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Faculty of Health Sciences Mental Health Awareness Initiative

10 September 2021 | Story Reuben Maeko | Photo Supplied

Sheriel — Shezree Tiel winner of the student category.

As part of the Faculty of Health Sciences’ Awareness Initiative for Mental Health (FoHS AIM High) to raise awareness regarding mental health and well-being among students and staff, the faculty held a photo competition for its students and staff members.

The competition with the theme, Things my Gogo taught me, received 70 entries and according to the Programme Director in the School of Clinical medicine, Dr Lynette Van der Merwe, the project was aimed at encouraging students and staff members to show creativity and passion by sharing photos with a reflection on the theme.

For the year 2021, the mental health awareness competition had six (6) winners for both student and staff. The photo competition was judged by Prof Willem Kruger, head of the Department of Community Health and an award-winning photographer.

An opportunity to celebrate grandmothers

Mrs Mary-Ann Naudé, author, and Mrs Madeleen Eygelaar, photographer, were the joint winners of the first prize in the staff category. The competition gave Naude, an Assistant Officer at the Clinical Skills Unit for the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, an opportunity to celebrate the life of her grandmother Mary, whose value, despite her generous soul, was unfortunately not always valued while she was alive.

“The competition made me think of the influences on my life of strong women like my two oumas and my mother. I realised that I am who I am today because of their hard work and their examples. I am overwhelmed with gratitude. I feel honoured that our entry was chosen above the many, many excellent other entries,” says Naudé.

The joint winner of the staff category, Eygelaar, a physiotherapy junior lecturer at the Department of Physiotherapy, says she grew up without a mother, losing hers at a young age, and learnt about life, nature, love and art from her grandmother.

“I wished to celebrate her, capturing the influence she had over my life. She is still the light in my life and the warmth in my soul, as I am fortunate that she is still alive. However, she lives far away. I was happy to join with Mary-Ann in sharing our love of our grandmothers in order to symbolically capture those expressions of love.

Mary-Ann Naudé, author, and Madeleen Eygelaar, photographer, were the
joint winners of the first prize in the staff category of the Faculty of Health Sciences’
photo competition with the theme, Things my Gogo taught me.

“The photo competition made me realise what a privilege it is to have a grandmother in your life, who share love and wisdom with you in a gentle and kind manner. Winning the competition, I was surprised, as I did not expect others to feel the same emotions I felt when taking the photos. It is a blessing to touch others with a picture that means so much to me personally. In that regard, I am very thankful. I was impressed with so many other beautiful photos that told the story of the love of their grandmothers, so I was humbled to receive acknowledgement for mine.”

Competition was a way of expressing her journey

The student category winner, Shezree Tiel, who is a third-year medical student, said the competition was a way of expressing her journey in the medical field. She saw an opportunity to tell her story on how she dealt with mental health problems during her studies through a photo.

Shezree had lost hope in her studies and her mental health was a serious challenge. She wanted to share her story by encouraging other students not to lose hope and the competition gave her motivation to speak out about how she feels and deals with mental-health related issues.

Given the hardships during COVID-19, Shezree felt happy and courageous to win the prize. “It will help me to encourage others to share how they feel about mental health and well-being,” she said.

News Archive

UFS serious about safe campuses

2011-02-09

Mr Willie Frankim, Head of Protection Services at the UFS, in the new control room on the Main Campus.
- Photo: Dries Myburgh

The University of the Free State (UFS) officially launched its security control room recently. This new addition to the university's infrastructure, which was implemented in December 2010, has already made a contribution to the combating of crime at the UFS.

The decrease in crime statistics for January this year (5 cases), in comparison to the statistics of January 2010 (51 cases) is proof that the UFS’s new approach to combating crime on campus has an impact.

According to Prof. Niel Viljoen, Vice-Rector: Operations, the safety of students, lecturers and staff of the UFS is of the utmost importancet. For this reason, it is continuously reflected on about what can be done to improve the levels of safety for the respective campuses.

Apart from the upgraded security control room, from where, amongst others, residences, pedestrian routes, campus buildings, parking areas, entrances at gates and computer rooms at residences are observed, a number of measures have been set in place to improve the task of combating crime.

These measures include:

- Security cameras in front of all the women’s residences. The UFS is in the process of also installing
security cameras in front of the men’s residences.

- Shrubs and trees that caused obstruction in front of cameras have been pruned.

- Security officers patrol the pedestrian routes as well as the Red Square on foot from 06:00-22:00.

- A security officer has been appointed at each residence to be on duty from 18:00 to 06:00
at the residence.

- Two vehicles patrol the Main Campus on a 24-hour basis.

- The UFS is in die process to install alarms, which will be linked to the central security control room,
in all buildings.

- In certain buildings panic buttons have been installed in strategic places.

- Where possible, better entrance control to building, especially office blocks, has been implemented.

-       Better management and integration of the security workers who are contracted from outside.
        More security workers have also been appointed to do duty at each residence as well as on the
        pedestrian routes (during the hours indicated).

- A survey has once again been done of all “dark spots” on the campus and better lighting is
currently being installed.

The reduced reaction times are a direct result of the operational process between security staff in the control room with met security staff that patrols the campus on foot and by vehicle

Media Release
09 February 2011
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Director: Strategic Communication (actg)
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: news@ufs.ac.za

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