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28 May 2021 | Story Anita Lombard | Photo Supplied
Anita Lombard (left) and Dr Adre le Roux, Senior Lecturer in the School of Education Studies, were among the first people over 60 years to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
A journey is always part of the destination and Drake once said: “Sometimes it’s the journey that teaches you a lot about your destination.”
My Sesotho name is Lerato, meaning ‘love’, but on our UFS campuses I am better known as Anita Lombard from UVPERSU – of which I have been an integral part since 1999 when I was appointed as the first full-time CEO of the trade union. 

On 5 March 2020, the lives of all South Africans changed dramatically. COVID-19 entered our country through a person carrying an invisible virus monster, which was by then already raging through the world, and we all had to adapt urgently to a ‘new normal’.

It was in our hands to adapt to the changing environment and not allow COVID-19 to wipe us out to become extinct like the dinosaurs that were wiped out by an asteroid many years ago. 

The one moment, we, as a very privileged family, were spending a glorious long weekend in Cape Town in February 2020, marching with the community and world-famous cellist Yo-Yo Ma in support of the oppressed and displaced District Six people, enjoying the beauty of the mountain and the sea, and drinking wine on the sunny terrace of a beautiful wine farm – and the next moment, we were back home and caught up in a Level five lockdown.

Living through a pandemic

At first, I was so overwhelmed by what was happening around me, that I didn’t grasp the reality and the seriousness of my own journey that lay ahead.   This journey through the COVID-19 pandemic would teach me a lot about myself, other people, and my eventual COVID-19 destination dream, which became reality on a chair in a vaccination venue at the Universitas Hospital in Bloemfontein in the Free State on Monday 24 May 2021.

I can write a book about how I initially coped with protecting and shielding myself from the virus monster by working from home, which I, as a self-acknowledged and disciplined workaholic, came to enjoy very much – doing all my shopping online, which opened up a whole new world for me, and re-arranging my entire social life to cope with circumstances and still maintain a balance to keep my sanity.  I very soon realised that I would never become a successful motivational speaker, since it’s easy to motivate people who have the same resources as I, as a privileged person.  It has become a serious challenge and a life goal to work out ways in which to help others who are not so privileged, and I would love to share it with you when there is an opportunity to do so.  I believe it should be an ongoing process to give to those who are suffering in many ways.

I will probably write proper memoirs one day, but for now I just want to share my vaccination journey, its history, and my innermost fears, emotions, and desires with you, without becoming a scientific dictionary.  This is the story of an ordinary human being who wanted to stay alive and healthy amid the onslaught of a monster.

Vaccination in the news

I have always enjoyed reading about topics of the day, but all of a sudden, these topics became negative facts and narratives about a killer virus’ path of destruction and heartbreak.  During a time of panic and despondency, a small light appeared in a dark tunnel – scientists and big pharmaceutical companies started working on a vaccine for this novel killer virus.

At the same time, fake news and horror stories about the virus and vaccines started dominating news headlines.  Yes, at times I was very bitter, since – as an animal and wildlife activist – I will never ever be able to understand, identify with, or accept so-called ‘wet markets’ where innocent and defenceless animals suffer beyond words at the hands of humans.  Even after more than a year of the pandemic that rocked the world, the real origin of this specific virus remains largely a mystery. Could it be that nature is taking revenge? But that is a debate for another day.

All the time, I carried on reading widely and attending as many information webinars as possible, both nationally and internationally.   I stuck to reliable sources and avoided dodgy videos and alien stories that were too far-fetched to be true!   I tried very hard to stay calm and positive, to believe in my common sense, and rely on my logic and sound scientific arguments.  Because of this attitude, I could easily distinguish between fake news and facts.  I must say, it helps a lot to be part of an excellent institution like the University of the Free State, where I can mingle with top medical and other scientists and take serious note of their research and guidance.  Our HR department delivers world-class information and support, and I will always be very proud of my engagement with them during these difficult times.  I commend Ms Susan van Jaarsveld and her team, Sister Riana Johnson, Head of Kovsie Health, and her team, Protection Services and all the other essential workers, support staff, and academics on our three campuses.   Your hard work and sacrifices are highly appreciated.  We are dependent on students as our clients and the ship had to be kept afloat.
UVPERSU is a very unique trade union, and its values and goals still help to keep me on track.  Our UVPERSU team’s total commitment to combat the pandemic and to protect our members’ jobs and to secure a safe workplace, is the best motivation one can dream of to stay positive and work together to slay this virus monster.

