​He’s a proud Namibian that attended Paul Roos Gymnasium. He loves people, hockey, dogs and his mother’s rusks. He believes everything happens for a reason and that people shouldn’t take life too seriously.

That is how first-year MB,ChB student and native of Windhoek Breda Reed would describe himself in a tweet. Reed matriculated with seven distinctions and was also nominated as the best South African under-18 male hockey player last year.

He believes that having goals is the secret to success. “Anyone can learn how to manage their time, but if you don’t have something that motivates you, chances are you’re going to struggle sticking to your programme,” he says.

This counts for both his studies and his sport.

Reeds views his dad as successful because of the example he has set in achieving his goals. “And he lives according to a strict value system.”

He believes effort, and not necessarily talent, is what distinguishes people. “There’ll always be someone who is better than you, but there should never be someone who works harder than you do.”

Fast facts:

• He loves making food, especially when he should be studying.
• He washes his hands at least 20 time per day. “I hate dirty hands.”
• It annoys him when people talk too slowly.
• Showering while having a gras burn injury makes him cry.
• He prefers animation movies above others. His favourite is Big Hero 6.

​If you’ve managed to secure seven distinctions at school, it’s probably fair to say that you are no stranger to hard work. That’s why Sibongumenzi (or Menzi as her friends know her) Mtshali is not afraid to set her aim high: to one day be a world renowned neurosurgeon.

For this Hippokrates resident to achieve this, it’s important to set aside time everyday to keep up with her studies as first year MB,ChB student, but she admits campus activities have a way of keeping her busy. Her top time management tip is to plan your day ahead and to write down every detail. “This helps to keep you in check with what you’re actually accomplishing with your time.”

But, she adds, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. “Allow yourself free time.”

Mtshali also considers herself quite the cook and says her specialities include uJege (a traditional Zulu steamed bread), beef curry and the South African speciality, milk tart.

When it comes to life, she gets philosophical. “I am a soul in a body, trying to make sense of the world,” she says.

“Although it doesn’t always make sense, I want to make the most of my time here.”

Quick questions:

• Best habit? “Cutting my nails every week.”
• Worst habit? “Letting my nail polish chip.”
• Is social media a blessing or a curse? “A curse. It makes people fixate on materialism and false happiness.”
• What do you do for exercise? “I dance in my room.”

In the past 15 years, the global community has provided US$109.8 billion in development assistance to curb HIV/AIDS. Several international aid organisations created in this period have been instrumental in galvanising the resources needed to combat the epidemic.

But meeting the UNAIDS 90-90-90 targets – that 90% of HIV positive people will know their status, 90% of those people will be on antiretrovirals and 90% will be virally suppressed by 2020 – will require major changes in how programmes are delivered and financed.

Maintaining and scaling up the funding of AIDS efforts in the next 20 years to end the epidemic is crucial.

The challenge is that since 2010 development assistance for HIV has remained nearly constant. Researchers estimate that $36 billion is needed annually to achieve the United Nations goals.

Current epidemiological and financial trends suggest there’s a major risk of a substantial shortfall in the funds required to sustain life-saving antiretroviral programmes.

The three phases of the epidemic

The number of people living with HIV/AIDS steadily increased to 38.8 million in 2015, according to the 2015 Global Burden of Disease study.

The unfolding global HIV pandemic has advanced through three phases. In the first phase, 1981 to 1997, HIV moved from being ranked as the 39th leading cause of death worldwide to the 11th.

In the second phase, from 1998 to 2005, incidence declined by 25.4%. But because of the lag between infection and mortality, the number of deaths caused by HIV increased.

In the third phase, from 2005 to 2015, the mass scaling of prevention of mother-to-child transmission and antiretrovirals – particularly in low-income sub-Saharan Africa – led to several developments. These included declining HIV mortality, a stagnation in the decline of global incidence rates and steadily rising prevalence. These global patterns mask well documented but extraordinary heterogeneity across countries.

The need for HIV programmes, particularly antiretroviral ones, keeps growing. This is due to both the sustained high number of infections and the success of antiretrovirals in extending the lifespan of people living with HIV.

Dealing with the financing gap

Enormous progress has been made in reducing HIV deaths. This is particularly true in low-income countries. But this is mainly because programmes that prevent mother-to-child transmission and antiretroviral interventions, largely funded through development assistance for HIV, have been expanded.

