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Melissa de Aveiro inspires UFS with journey about rising from the ashes

31 May 2022 | Story Lunga Luthuli | Photo Supplied

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

Alumni inspired to keep flying the Kovsie flag high at reunion weekend festivities

2015-09-01

Dr Khotso Mokhele and Adv Roelf Meyer

The University of the Free State hosted alumni from all over the country on the Bloemfontein Campus during a weekend of exciting events, talks, and tours around the campus on 28 and 29 August 2015.

The celebratory events were kick-started with a leadership symposium hosted by Dr Marcus Ingram, Director: Institutional Advancement with Adv Roelf Meyer. The symposium was attended by current student leaders and the SRC Presidents Alumni Association. In his dialogue with the audience, Adv Meyer shared his experiences and personal growth in the process of bringing about democracy in the country with student leaders as change agents. “If you really want to contribute to change, it is not only an intellectual exercise; it is also a heart and soul thing,” he said.

The anchor event was the inaugural Chancellor’s Distinguished Alumnus Award Luncheon hosted by Chancellor, Dr Khotso Mokhele. Prof Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector, welcomed guests by highlighting the latest extraordinary achievements of UFS students and academic staff.

Keynote speaker of the day, Ms Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge, Executive Director of Inyathelo and a renowned politician, spoke of the role that universities have in preparing women for leadership roles and how they, in turn, can prepare society for female leadership. She commended the UFS’s advancement efforts supported by the Kresge Foundation, which supports young people, to keep them in universities. “I am proud to say that the UFS’s efforts in advancement have achieved its goals.”

In his remarks, Dr Mokhele said “what draws a student back to his/her Alma Mater is the quality of the experience they had on campus. This campus contributed to the transformation of this country through alumni such as Roelf Meyer and Kobie Coetsee.” He said this initiative should create a lived experience for students on the university campus. The Chancellor presented the Distinguished Alumnus Award to Adv Roelf Meyer, for his outstanding contributions to the human interests of South Africa, and his current work of facilitating peace processes around the world.

In accepting the award, Adv Meyer introduced Youth Zones, a project which he has been involved with for the past five years, empowering and supporting 40,000 youths in the Free State. In accepting the award, he said “I was a first-year student in 1960, my year group represented the most emphatic group of this university. There are many who came before and after us who well deserve this award, therefore, I accept it on behalf of all alumni.”

To wrap up the weekend’s festivities, former SRC President, Richard Chemaly, hosted the Faculty of Law alumni cocktail event at the CR Swart Auditorium.
Speaking at the event, Prof Caroline Nicholson, Dean of the Faculty of Law, said “A faculty cannot exist without its alumni, we need you to carry us. Your continued support and collaboration is truly appreciated.”

Alumni and staff enjoyed further entertainment by well-known musical groups, Freshly-Ground and The Muses.

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