Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Categories
UFS News Media Release Research
Years
2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Months
January February March April July May June August September October November December
Previous Archive
14 February 2023 | Story Prof Nicholas Pearce | Photo Andre Damons
The Faculty of Health Sciences and the Faculty of the Humanities at the University of the Free State (UFS), in collaboration with PathCare laboratories, joined forces on Valentine’s Day – since it is seen as a day of unconditional love that you share with your partner – reaching out to the community in the Bloemfontein CBD and Preller Square, by drawing attention to gender-based violence – a topic that is often misunderstood, not discussed, and often occurs behind closed doors.
The University of the Free State views gender-based violence (GBV) as a scourge of our modern society. In this vein, the Faculty of Health Sciences and the Faculty of the Humanities joined forces on Valentine’s Day, since it is seen as a day of unconditional love that you share with your partner.

In collaboration with PathCare laboratories, the university saw an opportunity to reach out to the community in the CBD and Preller Square. The idea was to draw attention to a topic that is often misunderstood, not discussed, and often occurs behind closed doors. Medical and Humanities students actively engaged with the communities by handing out Valentine’s chocolates and information pamphlets regarding GBV.

Community engagement forms part of the UFS’ strategic goals. The collaboration between these two faculties on such an important topic is testament to the university’s commitment to eradicating GBV in all forms and manifestations.

Prof Frans Maruma, Head of the Marketing Committee for the School of Clinical Medicine, stated that “gender-based violence has no place in our modern society. Most of the time, victims are among us and go unrecognised”.

The Faculty of the Humanities provided a visual aspect to this important topic by doing the make-up of the students involved in order to highlight the abuse these victims suffer. Mr Cloete (Faculty of the Humanities) indicated that “no person is immune to gender-based violence, and gender-based violence transcends race, gender, and wealth”.

Pathcare laboratories was proud to collaborate with the University of the Free State, as this aligns with their ideology of community-based care. PathCare recognises its role in the broader society by offering to test victims of GBV. PathCare offers a range of tests, specially catered towards GBV survivors to ensure that appropriate medical care can be provided in the shortest possible turnaround time.

Two thousand chocolates and pamphlets were distributed to members of the community through this collaboration. The university and the private sector hope to eradicate GBV on local and national level. 

Gender-based violence may be any of the following: physical abuse, verbal abuse, psychological abuse, sexual abuse, socio-economic abuse, domestic violence, or abuse such as sexual harassment. Below are the UFS contact details for victims of GBV. 

University of the Free State
Gender Equality and Anti-Discrimination Office (GEADO)

Bloemfontein Campus
Deputy Director: Nchabeleng Lentsu
nchabelengnv@ufs.ac.za

Senior Officer: Geraldine Lengau
Contact: +27 51 401 3982

South Campus
Senior Officer: Mocwana Chelepe
Contact: +27 51 401 7544

Student Counselling and Development (SCD)
Contact: +27 51 401 9236

Victim Empowerment Centre (TCC)
Walk-ins.
 
HOTLINES:
UFS SART (Sexual Assault Response Team) 
+27 57 401 7777

GBVCC (Gender-Based Violence Command Centre)
0800 428 428

Please call me facility:
*120*7867#

Skype line: 
Helpme GBV for members of the deaf community.

An SMS-based line:
31531 for persons with disabilities (SMS ‘help’ to 31531)

News Archive

Agriculture must adapt to change
2008-11-28

 

At the launch of "50 years of agriculture" at the UFS were, from the left: Mr Corwyn Botha: Chairman: Agri Business Chamber and Managing Director: Cape Agri Group, Mr Motsepe Matlala, President of NAFU, Mr Hans van der Merwe, Executive Head: Agri SA, Prof. Herman van Schalkwyk: Dean: Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at the UFS, and Mr Sugar Ramakarane, Head: Department of Agriculture, Free State Province.
Photo: Lacea Loader
 “The biggest factor driving agriculture today is change. Our major challenge is to adapt to this changing environment.” This was stated by Prof. Herman van Schalkwyk, Dean of the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at the University of the Free State (UFS) during the recent celebration of the faculty’s “50 years in agriculture”.

Prof. Van Schalkwyk stated that the most important changes include power relationships in supply chains, consumer demand, new products and technology in agriculture, government action and developments in neighbouring states. “At the moment there is very little cooperation between small-scale farmers, small-scale farmers and commercial farmers and farmers and processors. There are also low levels of processing, low levels of value adding and a lack of creative thinking in agriculture," he said.

“This must change – we need comprehensive agricultural support and new business ideas in agriculture. We need better infrastructure, value chain financing and improved institutional support,” he said.

Speaking about agriculture and institutional co-operation in the Free State, Mr Sugar Ramakarane, Chief Director of the Free State Department of Agriculture, said that the UFS plays a vital role in bringing together organised agriculture in the province. “The responsibility of transforming our economy cannot be done by government alone. We need partners like the UFS to assist us with bringing together the two most important stakeholders of the agricultural sector, namely the National Farmers’ Union (NAFU) and Free State Agriculture. You can assist us with harnessing co-operation and providing practical solutions," he said

Mr Ramakarane said that his department is aware of the university’s good work with emerging farmers. “But, I want to encourage the university to help us with skills transfer and the development of the emerging farmers. You can play a vital role in developing a mentorship programme. Yours remains a central and critical role of being torch bearers in guiding the transformation agenda of our country," he said.

In his contribution on the challenges of small scale farmers in South Africa and the role of the university, Mr Motsepe Matlala, President of NAFU, said that unity in organised agriculture and working together with other stakeholders has become even more crucial with regard to the global challenges now faced by the country. “The university should take the lead in guiding all farmers on how to respond to, among others, the global financial turmoil and politics, developments in trade negotiations, food prices, input costs and the availability of energy," he said.

“If the UFS, and more specifically the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, is to continue to play a leading role in academia as well as in the production of research that matters to the growth and development of this country, it must adopt an approach that seeks to harness the capacity of everyone in an inclusive manner. The strides already made in this regard must be applauded,” Mr Matlala said.

Speaking on the future challenges in agriculture and the role of universities, Mr Hans van der Merwe, Executive Head of Agri SA said that South Africa has not spent money on agricultural development in a long time. “We must increase our product capacity in the agricultural sector. Universities must focus on cultivating enough expertise and the skills necessary to manage the resources and capacity needed," he said. In his view, South Africa must also focus on technological advancement in agriculture as this has also been neglected in the past. He urged universities to provide best-practice education and to look at international trends in agricultural training. “That is why we should not only focus our attention on South Africa, but on southern Africa,” Mr van der Merwe said.

In conclusion to the day’s programme, Mr Corwyn Botha, Chairperson of the Agricultural Business Chamber, Managing Director of the Cape Agri Group and former Kovsie stated that: “If you want to be an example of leadership, people around you must do better because you are there. A university should evaluate itself in this context. You cannot create solutions to problems with the same attitude in which the problems were created."

Media Release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@ufs.ac.za  
28 November 2008
 

Economic and Management Sciences

Education

Health Sciences

The Humanities

Law

Natural and Agricultural Sciences

Theology and Religion

Open Distance Learning

Business School

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