CONTACT THEISSUE ALUMNI RELATIONS OFFICE: 20 | JUNE 2017
ISSUE 20 | JUNE 2017
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UNIVERSITY OF THE WESTERN CAPE
ALUMNI NEWSLETTER
Pictured, from left: Catherine Joubert, Gloria Samson, Dr Karen Collett and Tayala Afrika.
Researcher helps women realise their dreams
T
wo young women from Wellington have become the first in their families to pursue studies at a university, thanks to the commitment and generosity of two remarkable educators. Their story began when Dr Karen Collett, a researcher in the Faculty of Education at UWC, collaborated with a funding partner and retired Groenberg Primary School principal, Gloria Samson, in the Teacher Well-Being (TWB) project. The TWB was initiated in Wellington to help teachers cope with their particular challenges. Teachers felt demoralised by the then low achievement levels of learners and the high number of learners with language and learning barriers that required additional support. The staff at Groenberg Primary School and three other nearby schools identified a homework and
study club as a strategy to improve learners’ academic results and build a stronger supportive relationship between learners, teachers and parents/guardians. “Groenberg Primary School was one of the four schools we worked with,” Dr Collett explains. “But because of Mrs Samson’s passion and love for teaching, they started a homework club at the school catering for all the children in the area, aimed at improving learners’ academic results. The homework club focused on supporting the learners, as their parents were often unable to assist them with their homework tasks.” Catherine Joubert and her childhood friend Tayala Afrika attended the homework club while they were in high school. The TWB provided support and financial backing to help Joubert and Afrika complete their schooling. After matriculating, Joubert found work in a road construction crew. Whenever her Grade 1 teacher passed her
while she was working, waving her flag to regulate the traffic, she would drop her gaze, ashamed. Joubert and Afrika returned to the TWB project as volunteers, helping learners find solutions for themselves. The TWB then decided to assist them to further their studies at the Wellington campus of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. Emulating their role models, they are pursuing their dream of becoming teachers. The project will help the two students by funding fees, textbooks, accommodation and a stipend of R1 000 a month. The funder has also agreed to support Dr Collett with funding to research the value of homework/ study clubs in supporting learner achievement and retention in schools. Afrika says, “This journey is very exciting for both of us because Mrs Samson connected us with people who want to see us succeed and break the chain of poverty in our families.”
www.uwc.ac.za/alumni | PAGE 1
ISSUE 20 | JUNE 2017
FAMILY STORY
Editorial Welcome to issue 20 of Three-Sixt-e. It's amazing to know that we’ve reached this milestone and that you have been here to share the experience of each new edition with us. We thank you and value your ongoing support. In this edition we report on the outcome of the much-anticipated UWC Convocation. We chat to recent graduate Keaton Harris who achieved 24 distinctions while studying towards his BPharm and BPharm Honours degrees. Alumni featured in this edition include Imelda Mayer-Taylor, Delphino Machikicho, Mayverine Sias-Oerson and Julian Naidoo, as well as the Ndonga brothers, Kaya and Ntando.
Brothers beat the odds to become role models Ntando Ndonga seriously considered a career as a taxi driver due to the perception that township public schools did not produce successful role models. “Township school life did not inspire much in terms of educational success and sustainable prosperity based on a solid foundation. The version of success was either to become a known taxi driver or succeed through the proceeds of crime,” Ndonga says. “We always felt like second-class students because township communities perceived the then Model C schools as the epitome of excellence and privilege.” Ndonga’s parents encouraged their children to rise above these perceptions. With only R2 500 between them to fund their university education, which was all their parents could afford, Ndonga and his brother Kaya left their Queenstown home in the late 1990s and headed for the University of the Western Cape.
costs. Ask the fellow students who served in the SRC and the House Committee if at the time they were forcing the University to give food to students who had no means of paying for it, they had any idea that they were actually contributing to moulding thousands of future leaders who are directly contributing to the future of this country,” Ntando says. “It was when we studied at UWC that we realised that whether you were from a Model C or township school, the opportunity to achieve anything was within our reach,” Kaya says. “We interacted and studied with the same former Model C students whom we perceived as better than township students and we realised that actually, it was not how well you spoke English but your abilities that mattered.”