This scaling up has been fuelled by the increase in development assistance for HIV from $1.3 billion in 2000 to $10.8 billion in 2015.

UNAIDS and other international development agencies hope that the growing need for funding will be partly solved by expanded health spending in low-income countries.

But the scarcity of adequate funds to provide antiretrovirals to people living with HIV – together with the possibility of rising drug resistance to existing antiretroviral treatments – will make achieving the goal to end AIDS by 2030 extremely difficult.

In middle-income countries, increased commitments to funding health programmes from national budgets could fill the gap.

But domestic resources won’t be sufficient in low-income countries where, as in eastern and some southern sub-Saharan African countries, HIV rates are the highest.

Researchers have projected that government health expenditure in southern sub-Saharan Africa is going to increase from $30.8 billion in 2015 to $53.1 billion in 2030.

Meeting the needs of people living with HIV will require a combination of the following evidence-informed strategies:

• concentrating development assistance for HIV in these low-income countries;

• improving the efficiency of HIV programmes;

• increasing domestic financing;

• lowering the cost of treatment (including the prices of antiretrovirals); and

• reducing future incidence through more concerted efforts.

Development assistance efforts will also need to be scaled up if the free flow of low-cost generic drugs is hampered.

The World Health Organisation now recommends universal antiretroviral treatment for all people with HIV.

In 2015, only 41% of people living with HIV were receiving antiretroviral therapy. But the 90-90-90 goals imply that 81% should be receiving antiretrovirals and 73% will have viral suppression. No country has achieved this yet. To do so, antiretroviral coverage will need to be extended to at least 15.5 million additional people by 2020. This implies an addition of 3.1 million per year between 2015 and 2020, while ensuring complete treatment adherence.

It will require concerted efforts to scale up detection of new infections to meet the target of 90% of people knowing their status. The targeted expansion in antiretroviral therapy coverage would play an important part in reducing the still high number of people dying from HIV.

But such expansion has enormous cost implications in an era when even maintenance of coverage in some low-income settings could be at risk in the presence of declining development assistance for health.

Increased antiretroviral coverage might also play a part in reducing population transmission of HIV and therefore incidence. The quality of antiretroviral therapy embodied in the third 90 target of the UNAIDS strategy remains a major issue, as does the potential role of other care in extending survival.

Charles Wiysonge, Professor of Clinical Epidemiology at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

Listed companies with more female directors are also better corporate citizens, write Prof Suzette Viviers and Dr Nadia Mans-Kemp of the Department of Business Management in an opinion piece published on The Conversation website on Friday (29 July 2016).

• Read the complete article below or click here for the piece as published.
  

Are JSE-listed companies with more female directors better corporate citizens?

South Africa faces numerous social and environmental challenges, such as poverty, pandemic levels of economic crime, dwindling natural sources (including water) and high levels of greenhouse gas emissions, to name but a few. As corporate citizens, companies have an important role in identifying and addressing these challenges.

A growing body of international research suggests that companies with gender diverse boards are better corporate citizens. These companies not only comply with legislation, but also have initiatives in place to meet the social and environmental demands placed on them by their shareholders and key stakeholders. Good corporate citizens can distinguish themselves from their competitors by being equitable employers, engaging in ethical business dealings, protecting the natural environment, uplifting local communities and practicing good corporate governance. Good corporate citizenship is increasingly regarded as a source of competitive advantage and means of attracting (more) responsible investors.

In light of the above, we set out to investigate the relationship between board gender diversity and corporate citizenship in a sample of JSE-listed companies for the period 2009 to 2015. Many scholars and practitioners equate a company's inclusion in a responsible investment (RI) index as a proxy for good corporate citizenship. Well-known RI indices include the Dow Jones Sustainability index series, the FTSE4Good index series and our own FTSE/JSE RI index. In line with other local researchers, we used a company's inclusion in the latter as a narrow measure of good corporate citizenship.

A broad composite measure was also designed comprising corporate citizenship actions, reporting and reputation elements. For the first element, attention was given to whether or not a company had an environmental quality management policy and emissions reduction targets. Companies were furthermore evaluated on the extent to which they recognised physical and regulatory risks associated with climate change, their level of compliance with the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Act (No. 53 of 2003) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) training provided for internal stakeholders. A company's involvement in unlawful activities was measured in terms of fines, litigation and investigations being conducted by the Competition Commission and Tribunal.

