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03 May 2019 | Story Xolisa Mnukwa
David Cuads
The Johannesburg High Court Judiciary Chambers donated a new wheelchair to David Phakoa Mashape from the UFS.

The Johannesburg High Court Judiciary Chambers contacted the University of the Free State (UFS) Center for Universal Access and Disability Support (CUADS), expressing their desire to donate some wheelchairs to Kovsies in need. 

David Mashape, UFS Corporate and Marketing Communication student, heard the news and did not hesitate to show his keenness to possibly receive the wheelchair. He was soon after contacted by CUADS; Free State High Court Judge, Pitso Molitsoane, personally delivered the wheelchair to David at the UFS CUADS offices in April 2019.

David explained that he had been saving up for a new wheelchair for a while, as his own was quickly wearing out.  He further mentioned that he has aspirations to play wheelchair track sports, including wheelchair racing and wheelchair rugby, and that he can now focus his savings on purchasing himself a brand-new racing wheelchair, courtesy of the generous donation from the Johannesburg High Court Judiciary Chambers. 

As stipulated in their operative mandate, CUADS strives to facilitate, create opportunities for, and enhance students’ critical thought and ways of being that are consistent with human rights and the principles of social justice. This mandate is evident in the small every-day victories, such as David’s, facilitated by the department to ensure humanising daily lived experiences essential to cultivate student academic success, social engagement, and cohesive institutional culture.



News Archive

Department of Oncology provides hyperbaric chamber to cancer patients – a first in the Free State
2016-03-21

Description: Hyperbaric oxygen therapy  Tags: Hyperbaric oxygen therapy

From the left: De Villiers Brink, Gys Botes (both of the Par3 Golfday group that donated towards the hyperbaric chamber), Dr Alicia Sheriff (Head of the UFS Department of Oncology) and Prof Gert van Zyl (Dean of the UFS Faculty of Health Sciences).

Thanks to the Department of Oncology at the University of the Free State (UFS), cancer patients now have access to a hyperbaric chamber – a medical treatment that enhances the body’s healing process through the inhalation of oxygen.

In order to realise this tremendous addition to the treatment of cancer patients, the Department of Oncology established collaboration between the UFS School of Medicine, the Free State Department of Health, and a group of private donors. Currently the only one in the Free State, the hyperbaric chamber has been installed at the Oncology ward at National Hospital in Bloemfontein and will benefit not only patients from the Free State, but also the North West province and the Northern Cape.

While lying down in the chamber, the patient’s body absorbs more oxygen as a result of the high levels of air pressure. This process stimulates the healing of cancer wounds and various other injuries, including sports injuries.

Dr Alicia Sherriff, Head of the Department of Oncology (UFS), says her team is passionate about enhancing the quality of their patients’ lives, even when facing difficult circumstances. “I believe that the hyperbaric chamber is just one way of achieving this, since it helps decrease the harm done by certain medical conditions on the human body,” Dr Sherriff says.

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