must be aligned with these international standards by incorporating specific stipulations as well as the Hague Convention into legislation applicable to children. There must also be acted in the best interest of the child, said Judge van Heerden. The authorities have safety measures in place to protect children from these dangers. The starting point remains that inter-country adoptions are only considered once one cannot find suitable care in the country of origin.

Prof. Sheryl Buske from the Charlotte School of Law, North Carolina in the United States of America in particular emphasised the dangers of human trafficking that can take place when inter-country adoptions do not adhere to international safety standards. She also pointed out new developments such as the role of surrogate mothers and the adoption of embryos.

The workshop was attended by a large variety of role players, varying from academics, lawyers, social workers, non-governmental organisations, law students and representatives from governmental institutions. Consequently, light was shed on the topic from a number of angles which will be of value to the respective role players. Jurists from Lesotho also expressed their gratitude for the insight they received.

The workshop was of great value to the university because it served the community with expert presentations on this new and sensitive topic. The guidelines and pitfalls that were discussed and pointed out at the workshop cleared uncertainties and brought new insight to the different professions and role players in the field. Furthermore, the bond between the academia and practice were developed and strengthened by the establishment of further cooperation between the parties.

Media Release:
Lacea Loader
Deputy Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@ufs.ac.za  
11 August 2009

 

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