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01 August 2022 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Maryke Venter
UFS No student Hungry concert
Attending the first Winter Warmer Indoor Concert, hosted by the Faculty of Health Sciences, were, from the left: Prof Hanneke Brits, Dorah Klaas from UFS Institutional Advancement, Dr Nicholas Pearce, and Mantwa Makhakhe, Senior Financial Planner and Director at Sanlam.

“Don’t worry about a thing,
‘Cause every little thing gonna be all right
Singin’: “Don’t worry about a thing
‘Cause every little thing gonna be all right!”

An extract from the lyrics of Bob Marley’s Three Little Birds, performed by Dr Nicholas Pearce, Head of the Department of Surgery at the University of the Free State (UFS), and Prof Hanneke Brits, Associate Professor in the UFS Department of Family Medicine, singing along with the staff and students from the UFS Faculty of Health Sciences and the audience. This performance was one of the highlights during the first Winter Warmer Picnic Concert presented by the Faculty of Health Sciences. 

The faculty, besides displaying the talent of its medical students, the Free State Youth Wind Ensemble, the UFS Choir, and nationally renowned Lucy Sehloho, aimed to create a fun evening for staff, students, and the Bloemfontein community in order to raise awareness for hungry students. 

About students for students

It is a function about students for students, remarked Prof Prakash Naidoo, Vice-Rector: Operations, who opened the event. According to him, millions of people worldwide go hungry every day. “At the UFS, there are also many students who are not able to afford basic food stuffs. Often, essentials are not covered by student bursaries, leaving students hungry and struggling to perform at the academic level expected,” he said. 

To enter the Callie Human Centre on the Bloemfontein Campus where the concert was hosted, members of the audience could donate non-perishable food, sanitary items, or blankets. The 800 food parcels collected at the event will be distributed by the No Student Hungry programme

Besides students, staff members and their families who attended the concert and donated towards the NSH, the Life Rosepark Hospital and Sanlam also made financial contributions towards the programme. 

Community coming together for a good cause

The idea to host the concert and to see lecturers in the faculty perform, stemmed from the CANSA shavathon held earlier this year when more than R10 000 was raised for people suffering from cancer and other related illnesses. Dr Pearce indicated that, should students reach the R10 000 mark, he and Prof Brits would perform Bob Marley’s Three Little Birds. The original idea of one performance evolved into a two-hour concert, seeing members of the Bloemfontein community coming together for a good cause. 

“Due to your contribution, many students will not go hungry,” said Dr Pearce, thanking everyone who attended the concert and donated to the NSH programme.

• Should you also like to make a difference in someone’s life and make a cash donation to the No Student Hungry programme, please scan the QR code and follow the instructions. Your contribution can go a long way in making a difference in someone’s life. 

News Archive

Kovsie Alumni honoured
2011-09-05

 

Kovsie Cum Laude winner Maurice Carpede shows his award. With him is Naude de Klerk(left), Kovsie Alumni Chairperson. 
Photo: Foto 24

Dr John Purchase, Chief Executive of the Agricultural Chamber of Commerce, was honoured as Kovsie Alumnus of the Year by the University of the Free State (UFS) during the annual Kovsie Alumni Awards Dinner on 2 September 2011. Dr Purchase and four other former Kovsies were honoured for exceptional achievements and contributions made to the UFS at this glittering event.

The well-known columnist Mr Willem Theron who writes columns for Beeld and Volksblad, was honoured with the Kovsie Ambassador Award. Another well-known Kovsie, the radio and television personality Mr Maurice Carpede was honoured with the Kovsie Cum Laude Award. Carpede shares this award with Mr Koert Pretorius, Chief Executive of Mediclinic South Africa, they received the award jointly. Mr Arie van der Bijl, retired Financial Director of the UFS, was honoured with the Alumnus Award for exceptional service delivered to the UFS.
 
Dr Purchase, who was unable to attend the award ceremony, expressed his appreciation in a pre-recorded message. He said that Kovsies taught him how to be a leader. Theron, a marketer for the Kovsie Alumni Trust who received the Centenary Medal from the UFS in 2004, said in his acknowledgement speech that he feels humbled by this award. He said Kovsies became both his home and his family.
 
Both Carpede and Pretorius mentioned the impact Kovsies had on their lives. Carpede said he became a Kovsie in the years of transition, a time when words like “whites only” were printed on some doors, but despite all of that, he learnt that not all whites were bad. Pretorius, who was honoured for his contribution to private healthcare in the country, said that Kovsies were the key that unlocked several doors for him.  

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