The second element centred on Bloomberg's environmental, social and governance disclosure scores which were used as proxies for corporate citizenship reporting. Thirdly, corporate citizenship reputation was based on whether or not a firm received one or more of the following awards: the Sunday Times Top Brands Green Award, the Sunday Times Top Brands Corporate Social Investment Award, the Nkonki Integrated Reporting Award and the Universum Best Employer Award. As mentioned, we also determined whether a firm was included in the FTSE/JSE RI index. Data was collected from Bloomberg, the JSE and other relevant websites. A total of 745 observations were analysed across all economic sectors.

Our research shows that the average percentage of female directors appointed to boards increased from 14.58% to 18.66% over the research period. Although this development is encouraging, female board representation is still very low, especially in the light of females' contribution (almost half) to the working population in South Africa.

The number of companies that had an environmental quality management policy increased by 72% over the research period. A considerable improvement was also noted in terms of emissions reduction targets (the variable increased by 148% over the considered seven years). Furthermore, the number of managers acknowledging physical and regulatory risks associated with climate change increased with 108 and 132 per cent respectively. In contrast, virtually no improvement was noted in the average B-BBEE compliance score (Level 4) of the considered companies.

We found it disheartening that less than 1% of the sampled companies provided internal CSR training. Studies have shown that employees who have received CSR training are more motivated, as they form part of a company that aims to "make a difference". These employees also tend to be more loyal thereby reducing the cost and disruption of recruitment and retraining. Other financial incentives accrue from employees being actively involved in recycling and waste management efforts. The average Bloomberg scores for environmental, social and governance disclosure over the research period were 24.69, 42.60 and 55.12 respectively (a score of zero implies that a company did not report on any of the ESG criteria evaluated and 100 shows full disclosure). The low levels of environmental and social disclosure are surprising, given that all JSE-listed companies have been obliged since 2011 to produce integrated reports.

After controlling for board size, company size, financial slack and accounting performance, a statistically significant positive relationship was observed between the percentage female directors serving on a company's board and the company being a FTSE/JSE RI constituent. Albeit not statistically significant, a positive association was also noted between board gender diversity and the composite measure. Significant positive relationships were identified between female board representation and certain corporate citizenship actions, most notably having an environmental quality management policy, having emissions reduction targets and receiving green awards. It was encouraging to see that two industries which are notorious for polluting the environment, namely resources and industrials, have taken decisive steps to reduce emissions under the auspices of female directors in recent years.

The empirical evidence suggests that JSE-listed companies with gender diverse boards are indeed better corporate citizens, particularly in terms of environmental management. It also seems as if these companies' efforts are being recognised by stakeholders and rewarded accordingly. As responsible investors are increasingly considering environmental, social and corporate governance matters in their investment analysis and ownership practices, good corporate citizens are likely to become more attractive investments.

Although some local companies have initiatives, such as transformation programmes, mentoring and shadow directorships in place to address the gender imbalance in their boardrooms, much remains to be done to remove real and perceived barriers. A company that position itself as a fair employer who treat all individuals equally and reward them based on their performance rather than their gender, is likely to attract top talent. Women should also empower themselves with the knowledge and experience required to reach the highest decision-making echelons of their companies. They are then not only likely to benefit personally, but also serve the greater good of society.

Prof Wim de Villiers, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of Stellenbosch University (SU), and also a respected researcher in the field of gastroenterology, has been appointed to the Advisory Board of Gastroenterology recently.

As the most prominent journal in the field of gastrointestinal disease (diseases of, among others, the stomach, small intestine, colon and rectum), Gastroenterology is ranked 1st of 78 journals in the Gastroenterology and Hepatology category on the 2015 Journal Citation Reports, published by Thomson Reuters.

It delivers up-to-date and authoritative coverage of both basic and clinical gastroenterology and also bridges the gap between basic and clinical science by publishing comprehensive reviews and perspectives on important topics such as pancreatitis and liver disease.

"It is a great honour and privilege to have been appointed to the Advisory Board of such a prestigious and authoritative journal. It affords me the opportunity to not only be involved in the advancement of this important field of study, but also to stay abreast of the latest developments in the area," said De Villiers.