Vaccination breakthrough 

At last, the vaccination breakthrough came, and with it, hope that many lives can be saved! I also lost family members, friends, and colleagues who succumbed to COVID-19, and this had an effect on my own mental stability and emotional well-being. At times it felt like a child’s seesaw ride – one moment up in the clouds and the next moment you bump hard onto the ground.  At the same time, I had to support UVPERSU members and other friends and family who needed my support and advice. Bob Marley once said that you never know how strong you are, until being strong is the only choice you have. An unknown person said that being strong doesn’t mean that you will never get hurt, but it means that even when you get hurt, you won’t let it defeat you.  I could relate to people who felt alone and lonesome and the thought that I won’t allow to be defeated and that I could support other people, kept me strong.  Here I must say that I am also very lucky to have a wonderful support system of friends, family, and colleagues, and technology became a very close best friend!  If you do Skype or Teams, you don’t have to wear a mask and you don’t need to be scared of contracting COVID! The same goes for WhatsApp video calls!

The vaccination experiments eventually developed into real action, with people all over the world being vaccinated. My family and friends in Europe, the US, UK, and Cyprus shared the good news with me, while at the same time sympathising with me, since in South Africa, it was not always clear what would happen and when and how vaccinations will happen, who will be the first to receive vaccinations, and if there will be enough vaccines.  I visited the Seychelles in 2019, and when I recently read how many people of the total population on this faraway island paradise have already been vaccinated, I wanted to cry.   After the AstraZeneca disaster, I really started to doubt if we will ever be vaccinated. I was fast losing hope that we would be vaccinated any time soon. It didn’t help much to read about predictions stating that it would take many years to vaccinate the entire SA population!

My faith, my wonderful and fulfilling UVPERSU job, exercising regularly, and playing my piano and keyboard have helped me a lot to stay hopeful and positive.  Since my early childhood, I have always been scared of going to the doctor and of injections!  But as I grew up and realised that travelling to weird and wonderful places would involve vaccinations, I overcame most of my fears, and injections became friends to protect me against visits to doctors! So here I was, too eager for words to be vaccinated!  After many of my colleagues and friends in the health sector were vaccinated, I couldn’t wait to feel that needle in my arm!  In the end, I actually didn’t really feel anything, since the nurse who administered my vaccine was clearly a pro! 

I read every day about vaccination phases and rollouts and sometimes got very frustrated with the slow progress!  I registered three times on the EVDS system, and I also registered on the Discovery system!  I must admit – a total overkill, but I wanted to make sure I won’t be skipped!   Imagine my excitement when the UFS HR department and the Free State’s own vaccinations hero, Dr Nicholas Pearce, started explaining in a meeting that my dream could soon become a reality!  I never doubted the scientific composition of the vaccine or believed any ridiculous claim about DNA changes, etc.  I just wanted some protection against a killer, which already claimed too many lives.

Then the wait began for the magical SMS with an invitation and a code … to this day, I haven’t received that invitation, but thanks to Dr Nicholas Pearce and his initiatives and drives, I received my vaccination on Monday 24 May 2021, after I almost lost hope during the previous weekend!   On my way to the vaccination site, I experienced a whirlwind of emotions – I didn’t know whether I should laugh or cry!  But there’s another story to the story!  Age!  For the first time in my life, I was glad that I was over 60 and not 35, as we always joke in our family! 

Getting the shot

The set-up at the Universitas Hospital vaccination site was absolutely fantastic and very organised.  We can really be very proud of Dr Pearce and his team, and I want to thank them from the bottom of my heart for what they are doing for us here in our small, but COVID-ridden Free State province.  We shall overcome!

