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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

Memorial service for Ms Winkie Direko
2012-02-21

 
Ms Winkie Direko was a loved and respected Chancellor.

 

The senior leadership, staff and students of the University of the Free (UFS) are saddened by the death of Ms Winkie Direko on Friday 17 February 2012.

Ms Direko, who was Chancellor of the university from July 1999 to February 2003, was the first black person and also the first woman to hold this position.

“Ms Direko was a much-loved person in the Free State as well as a loved and respected Chancellor of the UFS. Her continued involvement with the university was always appreciated by the university community. We honour her memory and her directional leadership as former Chancellor,” says Judge Ian van der Merwe, Chairperson of the UFS Council.

Prof. Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector of the UFS, says Ms Direko was one of South Africa's greatest teacher-leaders and one of the few former teachers he could really look up to. “Rest well, Ma Winkie; you left us a great example,” he said.

A memorial service will be held on:

  • Thursday 23 February 2012
  • at 14:00

A bus will leave the Centenary Complex at 13:00 for the service that will take place at the indoor sport centre in the Seisa Ramabodu Stadium in Rocklands.

Please RSVP to Tharina Naudé not later than Wednesday 22 February at 12:00 at x3829 or naudehc@ufs.ac.za.

It will be appreciated if you could wear your university branded clothes (shirt or blazer) to the service.


Media Release
21 February 2012
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Director: Strategic Communication
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: news@ufs.ac.za
 

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