According to Rick Peek, the Editor in Chief of Gastroenterology, the journal continues to be the world's most highly utilized/cited journal in the specialties of gastroenterology and hepatology, and is now one of the most highly cited specialty journals in any field.

Peek said they hope that De Villiers, a former Head of Gastroenterology at the University of Kentucky in the USA, can be a beacon for Gastroenterology, help increase awareness about what it offers and encourage SU researchers to submit their best work to the Journal.

• Visit www.gastrojournal.org/loi/ygast for more on Gastroenterology. 

The creepy crawlies and other animals which inhabit the misty forests of the Eastern Cape will be the subject of a three-year research project funded by South Africa's Department of Science and Technology.

The proposed study area forms part of the Maputoland-Pondoland-Albany Biodiversity Hotspot and involves scientists from Stellenbosch University (SU) and four other South African universities, as well as Harvard University in the US and six museums.

Prof. Michael Cherry, from the Department of Botany and Zoology at Stellenbosch University and project leader, says that their data and findings could inform decisions on proposed dry gas and titanium mining operations in the area, as well as the new dam planned at Mzimvubu and the N2-Wild Coast Highway.

And should SANParks proceed with the proclamation of the Pondoland National Park, the project could assist with determining the boundaries, he adds.

Degradation of forests

Forests make up only 0.56% of South Africa's land area, and of that the Eastern Cape contains an estimated 46%. These forests display unusually high biodiversity, but to date the faunal diversity of the Eastern Cape's forests have been poorly documented.

"Our forests are experiencing increased pressure for firewood, grazing, and collection of plants for medicine and for other cultural practices," explains Prof. Cherry.

Increasing fragmentation of forests has also affected the ability of animals to move between forest patches: "As the landscape becomes more fragmented, less mobile forest animals, or those that cannot survive in other habitats, may not be able to move between forest patches and this can impact on their survival," he adds.

The study will compare the genetic diversity of populations of more mobile species, such as birds and bats, to more sedentary ones like land snails and shrews.

DNA barcoding of species

Over the next three years the team of 20 research scientists and 22 postgraduate students will use specialised techniques and instruments to snuffle out just about every animal that hides or moves around these forests.

They will be looking out for known arthropods, frogs, reptiles, mammals and birds like the dark-footed shrew, tree hyraxes, bush squeakers, rain frogs, kloof frogs, dwarf chameleons, Natal black snakes, Natal purple gloss snakes, giant legless skinks, harvest-spiders, freshwater insects like mayflies, caddisflies, blackflies, alderflies, as well as bats, the white-starred robin, the chorister robin-chat, fig wasps and even the hard-to-find enigmatic velvet worm.

The big excitement, however, will be to find new, hitherto undescribed, species in these unexplored forests.

Another target will be the DNA barcoding of representative samples of these animal species, as well as of medicinal plants sold at muthi markets in the areas surrounding the forest. DNA barcoding involves sequencing of standard genes for plant and animal taxa across their distributions in order to enable comparisons of genetic diversity.

"Ultimately we hope to establish a digitized reference encyclopaedia of the taxa which inhabit these forests," he says.

The proposed study area forms part of the Maputoland-Pondoland-Albany Biodiversity Hotspot.  It includes six different forest ecotypes, three along the edge of the escarpment: Amathole mistbelt forest; Transkei mistbelt forest; and Eastern mistbelt forest; and three along the coast: Pondoland scarp forest; Transkei Coastal scarp forest and Eastern Cape Dune Forest.  Within each subtype the team will compare forests and those which are harvested to a greater or lesser extent by local communities. The extent and nature of such harvesting by these communities, and its effects on the forest fauna, forms a critical part of the study. 

More about the NRF's Foundational Biodiversity Information Programme

The primary focus of the programme is to generate, mobilize, co-ordinate and make accessible foundational biodiversity knowledge in line with the needs of society, the Department of Science & Technology (DST) Global Change Programme and the bio-economy. The main approach is to fund large, collaborative / integrated team projects which align with knowledge needs, or which involve participants along the entire value chain from knowledge generation to application for decision-making.  The Eastern Cape forest project is only the third major grant to be awarded under this programme. 

