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02 March 2018 Photo Supplied
Student Wellness and Kovsie ACT provide food bank for students
The team from Student Wellness and Gift of the Givers
Student Wellness and Kovsie ACT, together with the Gift of the Givers Foundation, have joined forces in order to create a food bank for students who were previously disadvantaged. The food bank will consist of non-perishable food items up to the value of R400 per student. A formal assessment will be conducted by social worker Elizabeth Msadu, in order to ensure that students comply with the criteria identified by the Student Wellness Office, Kovsie ACT and the Gift of the Givers.
 
“Food insecurity in higher education institutions is a painful reality. We want to use the food bank as an instrument to assist students in their times of difficulty,” said Annelize Visagie from Student Wellness.

Gift of the Givers is the biggest disaster-response NGO in Africa. It is well known for providing lifesaving aid on the continent in the form of search and rescue teams, medical personnel, medical equipment, medical supplies, medicines, vaccines, high-energy and protein supplements, as well as food and water to millions of people in 43 countries, South Africa included.

Annelize explained that the university’s relationship with the Gift of the Givers was induced by Yolande Korke, author of the book, “558 Days”, who works with the UFS on an ad hoc basis. To find out more about the food-bank and other services provided by Student Wellness please contact Annelize on 051 401 3258 or visit the Health and Wellness Facebook page.

News Archive

“To interpret is more than the ability to have mastered two languages”
2014-03-27

 

It is equally unfair to the accused as the victim when an untrained court interpreter is used in a court case.

In South Africa there are currently a large percentage of interpreters employed by the Department of Justice without any formal training.

While interpreting is in reality a very complex subject, the general acceptance is that everybody who is able speak two languages or more can be an interpreter.

This perception harms interpreting as a profession, as it results in most institutions appointing any multilingual person as an interpreter.

In many cases people are used to interpret into and from their third or fourth language (of which Afrikaans is one). This leads to inaccuracy and the incorrect use of expressions and terminology. Specific cognitive processes also have to be developed and practiced.

The University of the Free State (UFS) has since 2008 trained approximately 200 court interpreters in South Africa. This training includes the theory of interpreting and practical exercises, as well as the development of terminology and a basic knowledge of the legal system in South Africa.

The training provided to court interpreters by the Unit for Language Management and Facilitation, is done in conjunction with the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development and SASSETA (Safety and Security).

Apart from Afrikaans, native speakers of all South African languages are included in the training.

Much attention (rightfully) are given to interpreters who can interpret between the nine African languages and (mostly) English, but in the process the development of interpreters between Afrikaans and English was neglected, as became apparent in the past two weeks during the Oscar Pistorius case.


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