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20 December 2019
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Story Thabo Kessah
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Photo Thabo Kessah
Dr Deidré van Rooyen from the Centre for Development Support, Dr Jared McDonald (Department of History), Moodi Matsoso, and Bishop Billyboy Ramahlele with the mobile device.
In an effort to broaden the storytelling horizons and to answer to the demands of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, Community Engagement on the UFS Qwaqwa Campus recently launched the Digital Storytelling project, aimed at broadening access to good community stories.
“We have partnered with the Common Good First initiative to enhance the service that we provide as a department,” said Bishop Billyboy Ramahlele, Director: Community Engagement.
“We challenge all academics, support staff, the SRC and students in general, to take advantage of this channel to communicate their stories to the world,” he said.
Histories of royal families
“The digital documentation of the histories of the royal families in the Qwaqwa area is in the pipeline and will be conducted in partnership with the Department of History. We have come to realise that with times changing, the younger generation loses track of the precious histories, and this platform will help in preserving that,” he added.
Community Engagement coordinator, Moodi Matsoso, also revealed that space has been identified for the lab. “At the moment, we are operating on mobile digital storytelling devices, with all the necessary equipment such as tablets and cameras. However, we will soon have a fully-fledged lab on campus,” she said.
This project is co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union.
Relief for baby and child care at the UFS with donation from Fuchs Foundation
2007-11-17
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At the launch of the Beds of Hope campaign were, from the left: Dr Riaan Els, Chief Executive Officer of the Carl en Emily Fuchs Foundation, Prof. André Venter (Head of the Department of Paediatrics and Child Care), Ms Corné Booyens (National Grants Manager at the Carl en Emily Fuchs Foundation), Dr Nick van Zyl (Clinical Head at Universitas Hospital), and Prof. Niel Viljoen (Chief Director: Operations).
Photo: Leonie Bolleurs
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Relief for baby and child care at the UFS with donation from Fuchs Foundation
The Department of Paediatrics and Child Health at the University of the Free State (UFS) has received relief for their need of specialised healthcare for babies and children with a donation of R1,5 million from the Carl and Emily Fuchs Foundation.
As a result of this, the Beds of Hope campaign was launched today on the Main Campus in Bloemfontein. With the campaign, the department wants to address the serious need for specialised healthcare for babies and children in the central regions of South Africa.
The department is one of four out of 19 children hospitals in South Africa to receive such a donation. .
“We take care of babies and children in the Universitas and Pelonomi Hospitals in Bloemfontein who have a serious need for specialised healthcare. We are, however, the only supplier of this kind of care in the Free State, North West, Eastern Cape and Lesotho and are responsible for the specialised healthcare of more than 100 000 children. Many of our equipment are outdated and must be urgently repaired or replaced,” said Prof. André Venter, Head of the Department of Paediatrics and Child Care at the UFS.
“Because we are concerned about our patients, the department launched the Beds of Hope campaign with the help of the donation we received from the Fuchs Foundation. With the campaign, we aim to raise some R15 million in the space of two years to purchase beds and specialised equipment for the intensive care and high care units for both hospitals,” said Prof. Venter.
According to Prof. Venter, this includes babies and children with needs for specialised healthcare in the fields of intensive care, oncology, cardiology, neurology, endocrinology, gastro-enterology, neonatology and infectious diseases.
“About ten children are currently not receiving the care they need due to the lack of beds in the intensive care unit. Much more neonates can annually receive critical care if we can supply adequate facilities,” said Prof. Venter.
The other hospitals that are also supported by the Fuchs Foundation’s donation are: Healing Jozi Kids, Boikanyo Foundation and the Groote Schuur Hospital’s neonatal department.
The donation is the beginning of the first phase of the national Fuchs Healing Kids Project, which aims to improve the quality of paediatric care in South Africa.
The aim of this phase is to assist the hospitals to develop the systems and skills needed to collect more money. The research part of phase two and the building up of the hospitals’ children trust funds to be self self-supporting, will happen simultaneously. This phase will be launched early in 2008.
Media Release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@ufs.ac.za
16 November 2007
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