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06 August 2021 | Story André Damons | Photo Charl Devenish
Sherry-Allan Jacobs is an operational logistic officer at the South African Doping Control Laboratory (SADoCoL) and believes making an impact in helping to prevent drug misuse in sports is one of the most interesting aspects about the field of Anti-Doping Science.
The South African Doping Control Laboratory (SADoCoL), the only World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)-accredited laboratory in Africa and which is located at the University of the Free State (UFS), mostly consist of women – each with an important role they play in keeping this unit in formation.

For one of these women, Sherry-Allan Jacobs, an operational logistic officer, making an impact in helping to prevent drug misuse in sports is one of the most interesting aspects about the field of Anti-Doping Science. 

If you apply you mind to it anything is possible 

Jacobs, whose daily responsibilities includes receipt and opening of sample shipments and entering sample information into database, preparation of analytical batches, believes the possibilities for women in science are endless. If you apply your mind to it anything is possible, says Jacobs who is also handles queries to/from clients and reporting of results to clients.

Like every work environment, this job comes with its own challenges – especially since the Olympic Games are currently taking place in Japan and SADoCoL has a role to play in testing athletes samples from Africa.

“I think in every work environment, there are challenges which can be resolved by staying calm and just do the work to the best of my ability. The Olympic Games are a wonderful opportunity for athletes to showcase their talent and also bringing work to countries and generating business. For us as a unit, we stay positive and move forward with the work,” says Jacobs. 

The country still has a long way to go

By doing her utmost to be a better version of herself for the people around her in her personal and work life, Jacobs believe, she adds value as a woman to her community and scientist. 

With August being women’s month, Jacobs says the country has a long way to go. “Gender-based violence (GBV) is still a big issue in the country. Another issue (we are battling currently) is the COVID-19 pandemic as women's lives are at risk for the mere fact that most frontline workers are women.” 

According to Jacobs these challenges can be addressed by punishing the perpetrators who commits these heinous crimes of GBV while the law does its utmost best to protect women against this crime. To protect frontline workers, says Jacobs, each person should do their part in the fight against the virus. 
 

News Archive

Art on Disasters to heal communities
2014-05-27

 
Fadzai Nyamusamba showing interest in the work: "Working on fire". This artwork was painted and donated by Mariette Pretorius, a professional artist from Bloemfontein. This art piece will be displayed at the South African National Disaster Management Centre in Pretoria.
Photo: Supplied
The Disaster Management Training and Education Centre for Africa (DiMTEC) at our university, recently launched its Art on Disasters initiative at the Gallery on Leviseur in Bloemfontein. 

Disasters have a devastating effect on societies and are accompanied by fear, uncertainties and often post-traumatic stress disorders. The creative arts have the ability to comfort survivors and those affected by tragedy. Amid disaster, art serves as a memorial, aids in the healing process and helps these communities to interpret their emotions. 

This is precisely the main focus of the Art on Disasters project. It aims to develop paintings, sculptures, dramas, theatre productions, poetry and music in collaboration with artists. These productions will then be presented to communities at risk of, or affected by, disasters, to create awareness and foster healing. 

Furthermore, the initiative will conduct research on art as a form of therapy and co-ordinate rehabilitation experts to assist the relevant communities. The artworks collected by the project, will be sold or auctioned to help raise funds. The proceeds will then be donated to a worthy cause as part of DiMTEC’s commitment to community service. 

The project will help console and heal communities and aspire to generate greater resilience to trauma. It will also give humanitarian workers the opportunity to advocate for disaster risk reduction and offer them an opportunity for psychological debriefing after attending to affected communities. 

“We will collect different categories of art related to all forms of disasters. These include paintings, photography, sculptures, poetry, music, theatre productions and short stories,” said Dr Andries Jordaan, Director of DiMTEC. “Stephanie Peters, Thomas Hart Benton, Tania Kovats and Medhi Naimi are just a few of the many artists that paint on man-made and natural disasters. They are artists that believe in art therapy as a form of self-expression, well-being and recovery,” he added. 

For more information about this initiative, or to possibly contribute as an artist, please contact Olivia Kunguma from DiMTEC on +27(0)51 401 9699 or kungumao@ufs.ac.za .

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