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Wellness drive officially launched

15 June 2020 | Story Amanda Thongha

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WATCH: Prof Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS, Prof Hendri Kroukamp, the Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, Susan Van Jaarveld, Senior Director at the Department of Human Sources, and Brandon Jacobs, Head of Retail and Business Banking at Standard Bank, Central Free State explain what the “I Am’ Wellness programme is about.

Maintaining a healthy work-life balance continues to be a juggling act for most, more so during this uncertain time dominated by COVID-19. To help individuals cope with life challenges, the University of the Free State (UFS) has launched a new short learning programme that addresses all aspects of well-being.

The ‘I Am’ Wellness short learning programme, open to UFS staff, private individuals, and businesses, kicks off on 19 June 2020. A number of prominent South Africans participating in the launch of the ‘I Am’ Wellness short learning programme are, among others, Kovsie alumna and former Miss World, Rolene Strauss; former Miss South Africa, Amy Kleinhans; and motivational speaker and author, Alison Botha. Former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela rounds off the list of public figures who have also expressed interest in the programme.

Burneline Kaars, Head of Organisational Development and Employee Wellness at the UFS, says those interested in the programme can look forward to content focusing on different topics and themes related to wellness aspects. Participants will discover the fun of finding ways to improve their health and well-being through activities, games, quizzes, and many more.

“Upon completion of this programme, participants will be equipped to understand and improve their own personal and work-related well-being. They will be empowered to increase their own well-being and reach their optimal potential in both their personal and work life.”

The programme, a joint effort of the UFS Division of Organisational Development and Employee Wellness and the UFS Department of Industrial Psychology, can be completed online or as part of contact sessions, depending on the needs of the participants. Participants need to avail themselves four hours a week to successfully complete the programme. Those who master the two-month programme will also receive a certificate of completion from the UFS.

The programme is offered to UFS staff at no cost. External audiences will pay R9 500 per person to complete the programme. Groups of 10 and more will get a special discount when signing up.

Registration for the formal programme opens on Wednesday, 24 June 2020.

For more information, contact Burneline Kaars at KaarsB@ufs.ac.za.

Other programmes done by the UFS Organisational Development and Employee Wellness office:

First #MentalHealth awareness run to Stellenbosch to bring hope
Kovsies pedal smoothie bike for #MentalHealth

News Archive

Human trafficking research demystifies juju practices

2017-10-28

Description: Human trafficking research Tags: Human trafficking research

Human trafficking is a practice that exists
in many countries all over the world and
whose victims are sold as commodities
into a life of servitude and sex slavery.
Photo: iStock

Human trafficking is a complex crime that transcends cultural, religious and geographical barriers. It is a practice that exists in many countries all over the world and whose victims are sold as commodities into a life of servitude and sex slavery.

Prof Beatri Kruger, Research Associate at the Free State Centre for Human Rights (FSCHR) at the UFS, has been exploring research related to the use of “juju” rituals used by perpetrators of human trafficking in South Africa and on the African continent. She joined the Centre for Human Rights in 2017, and was previously a law lecturer at the UFS Faculty of Law.

She recently co-wrote Exploring juju and human trafficking: towards a demystified perspective and response in the South African Review of Sociology, alongside Marcel van der Watt of the Department of Police Practice at the University of South Africa (Unisa).

The research explores juju and forms of witchcraft as a phenomenon, while illuminating some of the multilayered complexities associated with its use as a control mechanism.

Prof Kruger and Van der Watt’s work is a step towards understanding how the practice of juju brings on a more complicated aspect of trafficking in persons in South Africa and how agencies working to combat this crime can understand it and be better equipped to stop the crime and assist victims.

The findings of the research confirmed the use of juju as a combination of arcane methods used by Nigerian traffickers as a control measure. The term resonates with most participants, but included interchangeable references to witchcraft, voodoo, muti, black magic and curses. The victims of these rituals included women of black, coloured and Nigerian descent in South Africa.

Nigerian traffickers operating in and between Nigeria, South Africa and European countries are steadily gaining momentum; it will take a concerted effort for multiple countries involved to take steps within their legal frameworks as well as academic spaces to come together to combat the crime cross-continentally.

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