Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Previous Archive
30 August 2018 Photo Xolisa Mnukwa
Haemophilia workshop the first of its kind at UFS
The UFS Department of Haematology and Cell Biology is producing quality medical graduates, addressing the high demand for trained graduates. Dr Anneke van Marle, Haematologist in the department, presented a lecture to final-year medical students on muscle and soft-tissue bleeding in haemophilia.

The Medical and Scientific Advisory Council (MASAC) of the South African Haemophilia Foundation (SAHF) has identified a need for more in-depth training of junior doctors on the basic aspects of the bleeding disorder haemophilia. 

Addressing this need in the sector, the Department of Haematology and Cell Biology at the University of the Free State (UFS) recently hosted a training workshop specifically targeting final-year medical students before they enter practice.

The Novo Nordisk Haemophilia Foundation is sponsoring this countrywide haemophilia training.

According to Jaco Joubert, Senior Lecturer and Pathologist in the Department of Haematology and Cell Biology, the department is very active in the field of haemophilia treatment, research and training, with representation on the Executive Committee of the Medical and Scientific Advisory Council of the South African Haemophilia Foundation.

Function with confidence

“The UFS Department of Haematology and Cell Biology has taken a proactive approach, by being the first department in South Africa to offer this training course to final-year medical students at the UFS; an investment in the future. The department runs the Bloemfontein Haemophilia Treatment Centre – which is the main haemophilia treatment and referral centre for patients from the Free State and Northern Cape. It is therefore ideally positioned to offer such training to students,” said Joubert.

Proactive role

The training workshop empowered and equipped students with more extensive knowledge on the practical aspects of managing patients with haemophilia; the various treatment products currently available in South Africa and laboratory diagnostic approaches in complicated cases. “This will enable students to function with more confidence during their internship and community service years,” said Joubert. 

He believes a training workshop of this calibre showcases the proactive role the department and the university is taking in the advancement of haemophilia training in South Africa.

News Archive

Research project gives insight into the world of the deaf
2005-11-30

Mr Akach in conversation (using sign language) with his assistant Ms Emily Matabane. Photo: Lacea Loader

UFS research project gives insight into the world of the deaf

The Sign Language Division of the University of the Free State’s (UFS) Department of Afro-Asiatic Studies and Language Practice and Sign Language has signed a bilateral research project with the universities of Ghent and Brussels to write a book on sign language. 

“We want to compare the Belgium and South African sign languages with each other.  The book will be about the deaf telling us about themselves and how they live.  It will also focus on the use of story telling techniques and the grammar used by deaf people.  We want to see if the hand forms and the grammatical markers and other linguistic features that deaf people from these two countries use are the same or not,” said Mr Philemon Akach, lecturer at the UFS Sign Language Division and coordinator of the research.  

According to Mr Akach, the sign language community in South Africa, with about 600 000 deaf people who use South African Sign Language (SASL) as first language, is quite big.  “Over and above the deaf people in South Africa, there are also the non-deaf who use SASL, like the children of deaf parents etc.  This book can therefore be used to teach people about the deaf culture,” he added.

Another of Mr Akach’s achievements is his election as Vice-President of the newly established World Association of Sign Language Interpreters (WASLI).  The association was established earlier this month during a conference in Worcester.

Mr Akach has been actively involved with sign language interpretation since 1986 and has been interpreting at the World Congress of the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) since 1987.  “My appointment as Vice-President of the WASLI is an emotional one.  I have been involved with deaf people for so long and have been trying to create awareness and obtain recognition for sign language, especially in Africa,” said Mr Akach.  WASLI is affiliated to the WFD.

According to Mr Akach there was no formal structure in the world to support sign language and sign language interpreters.   “Now we have the backup of WASLI and we can convince governments in other African countries and across the world to support deaf people by supporting WASLI and therefore narrow the communication gap between the deaf and the hearing.  My main aim as Vice-President is to endeavour for the recognition of sign language and spoken language interpreters as a profession by governments,” he said. 

According to Mr Akach the formal training of interpreters is of vital importance.  “Anybody who has a deaf person in his/her family and can communicate in sign language can claim that they are an interpreter.  This is not true.  It is tantamount to think that all mother tongue or first language speakers are interpreters.  Likewise students who learn sign language up to whatever level and are fluent in signing, should still join an interpreter’s programme,” he said.

“Sign language interpreting is a profession and should be presented as an academic course alongside other spoken languages.  The UFS has been taking the lead with sign language and spoken language interpretation and was the first university on the African continent to introduce sign language as an academic course,” he said.

“Although sign language has always been an unknown language to young people it has become quite popular in recent years.  This year we had a total of 160 students at the Sign Language Section of the UFS and the numbers seem to increase steadily every year,” he said.

Mr Akach’s assistant, Ms Emily Matabane, is deaf and they communicate in sign language.  Ms Matabane also handles the tutorials with students to give them hands-on experience on how to use sign language.  


Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel:   (051) 401-2584
Cell:  083 645 2454
E-mail:  loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za
30 November 2005

 

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept