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07 November 2022 | Story Edzani Nephalela | Photo Supplied
Delegates from various schools as well as the Free State Department of Education receive the book donations that will be distributed to 30 high schools in the Sasolburg region.

Statistics indicate that individuals who have difficulty reading are less motivated to read or visit the library, because they cannot recognise words, grasp, or understand what they read. Various organisations, including the University of the Free State (UFS), are addressing this issue by encouraging a reading culture and providing the required resources to enhance their reading skills.

The UFS, in collaboration with Zubeida Jaffer – an award-winning South African journalist, author, and activist – donated books to various secondary schools in the Fezile Dabi district, one of the five districts in the Free State.
Thandeka Mosholi, the Project Leader, said that impacting the youth of South Africa is a critical objective for the UFS Social Responsibility Projects (UFS SRP), which served as the vehicle to address this social injustice. The UFS SRP has established itself as an agent of change and friend of disadvantaged communities.

“In alliance with sponsors who embody compassion and integrity, we respond to the obligation to positively impact the future of South African youth. Our passion resonates with those who desire to open opportunities and bring purpose to learners born in circumstances they did not choose, by being leaders in school change. We believe this contribution will promote reading in schools, because children struggle to grow academically without reading and comprehension skills, as reading is the foundation of all academic subjects. Reading also influences the learner’s ability to write. So, instilling a love of reading at an early age is the key that unlocks the door to lifelong learning,” Mosholi explained.

Exposure to the past, present, and a peek into the future

The event, hosted at Cedar Secondary School in Sasolburg, saw books donated to 30 high schools to foster a reading culture among learners. The following books were donated: Beauty of the heart, Love in the times of treason, and Our generation. It covers 130 years of South African history, and are about three women – Charlotte Maxeke, Ayesha (Bibi) Dawood, and the author herself, Zubeida Jaffer.

“This initiative is to expose as many educators, learners, and students as possible to this collection, since it provides a firm foundation to make sense of our past, present, and future. These books are not to keep us stuck in the past, but to help us navigate the present. We have secured additional sponsorship from Old Mutual, which made it possible to reach schools in all provinces. I thank the University of the Free State for helping to identify schools in the Free State and joyfully distributing these books,” said Jaffer.

On the contrary, school officials are ecstatic, saying that the books will motivate their learners to promote education, learn about their past, and improve their vocabulary. “A school cannot survive in isolation; through the academics’ teaching and learning, as well as research in their respective fields, we learn a lot. Thus, the university's cooperation is welcomed. Through these books, learners will be inspired to reinvent, repurpose, and rediscover libraries," said Sindiswa Mcosana, Curriculum Primary Schools Chief Education Specialist at the Free State Department of Education.

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#Women'sMonth: Long hours in wind and cold weather help to reconstruct Marion Island’s glacial history
2017-08-10

 Description: Liezel Rudolph  Tags: Liezel Rudolph, Process Geomorphology, Marion Island, periglacial geomorphology, Department of Geography  

Liezel Rudolph, lecturer for second-year students in Process
Geomorphology at the University of the Free State (UFS).
Photo: RA Dwight

Liezel Rudolph, a lecturer for second-year students in Process Geomorphology, aims to reconstruct the glacial history of Marion Island through cosmogenic nuclide dating techniques. She is interested in periglacial geomorphology, a study of how the earth’s surface could be formed by ice actions (freezing and thawing of ice).

Liezel is a lecturer in the Department of Geography at the university and is researching landscape development specifically in cold environments such as Antarctica, the Sub-Antarctic islands, and high mountain areas. “My involvement with periglacial geomorphology is largely due to academic giants who have carved a pathway for South Africans,” says Liezel.

Liezel visited Marion Island for the first time during her honours year in 2011, when she investigated the impact of seals on soil conditions and vegetation. Three years later, she visited Antarctica to study rock glaciers.

The challenge of the job
A workday in Antarctica is challenging. “Our time in the field is very limited, so you have to work every possible hour when the weather is not life-threatening: from collecting soil samples, to measuring soil temperature and downloading data, we measure polygons and test the hardness of rocks. The only way to get the amount of work done, is to work long hours in wind and rain with a positive and competent team! We take turns with chores: the person carrying the notebook is usually the coldest, while the rest of us are stretching acrobatically over rocks to get every nook and cranny measured and documented.”

A typical workday
Liezel describes a typical workday: “Your day starts with a stiff breakfast (bacon and eggs and a bowl of oats) and great coffee! After that comes the twenty-minute dressing session: first a tight-fitting under-layer, a middle layer – sweater and T-shirt, and then the outer windbreaker (or a quilt jacket on an extra cold day). Then you start applying sunscreen to every bit of open face area. Beanie on, sunglasses, two pairs of socks, two pairs of gloves. The few kilograms of equipment, one vacuum flask containing an energy drink, one vacuum flask containing drinking water (it would freeze in a regular bottle), and a chocolate bar and piece of biltong for lunch. After this, we drive (on snowmobiles) or fly (in helicopter) to our study area for about eight hours of digging, measuring, downloading, testing and chopping. Back at the base and after a long and tiresome undressing session, we move to the lab with all our data to make sure that it is downloaded safely and captured onto a database. Afterwards, depending on the day of the week, we enjoy a good meal. If you are lucky, such a typical day will coincide with your shower day. We can only shower every second day due to the energy-intensive water production (we have to melt snow) and the sewage system (all the water has to be purified before it could be returned to the environment). Then you grab your eye shield (since the sun is not sinking during summer) and take a nap before the sun continues to shine into the next day.”

Theoretical knowledge broadened 
“Going into the field (whether island or mountains) provides me with an opportunity to test geomorphic theories. Without experience in the field, my knowledge will only be limited to book knowledge. With practical experience, I hope to broaden my knowledge so that I could train my students from experience rather than from a textbook,” says Liezel.

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