Participating institutions

The core investigators on the project are Prof. Michael Cherry, Prof. Nox Makunga, Prof. Savel Daniels and Dr Victor Rambau, all from Stellenbosch University.  Other collaborators are from Walther Sisulu and Rhodes universities in the Eastern Cape, the universities of Pretoria and Cape Town, and Harvard University in the United States. No fewer than six museums are involved including four from the Eastern Cape (Amathole, Albany, Port Elizabeth and East London) plus Iziko Museums of Cape Town and the Durban Natural History Museum. Researchers from the South African Environmental Observation Network, the Agricultural Research Council, Birdlife Southern Africa, the Department of Environmental Affairs and Forestwood CC make up the full complement.

On the photo, from left to right, Judith Kushata (MSc student), Mizzpah Hoffman (Honours student), Prof. Victor Rambau, Prof. Michael Cherry, Prof. Savel Daniels, Prof. Nox Makunga and Megan Dreyer (Honours student).

A biochemist from Stellenbosch University (SU), Dr Karl Storbeck has been awarded the South African Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology's Silver award during its conference which took place from 10 to 13 July 2016.

The award is made biennially to a researcher 35 years or younger that has displayed a record of national and international research excellence. It was handed over at a formal ceremony on 13 July 2016.

Dr Storbeck's research group in the Department of Biochemistry focuses on investigating the role of adrenal steroid hormones in the development and progression of castration resistant prostate cancer. Prostate cancer is an androgen driven disease and is the second most common cancer in men.

Dr Storbeck explains: "The primary androgen, or male sex hormone, is testosterone which is produced by the testes. Treatment for advanced prostate cancer therefore includes physical or chemical castration which prevents the production of testosterone. While this treatment initially demonstrates excellent results in many cases the cancer returns after one to three years and is then termed castration resistant prostate cancer, which is uniformly fatal."   

He has recently received a grant as part of the National Research Foundation's competitive programme for rated researchers to investigate the role of the steroid hormone 11β-hydroxyandrostenedione in castration resistant prostate cancer. Previously he has also received research grants from the Cancer Association of South Africa and the Medical Research Council of South Africa.

He says he is excited by the current state of steroid research: "Recent advances in technology have made it possible to investigate pathways and mechanisms which have previously been overlooked. I hope that his research will contribute to the successful diagnosis and treatment of castration resistant prostate cancer and other androgen dependent diseases."

Dr Storbeck, who completed his BSc, BSc honours, MSc and PhD at SU, has authored or co-authored nearly 30 research publications and presented papers at over 20 international and national conferences. He has already received several awards, such as the HB and MJ Thom sabbatical grant (2015), the SU Rector's award for general performance (2014) and the Excellence Award for Young Researchers at the 15^th Conference of the Adrenal Cortex which was held in the United States of America in 2012.

As a student, he was awarded the Roche prize for the best biochemistry honours student in South Africa in 2004, and in 2003 he received the Merck award for the best third year student in the molecular biology and biotechnology programme at SU. 

Seven players from the Steinhoff Maties Hockey Club have been selected to represent South Africa at the U/21 World Cup in India later this year.

Tarryn Glasby, Dani Cairns and Christine Seggie were selected for the SA U/21 women's team, while Alex Stewart, Robert McKinley, Matt de Sousa and Charles Bowren were selected for the men's team. Stewart will captain the SA U/21 men's team during the tournament to be held in December.

"Captaining the team is a massive honour and privilege," said Stewart.

He believes this U/21 team represents the future of SA hockey.

"Eight players in the team received their first caps for the senior team at the start of the year when the SA men's side played against Ireland, Belgium and Canada. We all played really well and got some vital experience."

Stewart is the second Matie to lead the SA U/21 team in the past few years after Dylan Swanepoel did so in 2013. Swanepoel is the current Maties men's captain.

"To be the leader and captain of this team is a big task, but I believe I am up for it. I'm getting great mentorship from Dylan, senior players, coaches and my dad!"

Stewart is the son of legendary Matie Leith Stewart who also played hockey for South Africa. 

Researchers shared their knowledge and experience in sustainable rural health research with one another at the annual Sustainable Rural Health Research Days hosted at Stellenbosch University's (SU) Worcester Campus in May this year.

The Ukwanda Centre for Rural Health at the SU's Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS) organised this important event for the sixth year in a row.