“How did we make it? Ask the University of the Western Cape how it was able to gamble on its future sustainability in order to give a black child an opportunity with no surety that it would ever recoup its
Kaya completed his BA (Psychology) in 2001 and now works in employee relations at the SA Post Office. Ntando, who obtained his law degree a year later, is an executive in legal risk and governance at BestMed Medical Scheme.
Ntando Ndonga
Kaya Ndonga
The debut instalment of the ‘Alumni Talk’ discussion series took place in May, with the focus on current challenges in pharmacy. The Alumni Relations Office partnered with Club 99 recently to host a Mad Hatters High Tea to raise funds to assist students with registration fees in 2018. Lastly, we note the passing of one of UWC’s intellectual leaders, Judge Essa Moosa (1936–2017), who will forever be remembered for his contributions to the defence of human rights in South Africa.
Happy reading! Patricia Lawrence Director Department for Institutional Advancement
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UPCOMING
Times and details to be announced
n The annual Langarm Club 99 Dance takes place on Friday, 4 August 2017, at the UWC Main Hall. n The August 2017 Graduation takes place on Tuesday, 29 August and Wednesday, 30 August 2017, at the UWC Main Hall.
n The Alumni Relations Office hosts the annual Kings of UWC Soccer Tournament on Sunday, 10 September 2017. n The annual Desmond Tutu International Peace Lecture takes place on Monday, 9 October 2017, at the UWC Main Hall.
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INNOVATION
Convocation gets new leadership
Convocation President Maqula completed his BA degree in Public Administration and Honours in Political Studies at UWC. He is also a former SRC President. At the event, UWC Rector and ViceChancellor, Professor Tyrone Pretorius, presented the new Institutional Operating Plan 2016–2020 and highlighted the academic and research achievements of the University, current and future capital projects, and UWC’s goals for the future.
From left: Dr Llewellyn MacMaster, Judge Nathan Erasmus and Songezo Maqula.
The Convocation Annual General Meeting in June elected Judge Nathan Erasmus and Dr Llewellyn MacMaster as Convocation members to serve on the Council, while Songezo Maqula was re-elected unopposed as the President of the UWC Convocation.
Deputy Vice-Chancellors, Registrar, Executive Directors and the Director of Library Service, two members of Council appointed to Senate, as well as those persons who were members of the Convocation at the commencement of the current UWC Statute.
Judge Erasmus and Dr MacMaster will serve on the Council from 1 December 2017 to 30 November 2020 and Maqula will lead the Convocation until the next Convocation AGM in 2018. The Convocation includes all UWC graduates (degree holders only), academic employees (currently employed on a permanent basis or on contract for a period of one year or more), the Rector,
Judge Erasmus, who obtained his Bluris and LLB from UWC, is a judge of the High Court of South Africa and a founder member of Advocates for Transformation. Dr MacMaster obtained his undergraduate degree and honours in theology at UWC before completing his master’s and doctorate at Stellenbosch University.
Convocation President Maqula presented his annual report which highlighted the work done by Convocation members in various communities and the challenges they encountered, and appealed to members for more support. The Convocation supported Maqula’s recommendations that several matters be taken to Council, including the issues of food security for struggling students, part-time programme offerings and the need for Convocation to work with the Alumni Relations Office and the UWC Foundation to source funding. Members also suggested that future Convocation meetings utilise technology to enable members who were not physically able to attend to follow the proceedings via the internet.
LASTING LEGACY
Mad about Udubs The premise for the Mad Hatters High Tea was simple: show up in your funniest, quirkiest hat and stand a chance to win a prize. The University of the Western Cape alumni who attended didn’t disappoint, some turning up in ancient but glamorous hats and outfits and others in the latest fashion trends. Among the enthusiastic participants were former Rector Professor Brian O’Connell and Phoebe Gerwel, the widow of Prof Jakes Gerwel. Organised by the Alumni Relations Office in partnership with Club 99, a charitable group formed by alumni from the 1960s and 1970s, the high tea was organised to raise funds to support students through the club’s registration fees funding programme. In his welcoming address, UWC Rector and Vice-Chancellor Prof
From left: Phoebe Gerwel, Professor Edith Vries, Louisa Basson and Prof Brian O'Connell.
