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NJ van der Merwe residence renamed Lehakwe House

03 March 2021 | Story Giselle Baillie | Photo Supplied

NJ van Merwe Read More (1)_web — Residence members who led the project, included: Bohlokwa Rantja, the Residence Prime, and Transformation Committee members Nsuku Mutemela, Ofentse Motlakeng, Phindile Tjale, Madinku Mabala, Mmapopi Motshoso, Karabo Shuping, and Tagane Sekete.

The University of the Free State (UFS) Council approved and adopted Lehakwe House as the new name for the NJ van der Merwe residence on the Bloemfontein Campus. The approval on 26 November 2020 followed a lengthy process of deliberation, consultation, and public engagement that has taken place since November 2019 and is aligned with the UFS Policy on Naming and Renaming. The name-change process was initiated by the Prime and Transformation Committee of the residence, guided by the Unit for Institutional Change and Social Justice and supported by a multi-stakeholder committee representative of the residence, the Housing and Residence Affairs Office, the Department of Student Affairs, the Student Representative Council, and alumni.

Lehakwe – a precious gem

Following a lengthy evaluation process of the names submitted through a public voting and recommendation platform in July 2020, ‘Lehakwe’ – a Sesotho word referring to a ‘precious gem’ – emerged as the front runner. As many current and past members of the residence attest, this womxn’s residence has come to occupy a significant space within the hearts and minds of UFS students and the UFS community, given that its spirit has always been closely aligned with the constitutional values of dignity, equality, and freedom and with the human values of ubuntu. In this vein, the new name of ‘Lehakwe’ presents a consolidation of constitutional and university values into the day-to-day thinking, learning, living, and legacy spaces of students, as well as everyone who interacts and engages with the UFS.

News Archive

Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu visiting the UFS once again

2012-07-13

Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu
13 July 2012

The University of the Free State (UFS) will once again be honoured by the presence of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu on Wednesday 18 July 2012.

Dr Tutu will be speaking at our Bloemfontein Campus for the first session of a two-day “In Conversation With …”event that is part of the Global Leadership Summit currently being held on the campus.

This sessions starts at 09:30 at the Centenary Complex. The media is invited to attend this session.

Dr Tutu will be in dialogue with Prof. Mark Solms, Head of the Department of Psychology at the University of Cape Town and owner of the Solms-Delta Wine Estate in Franschhoek.

The theme for this conversation, facilitated by Prof. Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela, will be “Living Reconciliation: Winds of Change in Franschhoek and Transformation at Solms-Delta Wine Estate”. This is based on the transformation introduced by Solms on his farm in the Franschhoek Valley.

Prof. Gobodo-Madikizela is a Senior Research Professor on trauma, forgiveness and reconciliation at the UFS.

As owner of Solms-Delta Wine Estate in Franschhoek, Prof. Solms led an initiative to transform the lives of farm workers on the estate through the Wijn de Caab Trust. This initiative was extended to empower the wider community of farm dwellers when Prof. Solms co-founded the Delta Trust and the Franschhoek Valley Transformation Charter. This organisation aims to break trans-generational cycles of social division and inequality in the valley.

The dialogue with Dr Tutu will highlight the significance of these initiatives as examples of deepening the link between socially responsive scholarship, commitment to social justice and responsible citizenship in contemporary South Africa.

Last year, the UFS awarded Dr Tutu an honorary doctorate in Theology, marking a milestone in the history of the university.

At 12:30, Dr Tutu will visit the Red Square in front of the UFS Main Building, where he will join in the fundraising festivities for the university’s official Nelson Mandela Day event and deliver a short address.

Schools in the vicinity, UFS staff and students and the public are invited to take part in the R5 coin laying ceremony in front of the Main Building.

The money collected at this event will be used to benefit the No Student Hungry (NSH) campaign as well as Bloemfontein Child Welfare.

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