I feel guilty that I am so privileged and that I got my vaccination before other younger people with more serious comorbidities than my mild asthma.  I just hope and pray that they will get their vaccinations soon.   It is so important to stay safe and to sacrifice, among other things, social gatherings, until you can get your vaccination.   Wear that mask, sanitise, and keep your social distance.

Through my posts on Facebook, I could help many people and refer them to Universitas Hospital.  I could also adjure them to get vaccinated and allay fears created by fake news.  I didn’t become an alien; I didn’t grow a monkey tail and I don’t have magnetic powers in my injected arm!  I am still the Anita from UVPERSU that many of you have known for years!  What has changed, is that I now have antibodies and other ways and means to help my body fight a killer disease. 

My dream to be vaccinated, came true … I now hope and pray that my fellow Africans and people all over the globe can be vaccinated so that we can slay this monster that are ruining lives, jobs, freedom, happiness, and many other things that we have so often taken for granted.

Get vaccinated, and so we will achieve together as UVPERSU’s magical slogan urges us to do. Achieve together – Re fihlella mmoho

News Archive

Official opening ceremony of the UFS Qwaqwa Campus
2006-02-15

Official opening ceremony of the UFS Qwaqwa Campus
11th February 2006 – Multipurpose Hall

Opening Speech:
Prof. Peter A. Mbati
Campus Principal

Successfully rising to the challenges of incorporations and mergers – developing a vibrant and academically stimulating satellite campus of the University of the Free State.

Thank you Mr. Program Director and good morning ladies and gentlemen.

I wish to once again welcome all of you to the official opening ceremony of the University of the Free State QQ campus.  Thank you for taking time to share with us an important date in our campus academic calendar.  I bring you greetings from our Rector and Vice Chancellor Prof. Frederick Fourie.

During such occasions we try and reflect on important matters that have affected us as an institution in the preceding year, commit ourselves to specific objectives for the current year, while planning for the proceeding year.

Today I shall be talking on Successfully rising to the challenges of incorporations and mergers – developing a vibrant and academically stimulating satellite campus of the University of the Free State’.

SRC inauguration
I would like to congratulate the SRC President and the entire SRC leadership for being elected into important positions of student leadership and authority. 

As a university we are proud of the quality of our student leadership on the Qwaqwa campus.  I am confident that you young leaders will rise to the challenges of your office and discharge your duties with diligence and without fear or favour.  That you will rise above your party affiliations and provide effective leadership to the entire student body on campus.
                              
Leadership is complex and requires you to be objective, just and fair in your approach to the many challenges that you will encounter.  You will be judged not by the populist decision that you take when confronted with difficult choices, but rather, on the wisdom that you exercise in reaching consensus in decision making processes.

The era when management and student leadership viewed each other with suspicion and as adversaries is long gone.  Management, academic and administrative staff, parents and students must have common agendas in as far the  quality growth and development of our university is concerned and to strive towards academic excellence.  I leave the challenge to you students, and more so to the inaugurated student leaders to define your agenda in achieving this noble objective.  I trust that you will make the right choices.

Brief history of incorporation
On the recommendations of the National Working Group of Higher Education, the Qwaqwa Campus of the then University of the North was incorporated into the University of the Free State on 1st January 2003.  We suddenly had to move from a campus that was originally semi-autonomous and with its own culture developed over almost 20 years, into a campus that had to operate as a fully integrated campus of the UFS, a 100 year old institution with its distinct culture.

Following incorporation, we not only had to continue with our core business of teaching, learning, research and community service, but we also had to engage in other important aspects such as exploring the most appropriate models of governance for the campus, encouraging dialogue and interactions at all levels between personnel at the different campuses with a view to developing trust between colleagues. And with the added dimensions such as participation in the transformation task team we in effect are at the fore front of developing a new institutional culture at the UFS and a truly South African University.

UFS Strategic objectives
The strategic and transformation priorities of the University of the Free State for 2006 – 2008 as approved by the Executive Management at its retreat in January 2006 are:

  • Quality and Excellence
  • Equity, diversity and redress
  • Financial sustainability
  • Regional co-operation and engagement

Central to this priority is the integration of the Qwaqwa campus as a valuable constituent part of the UFS, and the strategic reconfiguration of the campus in order that the UFS can play a meaningful role in regional engagement and development.