Tyrone Pretorius said universities used to be pillars on which the society was built but now society has lost its enchantment with higher education. “It is our job and responsibility not to despair because higher education is a project of hope. What you have done and continue to do in Club 99 is to send out a strong message that education matters and universities matter.”
Guest speaker and alumna, Prof Edith Vries, said UWC students of her generation lived by the UWC motto, ‘Respice prospice’ (to look back is to look forward). She said many alumni hold influential positions but have not been linked to the political scandals reported in the media because they emerged from University with social consciousness, awareness, activism and values that set them apart. www.uwc.ac.za/alumni | PAGE 3
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INTERNATIONAL
UWC still part of her identity As is common with universities, UWC has produced many graduates who have excelled in all walks of life around the globe. Alumna Imelda Mayer-Taylor is a typical example. While on campus, Mayer-Taylor met her Austrian partner who was on an exchange programme. After she obtained her degrees in social work and sociology at the University in the early 1980s, she worked in various capacities in different organisations before emigrating. She now runs her own business in Vienna, Austria. “I have my own business in another country. I have become part of the Austrian society but still maintain my cosmopolitan identity. I’m still in contact with my family, friends, and the social and political situation in South Africa,” she says. Fluent in German, Mayer-Taylor has been writing literature and offering English courses for pre-school children, schoolgoing children and adults for the past 18 years. She attributes her achievements to her time on campus. “My experiences of UWC and campus life taught me to be independent, to prioritise and to manage my workload,” she says. “I gained self-confidence by communicating with students from different environments, and debating rationally without becoming too emotional.” Mayer-Taylor believes that attending political gatherings was important. “Student solidarity played a very important role as I was studying during apartheid. At that time I also wanted to contribute to change in the country.” Student life on campus was also fun. “Despite the political atmosphere I also had fun with my fellow students, going to campus discos and hanging around near the cafeteria,” she says.
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A happy Keaton Harris, who received his BPharm Honours degree, summa cum laude, in April.
ON CAMPUS
#IAMUWC - Graduate posts stellar performance Keaton Harris celebrated a very special achievement during UWC’s Autumn Graduation – no fewer than 24 distinctions across the span of his pharmacy studies. Harris, who hails from Strand and is the first member of his family to attend university, was awarded his BPharm Honours degree summa cum laude in April, having been announced as the Valedictorian of the Class of 2016. “Just getting a degree is good, but it’s not enough. You need to grow, develop and inspire others on your journey.
“I continued working hard and was recognised in 2015 with the Abe Bailey travel bursary, whereby one representative is chosen from each university every year in South Africa to travel to the UK on an all-expenses paid trip,” says Harris. He was the secondyoungest student ever to receive this bursary.
Coming from a single parent household that struggled financially, Harris was determined not to let difficulties get in his way.
In 2014, he was placed second in the Future Stars South Africa awards. Among his many student achievements, Harris is a past President of the University of the Western Cape Pharmacy Association. He won the Clinical Skills competition at the South African Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation 2015 Conference, where he also received the Nic Scheeper’s Memorial Award for Best Performance.
In his second year he was financially excluded but, because of his exceptional performance in his first year in which he achieved eight distinctions, the Faculty of Natural Sciences made it possible for him to complete his undergraduate degree.
Harris believes in giving back and inspiring others. He tutored and demonstrated for a number of classes at UWC, and organised food and clothing and HIV awareness drives, often as part of the Cecil Esau House Committee.
“I want to let all students know that it is possible to achieve your dreams. It doesn’t matter how hard it gets, no matter your financial situation, always give your best to achieve your dreams,” he says.
