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'The closest I will come to doing magic’

12 April 2019 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Johan Roux

The post-school life of Francois de Beer, one of the graduates in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences who obtained his qualification in Chemistry and Biochemistry during the April graduation ceremonies, can be seen as one great act of ‘magic’. Other people may describe it as coincidence with a couple of miracles as the end result.

An opportunity

After completing his schooling at Hoërskool Fichardtpark in 2008, Francois decided to study at the University of the Free State (UFS). “Kovsies gave me the opportunity when nobody else would,” said Francois.

He did not have Maths subjects at school but wished to study in a Science field. “It is the closest one will ever come to doing magic,” he said.

The human element

Francois, who initially did not perform very well academically, did a bridging course in Mathematics and since then achieved distinctions in all his subjects. He related his story: “I did not have any Maths subjects at school, therefore it was very difficult for me to get to this path. The big difference was that Ms Elzmarie Oosthuizen from the UFS bridging programme saw something in me when nobody else did. She gave me the opportunity to do the Mathematics course, after which I was able to further continue on the Science path.”

“I would definitely recommend the UFS to other prospective students. I think Kovsies has a human element that really looks after students,” Francois said.

Francois is currently pursuing his postgraduate studies in Chemistry. He wants to make a difference in the lives of other people, just as others made a difference in his life.

News Archive

Neonatal Care Unit receives donation to expand capacity

2015-10-28

With the best care and technology available,
the survival rate of premature
babies is about 85%. The neonatal intensive
care unit at the Universitas hospital can now
expand its capacity thanks to a donation of
R1 million by the Discovery fund.
From the left is Prof André Venter.
Head: Department of Paediatrics and
Child Health at the UFS, and mrs Ruth Lewin,
Head: Corporate Sustainability at Discovery.

The smallest people need the greatest care. This care is being provided by the neonatal unit in the Children’s Wing of the Universitas Hospital. This project of the University of the Free State (UFS), under the leadership of Prof Andre Venter, has led to several miracles regarding child health since its inception.

Now, thanks to a donation of R1 million rand from the Discovery fund, this unit can expand its capacity and treat more premature babies.

About 14% of babies in South Africa are born before the 37th week of pregnancy. These babies are born with a very low birth weight, and are in need of critical care. The neonatal intensive-care unit at Universitas Hospital is currently equipped to take care of about 14 premature babies at a time, from birth to discharge. However, because of the high incidence of premature births in the hospital’s service area, the unit needs about 45 beds.

The aim of the Children’s Wing Project is to expand the neonatal intensive-care unit in order to meet the demands of the hospital’s service area, which reaches as far as the Southern Cape. The Discovery Fund recently donated R1 million to the project, which will be used to expand the capacity of the neonatal intensive-care unit.

“With the best care and technology available, the survival rate of premature babies is about 85%. Without this, half of all premature babies would die,” says Prof Venter, Head: Department of Paediatrics and Child Health at the UFS.

“This is the reason why private and public partnerships, such as the one with Discovery, are essential to make specialised services available to the most vulnerable people. Discovery has made a significant contribution to the project without which we would not have been able to expand the capacity of the unit

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