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08 December 2020 | Story Dikgapane Makhetha | Photo Supplied
UFS partners
At the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement between the UFS and local community radio stations were, from the left (front row): Lebogang Matolong, Station Manager of Motheo FM, and Prof Puleng LenkaBula, Vice-Rector: Institutional Change, Student Affairs, and Community Engagement. At the back (standing), are from the left: Mohau Rampeta, Programme Manager of Motheo FM, and Bishop Billyboy Ramahlele, Director: Community Engagement.
In response to the current COVID-19 pandemic, the Directorate: Community Engagement (CE) has initiated an innovative platform on which students can continue to engage with university community partners, and at the same time be assessed for their service-learning and community engagement projects. 

The E-Engagement approach also meets the University of the Free State’s (UFS) strategic mandate to be a caring, responsive, and engaged university. Coordinated by the UFS CE office, academic staff and students are scheduled to engage with the community partners through radio broadcasts and virtual mode platforms. Informative content that has been researched, prepared, and presented by students in a pre-recorded format, will address significant issues brought about by the surge of COVID-19, creating a breeding ground for some of the societal ills, such as gender-based violence (GBV).

In order to establish sustainable relationships with community radio stations, a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with two local community radio stations was signed on the UFS Bloemfontein Campus on 10 October 2020. Prof Puleng LenkaBula, the Vice-Rector: Institutional Change, Student Affairs, and Community Engagement, and Bishop Billyboy Ramahlele, CE Director, participated in the commitment to formalise the relationship between the UFS and the two radio stations, Mosupatsela FM and Motheo FM.

Master’s students from the Department of Psychology have produced and pre-recorded podcasts on community psychology. Their topics covered grief and self-compassion. The Department of Nutrition and Dietetics presented topics on a healthy lifestyle and diet. Fourth-year students from the School of Nursing have engaged new mothers concerning post-natal care. The School of Clinical Medicine has addressed the warning signs of burnout and preventative measures.

Bishop Ramahlele emphasised the importance of sustained relationship, which is expected to create further opportunities for interaction through partnerships in skills training (ICT) and the sharing of resources, including consultations through conference platforms. Prof LenkaBula highlighted the significance of the MOA by applauding the initiative, which has unlimited potential to ensure national development through student engagement, since universities create development sites that can be transferred further into the community. 

News Archive

Gaza doctor speaks of hope and courage
2011-10-21

 
An emotional Dr Izzeldin Abuelaish talks about the loss of his three daughters 
Photo: Johan Roux

Listen to Dr Abuelaish's public lectures (audio)

In 2009 Israeli forces bombed the house of Palestinian doctor Izzeldin Abuelaish killing four people: three of his daughters and a niece. Speaking about this life-changing event, Dr Abuelaish delivered two public lectures at the University of the Free State (UFS) this week spreading the message of hope and peace.

Dr Abuelaish, who was introduced as the Nelson Mandela of Palestine by Prof. Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector, spoke emotionally about the loss of his daughters Bessan, Aya and Miyar.  He told the audience that there was no reason for them to be killed. His girls were armed with love, hope and education.

He urged people to have moral courage and encouraged them to strive for justice, truth and peace. When there is justice and truth, peace is a consequence. “As a medical doctor I never lose hope. By the end of this world we will forget what enemies did, but will never forget the silence of brothers.”

Dr Abuelaish spoke passionately about the role of women in society and said a country develops by how much it invests in women’s education. “We must realise the strongest members in a community are women. Women maintain the hope.”

Speaking about his life in the war, being born Palestinian, Dr Abuelaish said it was painful to hear that Palestinians are numbers and statistics. “When a soldier is killed in Iraq or another place, the screen speaks for days about what he ate and what he hoped for, others are figures and numbers.”

Dr Abuelaish, who wrote the book I shall not hate, A Gaza Doctor’s Transformational Journey of loss, Love and Change, said the death of his daughters made him stronger and more focused not to give up. “I swore to my daughters and God not to rest, I fully believe I will meet them one day. I will meet them with the big gift of justice.”  

Visit the website www.daughtersforlife.com to read more about Dr Izzeldin Abuelaish.

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