"The theme, 'Illuminating Health Impact for Social Innovation', was carefully chosen to focus on innovative rural health research done with social impact potential," said Dr Guin Lourens, Manager of the Clinical Training Platform at the FMHS.

About 150 delegates attended the event, which is the cornerstone of the combined support of the Department of Health, teaching and research institutions and non-governmental organisations for health research in the rural areas of the Western Cape.

The two day event provided the opportunity for researchers and academics whose research is based on issues related to rural health to disseminate their research findings to a wide audience of researchers, academics, non-government organisations and Department of Health managers.

This year, 21 oral presentations were presented which focused on health systems, health professions education, community health, rehabilitation and rural health.

"Poster presentations were allowed for the first time in the history of the research days and nine presentations which focused on Health Professions Education and Rural Health were delivered," Lourens said.

She added that the event was a successful collaborative effort with the Anova Health Institute and it will be hosted again next year.

The new director of the Ukwanda Centre for Rural Health, Prof Ian Couper, expressed his enthusiasm for the event. "It is wonderful coming into the Centre to find such a vibrant rural health research community. I hope we can build on the partnerships so evident in the rural health research days to grow our research capacity and output, and to develop a research hub in Worcester."

Photo: The winners of the best poster award in the category for Rural Health were three final year medical students who completed a project during their elective in Malawi. They are (from left to right) Lisa van der Merwe, Rachel Wood and Vanessa Viljoen.

​Stellenbosch University's Institutional Repository, SUNScholar, has recently reached the number one position in Africa in the 2016 July edition of the ranking of open access repositories.

The ranking is performed by "The Ranking Web of World Repositories". SUNScholar is managed by the Library and Information Service at Stellenbosch University. Not only does the repository hold first position on the continent, but it occupies an overall 84^th position worldwide among 2275 repositories.  In the 'instutitional respositories (IR) only' ranking, SUNScholar comes in at 68^th position.

Professor Eugene Cloete, Vice-Rector: Research, Innovation and Postgraduate Studies, says "The achievement of the Library and Information Service in strengthening and developing SUNScholar is significant. This achievement supports Stellenbosch University's commitment to Open Access to scientific information and the promotion of research output and innovation as a central goal of Research, Innovation and Postgraduate Studies."

The aim of SUNScholar is to improve the visibility and access to Stellenbosch University's research output. Research outcomes are openly shared with the rest of the world, as well as preserved in a central archive. "Achieving this number one ranking is indeed proof that SU research output is shared with as wide an audience as possible and that African research is increasingly accessible globally", says Ellen Tise, Senior Director of the Library and Information Service.

The aim of the Ranking Web of World Repositories is "to support Open Access initiatives and therefore the free access to scientific publications in an electronic form and to other academic material. The web indicators are used here to measure the global visibility and impact of the scientific repositories"*. The Ranking considers specific criteria when assessing repositories. These include size, visibility, rich files and scholar. The "scholar" criterion refers to the total number of items from the repository obtained from Google Scholar.

For more information, contact Mimi Seyffert-Wirth.

* Ranking Web of Repositories. 2016. Objectives. Available from http://repositories.webometrics.info/en/Objetives

Agricultural economist Prof Nick Vink of Stellenbosch University (SU) has been elected by the shareholders of the South African Reserve Bank to serve as a non-executive director.

Prof Vink, chair of the Department of Agricultural Economics in the Faculty of AgriSciences, will serve for a term of three years on the Reserve Bank's Board of Directors.

Another academic with SU ties, Prof Ben Smit, will be serving in this position for a second term. Prof Smit is a former director of the SU's Bureau for Economic Research in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences.

Prof Vink says his role will provide him with the opportunity to create a greater awareness of how decisions made by the Reserve Bank impact the agricultural sector. "I'd also like to bring to the Bank's attention how developments in the agricultural sector influence the economy at large," he adds.

Prof Vink has a wide interest in agricultural development in Africa and is a regular commentator and speaker on matters such as land and agricultural transformation, policy and wine economics.

He was recently elected as the president elect of the International Association of Agricultural Economists (IAAE) – the first person from the African continent to serve in this position. He is also a former recipient of the South African Agriculturist of the Year Award.

