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24 September 2024
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Story Aimée Barlow
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Photo Supplied
Louzanne Coetzee, who made history by clinching South Africa’s second medal at the Paralympics, earning a bronze in the T11 1 500 m women’s final with a personal best time, received a warm reception when she recently returned home.
The celebrated Paralympic bronze medallist Louzanne Coetzee returned home to a warm welcome at the Bram Fischer International Airport on 10 September 2024.
Family, friends, colleagues, Arista students, and media gathered to celebrate her remarkable achievement and show their support.
Coetzee – KovsieSport Coordinator of Parasport at the University of the Free State (UFS) – made history by clinching South Africa’s second medal at the Paralympics, earning a bronze in the T11 1 500 m women’s final with a personal best time. Her dedication and hard work have not only brought her personal glory but have also inspired many in her community.
Among those present to welcome her was Jerry Laka, Director of KovsieSport, who expressed his pride in Coetzee’s accomplishments.
"We as KovsieSport are so proud of our colleague Coetzee. It is amazing to see a product of KovsieSport achieving greatness on the world stage. She is truly an inspiration to us all," said Laka.
“I am so glad to be back, and to have Laka and my colleagues here. It means the world to me. Having Laka here shows his commitment to my career and ParaSport and his staff in general,” shared Coetzee, her gratitude evident.
She further expressed her appreciation for the support she received, stating, “I don’t have the words to describe how thankful I am for the support from the UFS community.”
Coetzee’s return is a proud moment for South Africa and the University of the Free State (UFS) community. Welcome home, Louzanne! Your achievements have made us all proud!
Literacy Month fosters the love of reading
2017-09-19
Vutivi Baloyi author of Keep Hoping with Neo Kgoroba
one of the co-authors of In Our Own Words.
Literacy Month is celebrated in September each year at the University of the Free State (UFS) with various activities that are academic and community related and aim to join different departments in collaborative efforts to carry forward an awareness of literacy and the joy of reading among learners. The UFS Sasol Library lined up a series of events to celebrate the month, one of them being the launch of two books on 14 September 2017.
Vutivi Baloyi is a UFS student who wrote a collection of poems at the age of 17 which were recently published in a book called Keep Hoping. The book was launched alongside In Our Own Words, a collection of narratives written by UFS students about university life and transitioning from township high schools to a different culture, society and community, and the challenges with which they are faced.
In their own words, they share incredible experiences
The launch was attended by learners from Christian Liphoko High School in Thaba Nchu as well as Moroka High School and others. The compilation of narratives by UFS students was done under the auspices of Prof Merridy Wilson-Strydom through the Enabling Success project in the Centre for Research in Higher Education. Prof Wilson-Strydom said the project, supported by the National Research Foundation, was a profound way of empowering students by bringing out the value of the stories of their life on campus as they saw them, with each student writing a chapter on a specific theme.
Students as change agents and community builders
The student authors spoke to their audience from the heart, sharing words of advice, especially to younger learners who are still in high school. This has sparked a desire for the beginning of collaborative programmes between the individual university students and high school learners who hail from Botshabelo and Thaba Nchu, highlighting the need for mentorship, life skills, academic improvement and an opportunity to give back.
The event is also part of the ongoing Launch Your Own Book project that has grown in 2017 at the UFS Library under the leadership of Mr Marcus Maphile, Assistant Director: Library Marketing and Community Engagement. Literacy Month will be celebrated with more events in September such as a round-table discussion in collaboration with the Academic and Non-Fiction Authors Association of South Africa (ANSAFA) on 20 September 2017 at the library, to discuss developing authors and the role of ANSAFA. More activities will include outreach and community engagement, with a visit to Christian Liphoko High School in Thaba Nchu on 21 September 2017.