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05 February 2019 | Story Xolisa Mnukwa | Photo Moeketsi Mokgotsi
KovsieAct Eco Cars Read More
Kovsies weld their way to a sustainable environment

The 2019 group of first-year students can look forward to a fun and adventure-filled first two weeks (28 January–9 February) of varsity life, as a number of projects and activities await them.

Kovsie ACT’s main theme for 2019 revolves around building ‘awareness’. This includes a tree-and-traffic-signs project which entails old T-shirts/material being sewn/crocheted together to make different patterns to be fitted around the trees on campus in order to create a beautiful piece of art portraying a message of ‘awareness’.

A canvas painting will also form part of the events, as first-years – with the help of their seniors – will be required to put together a painting that addresses environmental, crime, gender-based, and other societal issues that will later be placed on the wall at the Thakaneng Bridge.

On the morning of 9 February 2019, seniors will tackle the community-engagement leg of the Kovsie ACT line-up, working in their respective teams to decorate an eco-vehicle from waste materials. Each team has their own Pit stop – decorated in F1 style. This eco-vehicle race will take place on Saturday morning from 09:00 – 12:00 in Academia road (in front of Emily Hobhouse Residence).  In addition, art sculptures will be built to form part of the Eco-vehicle race. These art pieces - if approved – will after the Eco-vehicle challenge be assigned a spot on campus where it can spread the message of awareness and be appreciated by fellow students.

The abovementioned projects are expected to withstand adverse weather conditions and last for a minimum of six months.

To close off the Kovsie ACT activities, students and the public can see forward to exciting performances during the Kovsie ACT music festival on the evening of 9 February. This will include musical sensations such as the likes of Sho Madjozi, Bittereinder, Busiswa, and many more.

Tickets for the festival are available at the UFS Bloemfontein Campus Rag Farm and the Food Zone store. For more information on Kovsie ACT, visit https://www.ufs.ac.za/rag or contact Esmé Wessels at WesselsE@ufs.ac.za

News Archive

Head of SA Witness Protection Programme pays UFS a visit
2010-05-04

 
Receiving the Head of the South African Witness Protection Programme are, in front: Prof. Hennie Oosthuizen, Head of the Department of Criminal and Medical Law at the UFS; back: Adv. Beatri Kruger from the UFS Unit for Children’s Rights, Ms Lani Opperman, Member of the Free State Human Trafficking Forum (FHF), Adv. John Welch, Head of the Witness Protection Programme in South Africa; and Lene van Zyl, a LLM student at the UFS who is doing her thesis on human trafficking in body parts.
Photo: Leonie Bolleurs


Recently Adv. Beatri Kruger from the Unit for Children’s Rights in the Faculty of Law at the University of the Free State (UFS) invited Adv. John Welch, Head of the Witness Protection Programme in South Africa, to address the Free State Human Trafficking Forum (FHF) on the safe-keeping of victims who are witnesses against human traffickers.

Human trafficking is prevalent in the Free State, especially in Bloemfontein. The Unit for Children’s Rights is one of the founding members of the FHF that was established to take action against and fight the disturbing reality of human trafficking more efficiently.

According to Adv. Kruger the FHF identified the problem of trafficked witnesses being threatened by human trafficker syndicates.

Adv. Welch made some suggestions with regard to the safe-keeping of trafficked victims. He also, with some of the forum members, paid a visit to the areas in Bloemfontein where human trafficking is prevalent as well as to the local shelter for trafficked victims.

Adv. Welch undertook to join forces with the FHF in assisting trafficked victims and the local Witness Protection Programme Office is now a member of the forum.

Since December 2009 members of the FHF managed to disrupt the work of the human trafficking syndicates. “The traffickers have not stopped this inhumane practice but there are indications that they have moved to other buildings in the inner city and even to houses in the suburbs. It was reported to the forum that approximately 27 males suspected of being involved in human trafficking had been arrested, and since they are illegal in the country, they were deported to their countries of origin,” said Adv. Kruger.

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