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16 September 2019 | Story Valentino Ndaba | Photo Charl Devenish
Smoothie Bike challenge
The Smoothie Bike Challenge feeds the body, soul and the mind in support of mental health awareness.
Smoothie lovers at the University of the Free State (UFS) pedalled furiously to create their favourite drink. The Smoothie Bike Challenge was recently introduced to the Bloemfontein Campus community by the Division for Organisational Development and Employee Wellness.

Blending bikes and berries

Kovsies staff members were invited to pop a handful of berries and bananas into a blender attached to a specially adapted bike that uses pedal power to turn the ingredients into a refreshing drink. 

Blending physical exercise and healthy eating is one way to ensure holistic health. The division wanted to raise awareness around mental health and the effects that fitness and healthy food have on the mind. 

Wheelie good fun

“The purpose of this initiative was to involve employees in a fun way to use their bodies to make a healthy drink. Individuals of all fitness levels could participate,” said Burneline Kaars, head of the organisational development and employee wellness division.

A precursor to Mental Health Awareness month

Participants provided the energy to make the smoothie and Employee Wellness provided the ingredients but the initiative also created awareness around mental health. This comes weeks before the country officially enters Mental Health Awareness month.

According to the government: “The month of October has been declared Mental Health Awareness month with the objective of not only educating the public about mental health but to reduce the stigma and discrimination that people with mental illness are often subjected to.”

An estimated 400 million people worldwide suffer from mental or neurological disorders or experience psychosocial problems. Initiatives such as the Smoothie Bike Challenge are some of the ways in which the UFS is attempting to ensure that staff members are taken care of and do not become statistics. In the light of these numbers, it is evident that continuous efforts are necessary to tackle the issue.



News Archive

Different religions introduced at UFS forum
2010-08-18

 
Mr Ronnie Rosen, leader of the Jewish community in Bloemfontein.

The Inter-Religious Forum (IRF) of the Faculty of Theology at the University of the Free State (UFS) has started a discussion series which offer the opportunity to different religions to introduce themselves. According to Rev. Maniraj Sukdaven from the Department of Religion Studies at the UFS, the purpose of the discourse series is to get to know more about one another’s religion within an atmosphere of respect.

During the last IRF meeting, Mr Ronnie Rosen, leader of the Jewish community in Bloemfontein, gave a talk about the Jewish religion. According to him there is a wide range of Jewish people.

“The one thing, however, that all Jewish people have in common is the Torah or Law-Book. There are 613 instructions that help a Jewish person to organise his life according to the Jewish way of life. For example, a Jewish person who wants to obey the Torah would not consume dairy products and protein together. This life style is not only regarded as a religion, but a way of life, which constantly makes a person aware of his relationship with God,” he explained.

Another interesting fact that transpired during the discussion was that, for the first time in the history of the world, there are more Jews in Israel than in other concentrated areas across the world. Five (5) million Jews are currently living in Israel, while the remaining 10 million Jews are spread across the world.

During the meeting of the IRF forum, persons from amongst others the Baha’i, Hindu and Christian religions participated in the discussion. Other religions that have already been discussed are Hinduism, Christianity, Islam and Rastafarians.

The IRF will also be involved in the structuring of course material about the different religions and an inter-religious conference will be part of the IRF’s programme in 2011.

The IRF is the only institution of its kind at South African universities.



 

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