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03 September 2021 | Story Martie Miranda | Photo Anja Aucamp
The University of the Free State (UFS) Centre for Universal Access and Disability Support (CUADS) in the Division of Student Affairs (DSA) can relate to, celebrates its 20 years of existence. Pictured here is Martie Miranda who heads up CUADS.

Opinion article by Martie Miranda, Assistant Director: UFS Centre for Universal Access and Disability Support (CUADS).

The Casual Day 2021 theme is ‘Courage + Kindness’, which is surely a theme that the Centre for Universal Access and Disability Support (CUADS) in the Division of Student Affairs (DSA) at the University of the Free State can relate to, while celebrating its 20 years of existence.  


Though we feel inhibited by the COVID-19 pandemic, it is imperative to reflect and realise how far we have come as a centre and as a UFS community in our efforts to ensure that we embrace and welcome students with disabilities at our institution.

As the current Head of CUADS, I also had the privilege of celebrating the 10th year of existence of CUADS in 2011, while being the first permanently appointed Sign Language interpreter at the UFS in 2009. I have since learned that it takes courage to persevere.  This is not only applicable to how resilient our students with disabilities are when facing everyday challenges that their environment poses to them (including physical, social, and attitudinal barriers), but also in the work we do as the centre.  

A CUADS staff member requires courage to make a difference, also in facing challenges (including systemic, procedural, and attitudinal barriers) when wanting to level the playing field for our students with disabilities.  It is finding an opportunity to change the way we do things as an institution and look for possibilities to eliminate exclusionary practices and to integrate students with disabilities as part of our UFS community. Therefore, courage also means being agile and responsive to the needs of our students with disabilities. Here we have also witnessed how fellow students had courage to challenge their discomfort and become allies for students with disabilities. More recently, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have witnessed how students with disabilities generated self-agency through their capacity to act independently and negotiate their own access needs.


Disability and universal access advocacy

Since 2011, some functions that resorted under CUADS have been integrated with the rightful departments, i.e., alternative exam arrangements with the Exam Division, Sign Language interpretation with Interpreter Services, and tutor assistance with the A_Step Programme in the Centre for Teaching and Learning; the UFS managed to secure First Car sponsorship of two vehicles to assist with accessible transport between the South Campus and the Bloemfontein Campus; established CUADS offices on the South Campus and the Qwaqwa Campus, with CUADS coordinators appointed; formalised Orientation and Mobility training for students with visual impairments to enable independent movement around our three campuses, and commenced with the tactile paving project on the Bloemfontein Campus; and held two successful biennial CUADS formals.  

Specific highlights are definitely the name change in 2015 from the Unit for Students with Disabilities to CUADS and the adoption of universal access as an approach to include students with disabilities; and becoming part of the UFS transformation agenda through the UFS Integrated Transformation Plan (ITP).  

Since the inception of ITP mental health conditions that was added as a category of students supported by CUADS, Disability Sport has been part of the Integrated Sport Strategy under the auspices of KovsieSport; disability and universal access advocacy is integrated with the ITP Advocacy, Awareness and Analysis Strategy; and universal access considerations are included in the UFS Estates Technical Manual for infrastructure projects.  Last but not least, this year the UFS Council approved our policy on Universal Access and Disability Support for students with disabilities.  These achievements could definitely not derive from a single person, but rather a collective, by being courageous in achieving our desired UFS community.  

An inclusive environment for all

Kindness is experienced when the talents, abilities, and potential of students with disabilities are recognised.  It is exhibited through behaviours of friendliness, generosity, and being considerate towards our students with disabilities.  Here, I would like to specifically thank the CUADS staff for their determination in sharing what they know our students with disabilities are capable of and believing in their potential. I celebrate your courage and also salute you for your kindness towards our students, because it is a humanising commitment. We also have gratitude towards students who presented kindness by assisting our students with disabilities with human support, i.e. tutoring, amanuensis, mobility, etc.