Prof Vink is an honorary member of the South African and Africa-wide associations of agricultural economics, as well as the American Association of Wine Economists.

Media enquiries:

Prof Nick Vink
Chair: Department of Agricultural Economics
Stellenbosch University
021 808 4899
nv@sun.ac.za

Two transport economists' recommendation that a kilometre-based road user charge system could be a viable alternative or supplementary source of income to fund the construction and maintenance of roads in South Africa is drawing wide-spread interest.

The South African Institution of Civil Engineering (SAICE)'s Transportation Engineering Division recently awarded the Best paper by a Young Professional (under 35) to Johann van Rensburg for his paper "A kilometre-based road user charge system: Proof of concept study". 

The paper, co-authored by Van Rensburg and his PhD supervisor Prof Stephan Krygsman, both lecturers in the Department of Logistics at Stellenbosch University, was presented at the 2016 Southern African Transport Conference (SATC).

They question the continuing reliance on the fuel levy to generate sufficient income to fund government's general expenditure programmes, including the construction and maintenance of roads, due to a decrease in the average amount of fuel sold per vehicle per annum.

Van Rensburg and Krygsman identified a kilometre-based road user charge system, which is not dependent on fuel sales to generate income, as a viable alternative or supplementary income generating mechanism.

Their premise is that road use can be determined by a fitting an on-board global positioning system (GPS) enabled device to a road user's vehicle. Vehicle movement data can then be collected in order to generate a road use invoice at a set charge per kilometre travelled.

It is the second time that they presented a paper on this topic at the SATC and the second year that Van Rensburg received this award. To their knowledge it is the first time that the same person received this award in two consecutive years.

"Better yet, he received an engineering award. And he is a transport economist," added Prof Krygsman.

Prof Hannelie Nel, chairperson of the Department of Logistics, congratulated Van Rensburg and Krygsman. "The award is an indication of the relevance of the work as well as the quality of the research," she added.

Van Rensburg said it was a big honour to receive an engineering award and agreed that it emphasised the relevance of the subject.

"Last year we argued that an alternative is needed and this year we presented an alternative. It is a hot topic and people are talking about it. There was significant interest in our presentation at the SATC."

Their next step is to test the idea with the public and other roleplayers. These papers form part of Van Rensburg's doctoral research.

More than half of South Africans live in rural areas. This makes healthcare in these settings an ever-present concern and social challenge.

One initiative that addresses this need comes from a Dutch pulmonologist and his longstanding relationship with Stellenbosch University (SU).

It was approximately 30 years ago that Dr Stijn Mol received training at the Tygerberg Hospital. After numerous subsequent visits to South Africa, he felt the need to plough resources back into the country that afforded him many enriching opportunities. In 2001 he started the Holland Stellenbosch Medical Foundation (HSMF) with fellow pulmonologist Dr Maarten van Nierop. "The initial goal was to fund projects in the SU's Ukwanda Centre for Rural Health," explains Ms Lindsay-Michelle Meyer, coordinator of the HSMF project.

In 2006 the founders decided on a more focused approach, and in 2008 they launched a bursary programme aimed at students that showcased an interest in rural health and development of underserved communities. What started off as a single bursary award has grown to giving 12 students a bursary of R70 000 each in 2016.

Rulanda Pretorius, a fourth-year physiotherapy student, says without the bursary she wouldn't have been able to complete her community training in Worcester this year. For her the biggest challenges in rural communities are service delivery and follow-up visits. "Strokes due to diabetes and hypertension is common, but often patients only get seen by a physiotherapist months after the event," she explains.

Dr Jasper van Zyl was a recipient of the HSMF bursary in 2012 and is now a medical officer in Psychiatry at the Worcester Hospital. He agrees that patient load and a lack of staff put pressure on the healthcare professionals and influences the quality of service. "Patients in rural settings have problems which can be addressed by a team of professionals. But if there is no time, no attention can be given to such problems." He hopes that even more opportunities will be made available for health professionals in rural areas to allow for better quality of service to the community.

Natasha du Preez is a final-year dietetics student and 2016 bursary recipient. She hopes to do educational work in underserved areas. Her passion for rural settings lies in becoming a part of the community and building relationships so that the small things you teach patients can spread to friends and family. "Wonderful changes can happen through small steps."

