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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

‘Gaza doctor’ Izzeldin Abuelaish visits UFS
2011-10-12

 

Dr Izzeldin Abuelaish

Dr Izzeldin Abuelaish, Harvard graduate and Associate Professor at the University of Toronto Dalla Lana School of Public Health, is a Palestinian doctor who became the centre of a media firestorm in January 2009 when three of his daughters were killed and members of his family injured in an attack on Gaza (see e.g. The New York Times:http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/18/world/middleeast/18doctor.html ). He is the author of the bestselling I shall not hate: a Gaza doctor’s journey on the road to peace and human dignity. Dr Abuelaish will present two public lectures on 17 and 18 October 2011. Dr Abuelaish was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010.

The 18 October lecture in the Faculty of Health Sciences is registered for 2 ethics ceu's on Level 2, reference number: MDB004/002/10/2011.

Date: 17 October
Time: 19h00-20h00
Venue: Education Faculty Auditorium (new building behind Sasol Library) 
Title: "I shall not hate": A Gaza Doctor's Transformational Journey of Loss, Love and Change

Date: 18 October
Time: 12h45 vir 13h00-14h00
Venue: Health Sciences Faculty Metro 3 (across Francois Retief Building)
 
Title: A healing bridge: A Gaza Doctor's Journey on the Road to Peace and Human Dignity
 
For information: call the International Institute for Studies in Race, Reconciliation and Social Justice (401 9808) or Prof Jackie du Toit: dutoitjs@ufs.ac.za

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