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UFS United Kingdom Chapter aims to reconnect with alumni

20 January 2022 | Story Ruan Bruwer | Photo Supplied

University of the Free State (UFS) Alumni may be based all around the world, but the United Kingdom (UK) Alumni Chapter aims to reconnect with all those members.

The UK Chapter is a hub of a developing UFS international programme. “We want to provide an opportunity for alumni to share their university experiences with wider audiences,” explains Carmenita Redcliffe Paul, Assistant Director: Alumni Relations and Business Development at the UFS.

Platform to celebrate successes

“The programme aims to provide a platform to alumni to celebrate their successes and provide a window to the landscape of the life and times of the university and the people who shaped it.”

“We also want to celebrate the diversity of our former students and the many touchpoints which unite them.”

Two key projects, Global Citizen and Voices from the Free State, came to life as a result of the collective collaboration of this chapter. The Global Citizen invites people in a series of “courageous conversations” to rethink their relationship with the world. Voices from the Free State is a series of personal podcast narratives by outstanding alumni wherein they reflect their experiences at the UFS. They tell their stories and explain how their university years shaped their future and paved the way to their respective successes.

Relevant association with the UFS

“Furthermore, they motivate why their ongoing association with the UFS is still relevant and important,” says Redcliffe Paul.

The UK Alumni Chapter is led by alumni Francois van Schalkwyk and Keenan Carelse and supported by Adrienne Hall.

Redcliffe Paul says Carelse and Van Schalkwyk have been instrumental in the Voices from the Free State initiative as they are strategically and operationally invested. They create and co-host the podcast series.

Van Schalkwyk is an entrepreneur and innovator consulting with clients globally. Carelse is employed in the healthcare sector in the UK.

News Archive

UFS’s Unit for Children’s Rights instrumental in helping human trafficked victim

2010-03-29

Adv. Beatri Kruger.
Photo: Leonie Bolleurs

“Wheeling and dealing is part of our daily life. But what if the ‘product’ bought or sold is not a spanner or a cell phone, but a living human being? Disturbing news came to the fore... apart from other places in the country, and for that matter all over the world, it was discovered that people are treated like commodities here in Bloemfontein as well,” said Adv. Beatri Kruger from the Unit for Children’s Rights at the University of the Free State (UFS).

Adv. Kruger was instrumental in completing and availing the first comprehensive Research Report on Human Trafficking in South Africa to the public on 23 March 2010. As a member of the Reference Group advising on interim research reports on human trafficking, she contributed to the report. The report proves to be an extremely valuable tool for, among others, government departments and non-governmental organisations that use it as a guideline in planning interventions to combat human trafficking.

The Unit for Children’s Rights is also one of the founding members of the Free State Human Trafficking Forum (FHF). To react on and fight the disturbing reality of human trafficking more efficiently, a number of concerned role players such as Child Welfare and other non-governmental organisations, police officials, prosecutors, social workers, health practitioners, private businesses, churches and community organisations joined forces and formed the FHF. The Unit for Children’s Rights hosts monthly meetings at the UFS to facilitate the coordination of this multi-disciplinary counter-trafficking team.

Adv. Kruger is very excited about some of the successes of the FHF; such as the story of Soma (not her real name). This Indian woman was recruited in India by an Indian couple who are staying in South Africa, by promising her a good job in South Africa. However, instead of finding the promised job, Soma was extensively exploited for labour purposes. With the help of a “good Samaritan” she managed to escape from the perpetrators and fled to the police. Soma was removed to ensure her safety and accommodated in a safe place in Bloemfontein. Counselling and other services were rendered to her by an organisation which is also a member of the FHF. One of the challenges facing Soma and the service providers was that Soma speaks a foreign dialect and for weeks a trusted interpreter could not be found.

This obstacle rendered communication with her to the bare minimum. The perpetrators were arrested but unfortunately the new comprehensive counter-trafficking law is not in force yet. Therefore the perpetrators could only be convicted of some offences in the Immigration Act. However, due to good police investigation followed by shrewd consultations, the perpetrators agreed to pay for the victim’s return flight to India as well as for the flight ticket of the investigating officer to escort her to safety. The Unit for Children’s Rights did networking with Ms Maria Nikolovska of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), who agreed to assist in the safe reintegration of Soma in India. Soma is now on her way back home.

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