  • National leadership

The five strategic objectives cannot be viewed in isolation and run simultaneously and in concert with each other. 

The Question must therefore be what we on the QQ campus, staff and students, parents and our broader community are willing to do to achieve these strategic objectives. The reconfiguration and strategic planning of this campus, and therefore its success, must be a collaborative effort between colleagues at QQ and on the main campus.  We must all be ready to work together, to plan together, to shoulder responsibilities together and sometimes, to share the pain and disappointments together. 

The second question must therefore be: are we prepared to go that extra mile for our campus to ensure that we claim our rightful stake within the ranks of well respected academic institutions of higher learning in this country?  At this point in its history this campus requires committed men and women from across the cultural spectrum who appreciate the challenges ahead of us and who are ready to give of their best and to constructively engage at all levels to make this dream a reality.  Because this dream is possible and this dream will be realized!

Quality and Excellence (1st strategic objective)

As mentioned by the Rector in his speech at the official opening ceremony of the university on the main campus on Friday 3rd February, the university will in 2006 pay extra attention to Quality and Excellence.  This is informed by the Higher Education Quality Committee’s (HEQC) institutional audit which is scheduled to take place this year.  Our university as well as several other HEI’s will be subjected to this audit.  This will call for a lot of hard work on your part in preparation for a successful audit and in this regard therefore I request for your cooperation.

As a further step in confirming our commitment to quality and excellence, we have simultaneously introduced on the QQ campus and the main campus workshops on performance management systems to a cohort group.  This will be expanded in 2006 to a wider group of managers on the QQ campus to include among others all Program Heads and Subject Heads. PMS is an invaluable tool for fair, effective and efficient management of a very important resource on campus – the human resource.  Benefits of PMS include among others:

  • Instilling and enriching a culture of performance management (quality assurance) as an integral part of the day to day functioning of staff at the campus
  • Improving staff performance through mentoring, development and training

Tri campus project
One of the more important projects that we as a university undertook in 2005 was the Tri Campus Project which was coordinated by the Free State Higher Education Consortium (FSHEC) through Niel Butcher and Associates consultants.

The Tri-Campus project focused on the strategic planning for higher education campuses in the Free State that have been incorporated with UFS and CUT during the reshaping of the South African higher education landscape. The Bloemfontein Vista campus and the Qwaqwa campus of the University of the North were incorporated with the UFS, and the Welkom Vista campus with the CUT.

The planning process involved a range of research and consultation activities during the course of 2005. This included:

  • Conducting situational analyses of the Qwaqwa campus during which staff and students were widely consulted;
  • Consulting with the campus and with a range of stakeholders in the sub-region
  • Review of the Free State Provincial Growth and Development Strategy and Integrated Development Plans (IDPs) of the regions and other research of relevance to the sub-regions, province and country.

An operational framework for the reconfiguration of the campus with a range of possible Program Qualification Mixes has been produced.  In December 2005, the Rector, the Vice Rector Academic Planning Prof. Magda Fourie and I discussed this document with senior members of the DoE in Pretoria, and we will soon be meeting with the National Minister of Education Me Naledi Pandor for her guidance and to seek support in the further refinement of the document and subsequent implementation.

Recapitalization
This year a further R 6 M has been budgeted for recapitalization.  In about two weeks time the third of phase of renovations on campus will commence and attention will be given to the administration building, the humanities and the outstanding work in the lecture hall complex.  There- after the library, sciences and education buildings will follow.  As you will recall a substantial portion of the R 8.4 million in 2005 was used to upgrade the student residences and the lecture hall complex.

I am certain that the renovations and upgrading of our infrastructure and physical facilities including landscaping will create an enabling environment for you to enjoy your work and studies on this campus.

Renovations come with some measure of inconveniences and I therefore wish to request for your patience and support during this period.

Closing remarks
There is a heightened spirit of optimism on what the future holds for this campus.  This is evident when I talk to a large cross section of staff and students of this campus – and I therefore invite all of you to come and be partners with us on this journey of optimism and hope of what the future holds for the UFS – QQ campus.

Thank you and God bless!

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