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18 June 2024 | Story Valentino Ndaba | Photo iStock
Mental health 2024
The University of the Free State celebrates Youth Month by promoting mental health, inspired by the resilient spirit of 1976.

To commemorate Youth Month 2024, the University of the Free State (UFS) highlights the strides made by its youth in addressing mental health challenges. The Department of Student Counselling and Development (SCD) plays a crucial role in empowering students to be well-being warriors, drawing inspiration from the resilience and determination of the youth of 1976.

The spirit of 1976

This year marks the 48th anniversary of the Soweto Uprising, where youth bravely protested against apartheid's oppressive education system, igniting a movement for freedom and justice in South Africa. As we commemorate National Youth Day on 16 June 2024, with the theme “Actively advancing socioeconomic gains of our democracy,” we reflect on this legacy and celebrate 30 years of freedom by empowering today’s youth to overcome modern challenges. This aligns with the UFS’s commitment to Vision 130, which emphasises care, well-being, and inclusivity, creating a supportive environment for teaching, learning, and community engagement.

Empowering students for mental well-being

Dr Munita Dunn-Coetzee, Director of SCD at UFS, underscores the department’s mission: “Student Counselling and Development aims to implement holistic mental health services that promote student well-being and assist students to flourish. We want students to become Well-being Warriors, raising awareness and providing education about what mental health really means, and how it contributes to overall well-being. Our goal is to enhance students' resilience through a variety of support services.”

SCD’s empowering role is realised through an array of services including self-help materials, workshops and group and individual therapy sessions. These initiatives are designed to foster a compassionate and caring environment conducive to mental well-being.

Success stories

The impact of SCD is best illustrated through the transformation seen in students who have utilised its resources. Dr Dunn-Coetzee recounts: “A success story is when you start seeing a behaviour change – the way a student looks, dresses, talks, the sparkle in their eye returning. This positive transformation is often shared with peers, creating a ripple effect of empowerment and resilience.”

One SCD influencer who acts as a Well-being Warrior, Tsholofelo Mahamotse, reflects on her journey: “Utilising the university’s student counselling services has profoundly empowered me to address my mental health challenges. The resources and support available provided a safe space to express my concerns and work through them with professional guidance. This support has not only helped me navigate difficult times but also fostered personal growth and a deeper understanding of self-care.”

Comprehensive approach to student support

SCD offers a spectrum of essential services for student well-being, including individual psychotherapy and group workshops on stress management, self-esteem, and emotional intelligence; support for developing key personality traits and professional skills; career guidance through psychometric tools; and academic support to enhance study skills and manage test anxiety and time effectively.

Empowerment through support

Mahamotse urges fellow students: “I encourage you to take full advantage of the mental health services our university provides. Seeking help is a sign of strength, and utilising these resources can make a tremendous difference in your overall well-being. Support is just a step away.”

As UFS commemorates Youth Month, it celebrates not just the legacy of past youth movements but also the present-day efforts of youth who continue to build a better future through resilience, courage, and empowerment.

Celebrating Youth Month at UFS

  • Community Engagement Office: Youth Day Celebration 
Date: 21 June 2024
Time: 09:00–14:00
Venue: Lusaka Community Hall, Qwaqwa
Topics: Gender-based violence; bullying; LGBTQ, legislative framework, substance abuse, crime, school dropout; teenage pregnancy, youth unemployment, and child-headed households.

Services: Contraceptives, sexually transmitted illness treatment, voluntary medical male circumcision, and referrals.

For more information, contact Moodi Matsoso at matsosoMS@ufs.ac.za. 

  • Career Pathway

The Career Services Office offers a programme to enhance the employability of registered students. Upon completion, students earn five badges reflecting their competency and work-readiness.

For more information, contact Belinda Janeke at JanekeB@ufs.ac.za. 

  • FutureLEAD Challenge 

The FutureLEAD Challenge (FLC) is an online, voluntary leadership development programme available to all undergraduate and postgraduate students across UFS’s three campuses. The programme lasts four to seven months and utilises Blackboard for blended learning.

For more information, contact René Pelser at PelserR@ufs.ac.za.

  • Entrepreneurship talk and #YouthMonth Mingle

The Centre for Graduate Support will host a #YouthMonth Mingle where postgraduate students will discuss their studies and discover funding opportunities.

For more information, contact Naomi Haupt at DeValdoNE@ufs.ac.za 

News Archive

Centre for Africa Studies goes quadruple
2014-09-02

The Centre for Africa Studies at the UFS hosted a book launch on 27 August 2014. Prof Heidi Hudson expressed her excitement as she welcomed the audience and authors that evening, “This has not happened yet at our department where we launch four books at the same time, thus it is a happy and glorious moment for us.”

Book 1: Sacred Spaces and Contested Identities. Space and Ritual Dynamics in Europe and Africa. Edited by Paul Post, Philip Nel and Walter van Beek.

This book deals with the fundamental changes in society and culture that are forcing us to reconsider the position of sacred space, and to do this within the broader context of ritual and religious dynamics and what is called a ‘spatial turn’. Conversely, sacred sites are a privileged way of studying current cultural dynamics. This collection of studies on sacred space concerns itself with both perspectives by exploring place-bound dynamics of the sacred spaces in Africa and Europe.

Book 2: Understanding Namibia. The Trials of Independence. Written by Henning Melber.

This study explores the achievements and failures of Namibia’s transformation since independence. It contrasts the narrative of a post-colonial patriotic history with the socio-economic and political realities of the nation-building project.

Book 3: Peace Diplomacy, Global Justice and International Agency Rethinking Human Security and Ethics in the Spirit of Dag Hammarskjöld. Edited by Carsten Stahn and Henning Melber.

This tribute and critical review of Hammarskjöld's values and legacy examines his approach towards international civil service, agency and value-based leadership, investigates his vision of internationalism and explores his achievements and failures as Secretary-General. The book is also available in print. Melber is a Senior Adviser and Director Emeritus of The Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation, Uppsala, Sweden. He is also Extraordinary Professor at both the University of Pretoria and the Centre for Africa Studies, University of the Free State.

Book 4: Au commencement était le Mimisme: Essai de lecture globale des cours de Marcel Jousse ( In the beginning was mimism: A holistic reading of Marcel Jousse’s lectures). Written by: Edgard Sienaert

This publication allows us to hear the voice of Marcel Jousse, professor of Anthropology of Language, who taught in Paris between 1931 and 1957. Edgard Sienaert, after having edited and translated in English all publications of Jousse, returns here to Jousse’s one-thousand lectures, synthesised through the lens of an anthropology of human mimism. Jousse’s train of thought leads us to question our own thought categories stuck in antagonisms: spirit and matter, concrete and abstract, body and mind, science and faith. Sienaert is currently a research fellow at the Centre for Africa Studies, University of the Free State, with an MA and PhD in Romance Philology. He published widely on medieval French literature and on orality. 
 

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