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12 October 2020 | Story Xolisa Mnukwa | Photo Supplied
Your kindness is contagious
Counselling psychologist at the university, Nhlori Ngobeni, believes that what you give to others does not necessarily leave your life; it comes back to you in some way or another, for the benefit of your health and well-being.

The month of October has been declared Mental Health Awareness Month, with the objective of not only educating the public about mental health, but also to reduce the stigma and discrimination to which people with mental illness are often subjected.

The COVID-19 global pandemic and the subsequent implementation of the lockdown have had an impact on all aspects of our lives: family, relationships, the economy, educational institutions, health system, to name a few.

As stipulated by the South African Department of Health and the South African Federation for Mental Health, mental-health problems come as the result of a complex interplay between biological, psychological, social, and environmental factors.

With that being said, University of the Free State (UFS) counselling psychologist and writer of the article Ubuntu, Nhlori Ngobeni, explains that the demands of our changing world can become quite overwhelming, leaving one feeling burdened by all the changes they need to make. She reflected on the increased challenges that students have experienced in their academics, physical and mental health, finances, and interpersonal relationships as a result of the pandemic, and how the spirit of Ubuntu can act as a catalyst of support.

Nelson Mandela defined Ubuntu as “the profound sense that we are human only through the humanity of others; that if we are to accomplish anything in this world, it will in equal measure be due to the work and achievement of others”.

Exercising your humanity through actions, words, gestures,
and thoughts can aid the sustenance of humanity.


Benefits of Ubuntu
Ngobeni further elaborated that living out your humanity should not be done to get something in return. She explained the essence and benefits of Ubuntu as the belief that being kind to others is like planting a seed and watering it daily. “It is guaranteed to yield some fruits. What you give to others does not necessarily leave your life; it comes back to you in some way or another, for the benefit of your health and well-being,” she added.

Ubuntu in action
Exercising your humanity through actions, words, gestures, and thoughts can aid the sustenance of humanity.

Here are some ways you can live out your humanity:

• Live out your values: showing love; caring for and respecting others; choosing to forgive; having sympathy and empathy; being kind and compassionate.
• Acts of service: spending time with others; sharing your knowledge; running an errand for the elderly; making a cup of tea for your parents or organising a movie or games night for your family.
• Giving: food, clothes, time, or money.
• Being intentional: being genuine and present in your everyday experiences or encounters. Calling a classmate or friend and checking on them.
• Gestures: greeting, nodding, smiling, waving, etc. … simply acknowledging others.

Visit the Kovsie Life Well-being Warriors page for important telephone numbers and online resources offered by the UFS Department of Student Counselling and Development.

News Archive

Nobel Prize-winner presents first lecture at Vice-Chancellor’s prestige lecture series
2017-11-17


 Description: Prof Levitt visit Tags: Prof Levitt visit

At the first lecture in the UFS Vice Chancellor’s Prestige Lecture series,
were from the left: Prof Jeanette Conradie, UFS Department of Chemistry;
Prof Michael Levitt, Nobel Prize-winner in Chemistry, biophysicist and
professor in structural biology at Stanford University; Prof Francis Petersen,
UFS Vice-Chancellor and Rector; and Prof Corli Witthuhn,
UFS Vice-Rector: Research. 
Photo: Johan Roux

South African born biophysicist and Nobel Prize-winner in Chemistry, Prof Michael Levitt, paid a visit to the University of the Free Sate (UFS) as part of the Academy of Science of South Africa’s (ASSAf) Distinguished Visiting Scholars’ Programme. 

Early this week the professor in structural biology at Stanford University in the US presented a captivating lecture on the Bloemfontein Campus on his lifetime’s work that earned him the Nobel Prize in 2013. His lecture launched the UFS Vice-Chancellor’s Prestige Lecture series, aimed at knowledge sharing within, and beyond our university boundaries. 

Prof Levitt was one of the first researchers to conduct molecular dynamics simulations of DNA and proteins and developed the first software for this purpose. He received the prize for Chemistry, together with Martin Karplus and Arieh Warshel, “for the development of multiscale models for complex chemical systems”.

Attending the lecture were members of UFS management, academic staff from a range of faculties and other universities as well as young researchers. “Multiscale modelling is very much based on something that makes common sense,” Prof Levitt explained. “And that is to makes things as simple as possible, but not simpler. Everything needs to have the right level of simplicity, that is not too simple, but not too complicated.”  

An incredible mind
Prof Levitt enrolled for applied mathematics at the University of Pretoria at the age of 15. He visited his uncle and aunt in London after his first-year exams, and decided to stay on because they had a television, he claims. A series on molecular biology broadcast on BBC, sparked an interest that would lead Prof Levitt via Israel, and Cambridge, to the Nobel Prize stage – all of which turned out to be vital building blocks for his research career. 

Technology to the rescue
The first small protein model that Prof Levitt built was the size of a room. But that exercise led to the birth of multiscale modelling of macromolecules. For the man on the street, that translates to computerised models used to simulate protein action, and reaction. With some adaptations, the effect of medication can be simulated on human protein in a virtual world. 

“I was lucky to stand on the shoulder of giants,” he says about his accomplishments, and urges the young to be good and kind. “Be passionate about what you do, be persistent, and be original,” he advised.  

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