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12 October 2021 | Story André Damons | Photo Unsplash
Bring your blood and get a free doughnut. The Faculty of Health Sciences is conducting a blood drive this week and encourages everyone to roll up their sleeves and donate blood.

The Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of the Free State (UFS) is conducting another blood drive at their office in the Francois Retief Building this week (12 – 14 October 2021), and will be rewarding each donation with a free doughnut.

The faculty is challenging every doctor, nurse, and pharmacist, every paramedic, radiographer, and technician to roll up their sleeves and lend an arm to donate a pint of blood. If every health-care worker joins the donation and donates blood four times a year, there would never be a blood crisis.

The Faculty of Health Sciences invited the South African National Blood Services (SANBS) to the UFS this week to provide all students and staff the opportunity to donate blood at their place of work and study.

The Mental Health Awareness Campaign of the UFS Faculty of Health Sciences has included a community service component in our efforts to raise awareness of mental health issues since 2020. This is in light of increasing evidence that altruism and volunteering provide significant benefits to mental health and feelings of well-being. As all our staff and students know the vital importance of blood, we decided to focus on the SANBS as our partner to provide a quick, convenient opportunity to feel like a real hero by donating blood every three months, while enjoying a free snack.

October is Mental Health Awareness Month – we would like to invite all staff and students on campus to participate in this life-giving event.

Details for blood donation are as follows:

When: 12, 13 and 14 October

Time: 07:00-15:00

Where: Francois Retief Foyer, UFS

News Archive

Japanese researcher engages students on border issues
2017-03-02

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From the left: Dr WP Wahl, Tungamirai Kufandirori,
Sayaka Kono, Eddie de Wet and Emme-Lancia Faro
at the first academic conversation of 2017, hosted
by the Student Communities Office.
Photo: Eddie de Wet

How can we ensure humanity across borders – even if they don’t truly restrict us?

This was one of the discussions at the first academic conversation of 2017, hosted by the Student Communities Office, a division of Student Affairs. The discussions included the issue of Lesotho’s incorporation into South Africa, focusing on how ethnicity has mattered in ongoing arguments.

Basotho ethnicity

Students and staff were invited to engage with Sayaka Kono, a research fellow at the Department of Historical Studies at National University of Lesothoa, and guest speaker, on 14 February 2017 in the Equitas Senate Hall on the Bloemfontein Campus. The topic was Reconsidering Border Issues in Africa: Ethnicity, apartheid and the political independence of Lesotho.

Kono completed her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in International and Cultural Studies at Tsuda College in Japan. Her research interests lie in the area of ethnicity and she is currently completing her PhD on Basotho ethnicity and the former Bantustan system in South Africa.

Legacies of colonialism

A series of academic conversations was started in 2016 and aims to get top academic achievers and leaders to rub shoulders with renowned international scholars and leaders. This investment hopes to create a sense of responsibility to stretch boundaries and get the engagement culture flowing at the UFS.

According to Kono, borders of African countries are one of the living legacies of colonialism. They have reshaped the local society in various ways such as causing ‘ethnic’ or natural resource conflicts. The aim of her research is to reconsider these border issues in Africa through the perspective of ethnicity in the eyes of Basotho who have been divided by the border with South Africa for more than 100 years.

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