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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

Mandela Rhodes Scholarship for Kovsie student
2011-10-25

 

Jaco Griessel, our Mandela Rhodes Scholarship winner
Photo: Hannes Pieterse

The Mandela Rhodes Foundation has honoured Kovsie student Jaco Griessel with a prestigious Mandela Rhodes Scholarship for 2012. This student from the Odeion School of Music is one of 23 students on the continent to receive the prestigious award this year. The scholarship is awarded to young Africans who demonstrate academic and leadership potential.

Griessel, who is currently busy with his B.Mus honours degree, is an achiever of note with many accomplishments to his name. In 2010 Griessel won the Fanie Beetge Prize for best undergraduate student in systematic music studies. A year before that he received the same prize for best undergraduate student in historical music studies. The 25-year old Griessel will continue his studies at our university next year with a master’s degree, specialising in music composition. The Kovsie student says his dream is to compose music one day. He writes anything from classical, light to jazz music.

With the scholarship, Griessel gets access to leadership development programmes and an opportunity to interact with a diverse group of fellow scholars spanning the continent and academic disciplines. The scholarship further provides for study and registration costs, study material, accommodation and a personal allowance.

Message from Sannah Mokone (One of two UFS Rhodes Scholars)
Dear Prof Jansen, let me take this opportunity to congratulate you and the UFS on Jaco Griessel's reception of the Mandela Rhodes Scholarship, wow!!! What a fantastic opportunity!

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