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#Challenge: Have a Heart and donate blood

17 February 2021 | Story Andre Damons | Photo Pixabay

blood donation_web read more — Two final-year MBChB students show how it is done when they donated blood earlier this year.

Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) staff and students in the Faculty of Health Sciences have challenged other departments in the faculty as well as other faculties and departments at the University of the Free State (UFS) to see whose staff and students will donate the most blood!

Mrs Angela Vorster, UFS Clinical Psychologist, says the South African National Blood Services (SANBS) has been appealing for increased blood donations since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic last year. In order to provide support, the School of Clinical Medicine at the UFS held a virtual blood donation challenge in 2020, to encourage students to participate in altruistic behaviour and to enable the pre-clinical platform year groups to also feel like they are providing essential medical assistance.

“This was hugely successful and consequently we decided to include a blood donation challenge in our annual Mental Health Awareness programme. The benefits of donating blood are not only of a physiological nature (e.g. it assists in reducing iron levels and helps to control high blood pressure etc.) but means you are giving something of yourself. It will definitely save at least one life, perhaps more, and is incredibly beneficial in enhancing feelings of self-worth and personal meaning,” says Vorster.

The Faculty of Health Sciences invited the SANBS to UFS this week to provide all students and staff with the opportunity to donate blood at their place of work and study. So Have a Heart and take a few minutes to relax with a cookie and cool drink while your heart does the work of blood donation for you.

Details are as follows:

When: 18 and 19 February

Where: Francois Retief Foyer UFS

Time: 07:00-14:30

News Archive

UFS awarded R3,6-million to train court interpreters

2008-05-15

At the training session for court interpreters that took place on the Main Campus of the UFS in Bloemfontein recently are, from the left, front: Ms Zandile Mtolo, Pietermaritzburg, Ms Lindiwe Gamede, Bethlehem; back: Mr Sipho Majombozi, Port Shepstone, Prof. Lotriet, and Mr Mzi Nombewu, Upington. The four learners are working at their respective magistrates courts.
Photo: Lacea Loader

UFS awarded R3,6-million to train court interpreters

A contract to the value of R3,6-million has been awarded to the University of the Free State (UFS) to train court interpreters throughout South Africa.

The contract was awarded to the Department of Afro-asiatic Studies, Sign Language and Language Practice at the UFS by the Safety and Security Sector Education and Training Authority (SASSETA).

“We are the only tertiary institution in the country that offers a national diploma in court interpreting. It provides a unique opportunity to court interpreters to be trained by a group of eight lecturers who are experts in the field,” says Prof. Annelie Lotriet, associate professor at the Department of Afro-asiatic Studies, Sign Language and Language Practice.

Prof. Lotriet is an internationally renowned interpreting expert who was also responsible for the training of interpreters for the former Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

According to Prof. Lotriet no co-ordinated training programmes for court interpreters existed and there was also no control over the training processes. The programme, initiated by the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, is managed by the SASSETA. “It is the first time that the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development initiates such an extensive training programme for court interpreters,” says Prof. Lotriet.

The group of 100 court interpreters on the programme are from all over the country. Of the group, ten are unemployed learners who interpret for the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development on an ad-hoc basis.

The programme, which stretches over two years, comprises of theoretical and service training. Contact sessions take place in Bloemfontein, Pretoria and Cape Town, four times a year for two weeks at a time. The second contact session for Bloemfontein was recently completed.

“Learners are nominated by their regional offices. The programme consists of interpreting theory, interpreting practice and basic law subjects. The training material is developed and written by the SASSETA and facilitated and presented by the UFS. The learners interpret in all the 11 languages. Some of them can speak a couple of languages each,” says Prof. Lotriet.

“Everything is going very well with the programme and we are receiving a lot of positive feedback from the learners. This first group is an experiment and it depends on their success whether the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development will expand the programme,” says Prof. Lotriet.

Media Release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@ufs.ac.za
15 May 2008

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