Since 2011, we have also recorded an average of forty graduates with disabilities per year.  Every graduation is special, but more so when students with disabilities (from diverse backgrounds) walk across the stage – one is reminded of their courage, how difficult it was to get to that moment. To our CUADS alumni and students, we salute you, we embrace what we learn from you, and your kindness when disclosing the difficulties that you have experienced assists in paving the way for students yet to come.

To the rest of the UFS community, let us be brave, because confidence makes it much easier to show compassion for others, the willingness to adapt to ways that are inclusive of all, including our students with disabilities.

News Archive

Fight against Ebola virus requires more research
2014-10-22

 

Dr Abdon Atangana
Photo: Ifa Tshishonge
Dr Abdon Atangana, a postdoctoral researcher in the Institute for Groundwater Studies at the University of the Free State (UFS), wrote an article related to the Ebola virus: Modelling the Ebola haemorrhagic fever with the beta-derivative: Deathly infection disease in West African countries.

“The filoviruses belong to a virus family named filoviridae. This virus can cause unembellished haemorrhagic fever in humans and nonhuman monkeys. In literature, only two members of this virus family have been mentioned, namely the Marburg virus and the Ebola virus. However, so far only five species of the Ebola virus have been identified, including:  Ivory Coast, Sudan, Zaire, Reston and Bundibugyo.

“Among these families, the Ebola virus is the only member of the Zaire Ebola virus species and also the most dangerous, being responsible for the largest number of outbreaks.

“Ebola is an unusual, but fatal virus that causes bleeding inside and outside the body. As the virus spreads through the body, it damages the immune system and organs. Ultimately, it causes the blood-clotting levels in cells to drop. This leads to severe, uncontrollable bleeding.

Since all physical problems can be modelled via mathematical equation, Dr Atangana aimed in his research (the paper was published in BioMed Research International with impact factor 2.701) to analyse the spread of this deadly disease using mathematical equations. We shall propose a model underpinning the spread of this disease in a given Sub-Saharan African country,” he said.

The mathematical equations are used to predict the future behaviour of the disease, especially the spread of the disease among the targeted population. These mathematical equations are called differential equation and are only using the concept of rate of change over time.

However, there is several definitions for derivative, and the choice of the derivative used for such a model is very important, because the more accurate the model, the better results will be obtained.  The classical derivative describes the change of rate, but it is an approximation of the real velocity of the object under study. The beta derivative is the modification of the classical derivative that takes into account the time scale and also has a new parameter that can be considered as the fractional order.  

“I have used the beta derivative to model the spread of the fatal disease called Ebola, which has killed many people in the West African countries, including Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia, since December 2013,” he said.

The constructed mathematical equations were called Atangana’s Beta Ebola System of Equations (ABESE). “We did the investigation of the stable endemic points and presented the Eigen-Values using the Jacobian method. The homotopy decomposition method was used to solve the resulted system of equations. The convergence of the method was presented and some numerical simulations were done for different values of beta.

“The simulations showed that our model is more realistic for all betas less than 0.5.  The model revealed that, if there were no recovery precaution for a given population in a West African country, the entire population of that country would all die in a very short period of time, even if the total number of the infected population is very small.  In simple terms, the prediction revealed a fast spread of the virus among the targeted population. These results can be used to educate and inform people about the rapid spread of the deadly disease,” he said.

The spread of Ebola among people only occurs through direct contact with the blood or body fluids of a person after symptoms have developed. Body fluid that may contain the Ebola virus includes saliva, mucus, vomit, faeces, sweat, tears, breast milk, urine and semen. Entry points include the nose, mouth, eyes, open wounds, cuts and abrasions. Note should be taken that contact with objects contaminated by the virus, particularly needles and syringes, may also transmit the infection.

“Based on the predictions in this paper, we are calling on more research regarding this disease; in particular, we are calling on researchers to pay attention to finding an efficient cure or more effective prevention, to reduce the risk of contamination,” Dr Atangana said.


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