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27 August 2018 Photo Barend Nagel
WomenOfKovsies Arina Engelbrecht advocates healthy living nationally
Arina Engelbrecht’s vision is for all Kovsies to lead holistically healthy lives.


How do you start living a healthy lifestyle? Arina Engelbrecht, a wellness specialist in the Employee Wellness Division at the University of the Free State (UFS) says it only takes a few changes. Her passion is to motivate people to live a balanced life.  

Being active enables a person to live life to the full. “Aim to exercise 150 minutes a week, which equates to 30 minutes five times a week in order to experience health benefits like prevention of lifestyle illnesses, better sleeping patterns, decreasing stress or anxiety and feeling more energetic,” says Engelbrecht.

Some of the initiatives Engelbrecht and her team drive are the Healthy Lifestyle Challenge, Park Runs in Bloemfontein, and the Healthy4Life Pedometer Challenge, which encourage staff members to become more physically active. “Everything we do, think or feel is influenced by what we eat! It is therefore important to eat a balanced diet. Healthy food = quality fuel = good health = sustained energy = peak performance,” she explains. 
 
Pedometer Challenge

In the space of eight weeks 240 staff members from all campuses walked 54 000km as part of the Pedometer Challenge. Engelbrecht and her team mobilised 53 active teams from all three campuses. Three of these teams emerged as the winners as they exceeded the target of 1 300km which is the equivalent of walking to Cape Town. In September 2018 the Challenge is going national as the North-West University competes against UFS.

Celebrating women

This Women’s Month Engelbrecht’s message to women of Kovsies is: “We must start embracing who we are and start believing in ourselves, whether it is in the workplace, in business, or at home.” 

News Archive

‘I’d rather wake up at 8’clock for nothing than to sit at home’
2015-08-26


Tawanda Kaseke is on a mission to give back to the community one holiday at a time.

Studying towards a degree is one aspect of being a student. Investing time in worthwhile extra-mural activities forms a significant part of your student years. Tawanda Kaseke demonstrates how volunteering time to a good cause makes for a responsible student and citizen.

 

The second-year Public Administration student’s moral obligation to community development led him to spend approximately two months of his June 2015 holidays volunteering. Serving as a volunteer Admin intern at Afrika Tikkun’s ignited his aspiration to assist children from underprivileged communities to access education.

 

From cradle to career: a journey from infancy to varsity and beyond

 

Afrika Tikkun is a non-profit organisation (NGO) that works toward a future where today’s children and youth are tomorrow’s productive citizens. The NGO adopts a cradle-to-career model, which invests in the development of disadvantaged children from early infancy through young adulthood into the world of work.

 

Raising funds for the “Like Change” movement – a division of the “From Cradle to Career” project - is Tawanda’s primary objective for his November to February summer vacation.

 

Tawanda encourages social media users to contribute by clicking on the “Like” option on the ‘Like Change’ Facebook page.  A private company automatically donates R35 towards the education of an underprivileged child on your behalf.

 

Making your mark begins with a dot; university holidays are Tawanda’s dot. A passion for community development and a willingness to volunteer one’s time can go a long way in making South Africa a better place.

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