Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Previous Archive
31 May 2022 | Story Lunga Luthuli | Photo Supplied
Melissa De Aveiro

Singer, writer, and motivational speaker, Melissa de Aveiro, says: “One can only rise from the ashes when the fire starts again, and the beauty of it all is that the ashes is stuck to your clothes. As you move on, you build off it as it falls from your clothes.”

She said: “When the fire starts in you, nothing is going to stop it.”

This she said at the Division of Organisational Development and Employee Well-being’s Rising from the Ashes event held at the Centenary Complex on the Bloemfontein Campus. Melissa’s story is about never giving up and “never backing down – even when people throw you with rocks, use the rocks to build a new road”.

Melissa said: “Many people unfortunately do not rise from the ashes because there is no support from friends, people. You can never do it alone as the journey through the ashes is lonely.”

Melissa believes to get through the ashes, one has to go back and “remind yourself of when it was good in your life, remind yourself about the positive things – even though things might not be great now”.

Known as the 'Weskus Dutchess', and growing up in Vredendal, Western Cape, Melissa’s tough life, sexual abuse, drug abuse, homelessness, and the death of her son never stopped her from dreaming. All the setbacks planted in her a “passion for a guitar and people, a birth of a new season, a desire to change the world”.

To rise from the ashes, Melissa said, “You need to go back to the place where you were hurting, confront the demons, the people that abused you, maybe forgive them and remove the chains you are tied with.”

Susan van Jaarsveld, Senior Director: Human Resources at the University of the Free State, believes that hosting wellness events is a way for the UFS to show that “employees are the most valuable asset of the university and need to be looked after”.

Susan said: “Staff need to know that it is okay not to be okay. However, the UFS has systems to look after your well-being. People need to know that they are not alone, they can make use of the Department of Human Resources’ Careways Employee Wellness Programme.”

Susan believes it was important to host the event, as “staff need face-to-face interaction for their well-being, it helps people to know they are not alone”.

Melissa, the author of the book Weskus Wonderwerk, believes in being unstoppable. She said: “To rise from the trenches, always think positive about yourself, you must exist. You cannot give up; your worth cannot be determined by an individual.” 

News Archive

UFS cancels lease contract with House Abraham Fischer Company
2015-01-23

UFS cancels lease contract with House Abraham Fischer Company

The management of the University of the Free State (UFS) terminated the lease contract with the House Abraham Fischer company (HAF) on the Bloemfontein Campus during December 2014.

The HAF company has been managing the Abraham Fischer men’s residence as independent provider of student accommodation on the campus for a considerable time.

The decision to terminate the lease contract was taken because the company was unable to meet its financial obligations of more than R700 000 in overdue rent to the university for quite some time. Over the past few years, the management of the UFS had several discussions with the board on this matter. HAF’s inability to make payment has obliged the university to intervene in order to ensure that services to residents of the residence would be continued uninterrupted. 

The termination of the lease contract means that the Department of Housing and Residence Affairs at the UFS will be taking over the management and finances of the residence, and will also be handling the placement of students in the residence from now on. The takeover is effective as from 1 January 2015.

The UFS informed senior and first-year students of the change in management on Friday 23 January 2015.

Students’ accommodation in the residence is in no way affected by the change in management.

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept