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Making a difference with the No Student Hungry Programme

10 October 2022 | Story Edzani Nephalela | Photo Kekeletso Takang

Gift of the Givers UFS Food donation — Malefetsane Motsoeneng, Senior Residence Head Officer, Housing and Residence Affairs, receives a list of the items donated by Gift of the Givers for the University of the Free State's No Hungry Student Programme, which aims to curb food insecurity.

Food insecurity in the country is increasing, and with the dire impact of COVID-19 on the economy, the population faces high levels of hunger. As a result, many students in institutions of higher learning struggle to get meals, which threatens their academic success.

To help those students in need, the University of the Free State (UFS) No Student Hungry Programme (NSH), in conjunction with the Gift of the Givers, has contributed toward improving student success and well-being by donating food parcels.

“Gift of the Givers has been delivering these parcels to our Qwaqwa campus since 2020, then to the Bloemfontein Campus, and most recently to the South Campus, where 200 food parcels were donated. This makes a tremendous difference in the lives of our students and provides significant support to our office,” said Annelize Visagie, Senior Officer in the Food Environment Office within the Division of Student Affairs.

While all the NSH programme initiatives have some positive impacts, there are challenges. Queuing for food handouts is often seen by students as one of the most undignified experiences they could have. This includes the stigma attached to being seen as poor and hungry. However, to ensure that the students receive appropriate emotional support and do not feel humiliated about seeking help, the UFS has guaranteed that they receive counselling at the campus Student Counselling Development Centre. These professional services are also considered a learning experience for many students, reducing the stigma.

“The registrations and food collections are confidential since you can also apply digitally by email or an online application. Then we can discuss the ideal time for you to come and collect your package. These packages, including food and toiletries, are packed in bags from well-known grocery stores that we get from our sponsors, so it is impossible to identify whether they are from the programme or store-bought. The stigma is also fading because funded students now accompany their friends to collect their food parcels,” said Malefetsane Motsoeneng, Senior Residence Head Officer, Housing and Residence Affairs.

He added that the students appreciate this programme and would send him messages such as “Thank you so much. If it weren’t for this programme, I don’t know what I would’ve done; now I can focus on my studies.”

While not all needs are satisfied, the programme is making a difference in the lives of students and families by ensuring they have access to healthy meals. This is significant because some students travel as far as Dinaweng, a community 9km from the South Campus. This implies that many walk for about four hours every day to get an education.

Food has become expensive at the current rate of the economy; nonetheless, maize meal, sugar, rice, and cooking oil were among the essential commodities supplied. Photo: Supplied

News Archive

Kovsies to celebrate excellence at 2014 December Graduation Ceremony

2014-12-02

Live streaming: http://apps.ufs.ac.za/ufslivestreaming/

On Thursday 11 December 2014, the University of the Free State (UFS) will award degrees and qualifications during our Summer Graduation Ceremony at the Bloemfontein Campus.

The graduation will take place during two ceremonies in the Callie Human Centre, where master’s and PhD degrees will be awarded during the first ceremony at 09:30. Diplomas, certificates and undergraduate qualifications will be awarded to students from the School of Open Learning and the Faculty of Health Sciences at 14:30.

Radio personality, Redi Thlabi, and cardiothoracic surgeon, Dr Susan Vosloo, will address the graduates.

Apart from her radio show on 702 and CapeTalk, Thlabi has also hosted local television news shows and anchored for international broadcasters like SKY and the BBC. In addition, she has presented two of her own TV shows: ‘Redi’ on Mzansi Magic and ‘South to North’ on Al-Jazeera.

Her first book, Endings and Beginnings (Jacana) received popular acclaim and is currently being turned into a screenplay for a movie.

Dr Susan Vosloo, a Kovsie alumnus, graduated in 1980. She completed her internship in Pretoria and spent the following year in Critical Care Medicine at Universitas Hospital, Bloemfontein, before starting her surgical training in Johannesburg.

She is currently in independent private practice at the Netcare Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital in Cape Town, having also worked from 1998 – 2012 at the Vincent Pallotti Hospital in the same city.

Dr Vosloo maintains close ties with our university and has quite a number of addition roles to that of surgeon:

• member of the Council of the UFS;
• UFS Council Representative in the Senate;
• member of the Standing Advisory Committee of the School of Medicine, UFS;
• member of the Provincial Department of Health;
• Africa representative for the Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Society; and
• founding member of the World Society for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Surgery.

Prof Boelie Wessels will also be awarded his 10th academic degree from the UFS since 1974. Adding his Honorary Doctorate degree to the list, it will make this his 11th degree. Prof Wessels is 84 years old and has 18-plus academic qualifications from various institutions – a phenomenal achievement.

Furthermore, Moses Lubinga and his wife, Stellah, will be the first married couple to be awarded their PhDs at the same graduation ceremony at the UFS. Mr Lubinga will receive his Doctorate in Agricultural Economics, while Mrs Lubinga’s PhD is in the field of Economic and Management Sciences.

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