ISSUE 20 | JUNE 2017
ALUMNI PROFILE ALUMNI NEWS
Pharmacists must adapt to survive
Changing lives
Are pharmacists still viable and valuable? Are they relevant as professionals? Or have they fallen into adopting the role of mere dealers in medicine? These were questions raised at ‘Opportunities for Change: Towards a new era in pharmacy’, the ‘Alumni Talk’ programme co-hosted by the Alumni Office and the UWC School of Pharmacy in May. The event saw experts from academia, the corporate sector and community pharmacy practices discuss the challenges facing the industry as a result of several recent developments. Among these developments were the Department of Health’s introduction of medicine pricing legislation which saw a drop in profitability based on medicine sales, its decision that non-pharmacists may open pharmacies with the purported aim of increasing access to medicines, the corporatisation of pharmacists and expansion of the scope of technician services to alleviate the skills shortage in the sector. Dr Mariam Parker, Senior Lecturer in Pharmacy Practice at UWC, called for the restructuring of pharmacy in South Africa to ensure its survival and success in a harsh economic and political climate. She said her perception was informed by the restructuring of the profession in other countries. “Corporate pharmacies are not going anywhere, whether we like them or From left: Isgak Ismail, Fatima Davids and Dr Mariam Parker.
not. We should leverage the infrastructure they provide to our benefit,” said Dr Parker. Fatima Davids, regional sales manager at Lundbeck South Africa, said it was sometimes frustrating to be part of the industry and to struggle to see where pharmacists actually fitted. “You get marketing professionals dictating to pharmacists and doctors. Generic companies consider pharmacists only because of profit margins, not because they value them. It’s all about marketing, not clinical evidence.” She said pharmacists need to respect, validate and differentiate themselves. “No other health professional has the skills and knowledge that pharmacists have when it comes to integrating pharmacology, the chemistry and the pharmaceutics of medicines with desired medical outcomes.” Isgak Ismail, Western Cape Regional Branch Chairperson of the Independent Pharmacy Community Association, noted that pharmacy was probably the most highly regulated industry and that the “disastrous” pricing model of 2004 had huge downstream consequences for community pharmacists.
Social entrepreneur Delphino Machikicho got involved in community development while at the University of the Western Cape. Since graduating, he has founded social upflitment initiatives that have impacted on thousands of youth in Southern Africa. Machikicho is the co-founder and vicepresident of Waumbe Youth Development, an organisation that has helped many youths in Fisantekraal. As an inspirational speaker, he has addressed more than 7 000 young people across the Southern African Development Community region. He has worked with over 10 nongovernmental organisations in youth empowerment and education and was twice named Community Leader of the Year at the annual Cape Town Zimbabwe Excellence Awards. “The leadership development I gained from the Leadership and Social Responsibility (LSR) programme has been propelling me through the high roads of life,” says Machikicho, a project support specialist with Siyavula Education. “My life changed when I became part of the LSR. A new world of opportunities opened up for me, and becoming part of their Advanced Leadership Programme equipped me with tools to transform Africa. Even winning the Male Student of the Year award in 2012 was very helpful.” Born in Zimbabwe, Machikicho obtained both his BCom finance and investment degree (2014) and BCom honours in management (2015) at the University. “UWC did not only give me the programme choice I wanted but was also affordable. Throughout my five years of study I learnt a lot and got to understand the South African community better because of the friends I made on campus,” says Machikicho. www.uwc.ac.za/alumni | PAGE 5
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MEET THE MEMBER
Unforgettable experience Historically, the University of the Western Cape has always been distinguished from its peers by its strong community focus and involvement. UWC alumni often reflect on the institution’s role in not only instilling these values in them but also helping their personal development. Mayverine Sias-Oerson is no exception. An assistant director for special needs programmes in the Eastern Cape’s Department of Social Development, she says that her involvement in campus life and volunteering in community outreach programmes boosted her confidence tremendously.
UWC Rugby crushed UFH to bag its first-ever Varsity Shield title.
SPORT
A perfect end to a perfect tournament It was third time’s a charm for the University of the Western Cape (UWC) Rugby team, newly crowned as Varsity Shield champions for the first time after winning an epic final against the University of Fort Hare (UFH) in April. After being losing finalists twice before – against the University of KwaZulu-Natal last year and the Central University of Technology in 2013 – Udubs finally brought home the trophy when they thrashed UFH 45-2 at the UWC Sports Stadium. Two tries each from Herschel Jantjies and Ishmael Schroeder, one apiece by Michaine Fick and Andrew Manuel, and the five conversions contributed by Aidynn Cupido, ensured that the team emerged victorious before the delirious home crowd. The win didn’t surprise many in the university rugby fraternity. Coached by 1995 Rugby World Cup winner Chester Williams, assisted by fellow Springbok Bolla Conradie, the UWC Rugby team has been in fine form this season, previously losing just one game – by a single point – in a seven-team round robin mini-league. Ironically, that loss
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was to the same UFH team they comprehensively beat in the Varsity Shield final. UWC displayed running rugby and dominated possession, territory and game play throughout the final game. The Udubs backline’s resolute strength made it almost impossible for the visitors to threaten their try-line. Coach Williams says, “The biggest obstacle for the UWC team has been the lack of teamwork and respect for one another. Now that we have instilled those features in our team we need to maintain that culture moving forward. And of course the current crop of players want to inspire one another and achieve something that UWC Rugby has not managed to do in the last five or six years.” Williams believes that the presence of two Springboks has had a positive impact on the young UWC team. “We teach them about life skills as well, not only about rugby. We teach them that the most important thing in their lives is education first.” Should UWC win the Varsity Shield next year they will be promoted to Varsity Cup, the premier university rugby competition in South Africa.
“Humility is one of the biggest attributes I acquired through those involvements. Applying critical and analytical thinking at all times, to be vocal and to lead from your little corner wherever you are, the importance of voluntarism and putting people first have helped me a lot.” Born in the Eastern Cape, Sias-Oerson joined UWC in 1982 to do a degree in social work after refusing to apply for a permit to study at Rhodes University. “UWC was a very unique campus producing ‘coloured’ heroes of a high calibre. The campus community also played a vital role in the liberation struggle,” she recalls. Sias-Oerson, who has been a member of the UWC Alumni Association for many years, says studying at UWC was the “most rewarding and unforgettable experience. It was great to be part of a campus community with whom you could identify and associate with at all levels.” One of her fondest memories is of the UWC ladies’ hostels fielding two rugby teams as curtain-raisers for a hostel rugby final in 1982, at a time when only male students played the sport. “My roommate and “homie”, Claudette Duiker, played prop with me. We were unknowingly laying the foundation for ladies’ rugby in the country.”
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NEW APPOINTMENT
New Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation
Department of Physiotherapy, the first black female researcher to obtain a PhD from this department. Subsequently, she headed the department of physiotherapy for three years before becoming the deputy dean of research in the faculty. Prior to her appointment as DVC for Research and Innovation, she served as Dean of the Faculty of Community and Health Sciences (CHS). She has a formidable track record as a scholar and mentor, having supervised numerous master’s and doctoral students. Prof Frantz’s substantial publications and role in research focused on health promotion and education for risk factors for chronic diseases, as well as health profession education, were recognised in November 2016 when the NRF awarded her its Champion of Research Capacity Development and Transformation award.
UWC stalwart and alumna Professor Josè Frantz has been appointed as the new Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation in the University’s Executive Team. Prof Frantz assumed her new duties at the beginning of the year, replacing Prof Frans
OBITUARIES UWC mourns the recent passing of members of its community, including respected judge and celebrated human rights activist Judge Essa Moosa. Born in 1936 in District Six, Judge Moosa qualified as a lawyer and was admitted to practice as an attorney in 1962, launching a long and celebrated career in which he challenged apartheid violations of human rights. He helped to forge a fairer system of justice in the post-apartheid environment as a Judge of the High Court of South Africa. He was a founding executive member of the National Association of Democratic Lawyers, chaired the Western Cape Constitutional Committee of the African National Congress, and was a member of the Ministry of Justice Coordinating
Swanepoel who resigned towards the end of 2016. A National Research Foundation (NRF) rated researcher, Prof Frantz has a long association with the University and brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the position. Prof Frantz joined UWC in 1996 as a lecturer. She obtained her doctoral degree in 2005 from UWC`s
In a statement welcoming Prof Frantz to her new position, Rector and ViceChancellor Professor Tyrone Pretorius said, “We wish her all the success and support from the UWC community to continue, in collaboration with our excellent academic and professional staff, to take UWC to even greater heights.”
Committee that spearheaded community participation as lay assessors in the magistrate’s courts. Judge Moosa not only defended community organisations in court, but served on the executives of many of them, including acting as president of the Surrey Estate, Primrose Park, Greenhaven and Portavue civic associations. He helped to give ordinary people a public voice through his involvement with community media such as Bush Radio, Grassroots, and the South and Saamstaan newspapers. Late in life he lent his activist energy to the cause of Kurdish human rights as a founding member and chairperson of the Kurdish Human Rights Action Group, as Director of the European Union Turkish Civic Commission, and as Chairperson of the International Peace and Reconciliation Initiative. Judge Moosa contributed inspiring leadership while serving on UWC’s Board of Trustees for over 20 years. On 20 September 2012, the University awarded
him an honorary doctorate in Law for his contribution to human rights and the struggle for democracy, freedom, equality and dignity in South Africa and abroad.
www.uwc.ac.za/alumni | PAGE 7
ISSUE 20 | JUNE 2017
DID YOU KNOW?
UWC is Africa’s leading innovator in free and open source software development, and is the initiator of AVOIR, a network of African universities in 13 African countries developing free software for use in higher education.
ARTS AND CULTURE
Achievements self-evidently inadequate The inaugural UWC Archbishop Thabo Makgoba Development Trust Annual Lecture took place in May. The guest speaker, retired Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke, delivered the keynote address with typically blunt honesty. In his address, UWC Chancellor, Archbishop Thabo Makgoba, explained that the initiative – a collaboration between UWC and the Thabo Makgoba Development Trust – was one of several projects taking place at different universities to promote robust engagement with important issues of our times. “After careful consideration, we agreed that it was indeed a good idea to initiate a platform to meet annually to reflect on the state of the nation and the world,” he said. Before the Chancellor spoke, Rector and Vice-Chancellor Tyrone Pretorius’s welcoming address was briefly disrupted by a few protesting students, but order was quickly restored. In his keynote address, Justice Moseneke described South Africa as a country in a political, social and economic crisis. “The nation is treated to constant accounts of disunity, factionalism and internecine battles within the ruling elite and its partners. Economic inequality has grown, social grants have shot up to 18 million as youth unemployment has spiralled beyond 50 percent, and our national debt has grown. In short, we have not reconstructed or developed in a way that has reversed the social excesses of colonial apartheid.
Celebrity Corner
The often talked-of triple burden of poverty, inequality and unemployment is well and truly upon us.” Justice Moseneke said while the ruling elite is now making an impassioned case for radical economic transformation, the truth was that the ruling elite had not devised a credible and visionary plan to reconstruct and develop the country in 23 years of democracy. “If they did, the plan was never implemented adequately to avoid us now saying that we are going to start a radical economic transformation. What was obvious in 1994 has become self-evident again. Our leaders seem to have now rediscovered the primal purpose of our liberation struggle – to create an inclusive social democracy in which every one of us would have an untrammelled chance to realise her or his potential,” said Justice Moseneke. Justice Moseneke noted that the country has maintained a functional democratic state, our parliamentary system functions, our fiscus and national treasury function, our courts are independent and our education system, particularly in higher education, has made strides. But these achievements were self-evidently inadequate given the extent of the crisis.
Heart 104.9 radio personality Julian Naidoo obtained his Bachelor of Commerce Honours in Management degree at the graduation ceremony on Wednesday, 5 April 2017.
Join the UWC Alumni Association! Get your free UWC Alumni T-shirt and much more for only R170 per annum (or R70 for the first two years after graduation)! To join, download and complete the Alumni Membership form at www.uwc.ac.za/alumni Contact us at alumni@uwc.ac.za or telephone 021 959 2143 if you have any questions.
Stay Connected! Retired Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke.
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