For more information on the HSMF-bursaries, send an email to Lindsay-Michelle Meyer at lindsaym@sun.ac.za

Four Maties netball players travelled to Botswana last week to participate in a qualifying tournament for the U/21 Netball World Youth Cup.

South Africa won all its matches and qualified to participate in next year's tournament.

Jo Prins, Stephanie Brandt, Sasha-Lee Petersen and Charmaine Baard were also part of the SA U/21 group that played in a test series against Wales. South Africa won all their matches convincingly.

Charmaine described the qualifying tournament as an unbelievable experience.

“We played seven matches and won all seven. Only a few teams can achieve that and we are honoured to have been part of this experience. We were tested physically and mentally and that's what made it a fantastic experience.

“The team played well together, but it was really a great feeling to look at the player next to you and see a Matie,” she added.

Taking part in the qualifying tournament last week however meant that the four stalwarts were not available to play for their club in the super league final of the Cape Winelands Region last Thursday (28 July).

Vics played against another Stellenbosch team, Van der Stel, and lost by five points. The final score was 51-46.

Van der Stel is a very strong team with a number of former Proteas and ex-Maties players.

Maties Netbal Club is very proud of the players who were included in the Southern Stings, SA U/21 and USSA groups this year. The latter participated in the World Universities Netball tournament in July and came out tops.

The focus of the Maties players now shift to the Varsity Netball competition starting on 5 September. Maties finished second in last year's competition.

From setting up recycling in residences at Stellenbosch University (SU) to being chief executive officer of an award-winning waste recycling company - meet SU alumnus, Matthew Haden, who is hard at work tackling waste management challenges in Tanzania.

Haden's company, The Recycler, was recently awarded the prestigious Sankalp Africa Award, beating out over 250 other African enterprises. These awards recognise the most sustainable and scalable social enterprises that are doing business. Sankalp is Asia's largest social enterprise forum designed to support the growth of social enterprises and catalyse impact investments.

The Recycler was started in 2014 and offers professional waste management and recycling solutions for waste streams in Tanzania. It specialises in separating all kinds of recyclable waste in order to process and trade to domestic and international markets. The company has also set up recycling collection points throughout Dar es Salaamand   is developing projects in large-scale bio-gas, waste to energy, insect-derived protein and informal collection networks. According to Haden, they have over 20 staff members and 40 clients.

"It is nice to be recognised, not just as a social impact venture, but also as a business that people would like to invest in," he says.

Haden is originally from Kansas in the United States but called Stellenbosch home for over four years. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations in 2011 and went on to do his Masters' Degree in Development Studies at the University of Cambridge.

"I came to South Africa for the first time in 2004 when I was 19, but just to travel and work with street children. However, I came back in 2008 to start my studies," he says.

So why did he choose Stellenbosch University? "I choose to become a Matie because I wanted to study in an emerging economy and Stellenbosch had a great course for international relations. It is also incredibly beautiful."

Haden remembers his time in Stellenbosch fondly and says he is grateful for his experiences and the path it ultimately took him on. "I lived in Kayamandi for two years working with the community. I was also elected to the Student Representative Council (SRC) where I was in charge of the Societies Council and Environmental Affairs. I helped set up the first large-scale recycling system in the residences whilst a SRC member and learned about waste management and recycling as a business," he says.

After graduating from Stellenbosch, he went to work with a recycling company in Cape Town, the same company that was collecting the recyclables from the system that was set up for the residences.  "I did that for nine months, learning the business and then went on to do my Masters at Cambridge. When I graduated from Cambridge I went to work with the United Nations in Tanzania. After about a year, I saw the huge potential for a recycling company in Tanzania and decided to give it a go."

So what is next for this successful businessman? "The Recycler is currently breeding thousands of maggots using organic waste in order to make chicken feed and is expanding into large-scale bio-gas and waste to energy. We are also setting up a buy-back centre for the city's poorest to sell recyclable waste to us per kilogramme."

• For more on The Recycler go to http://www.recycler.co.tz/our-team/
  

Last year, the first South African Sign Language (SASL) curriculum was rolled out nationally in South Africa after it had first been piloted as a project at the De la Bat School for the Deaf in Worcester from 2011 to 2013. Now, thanks to three short courses of the Department of General Linguistics that focus on language teachers, including sign language teachers, those who have to implement this curriculum will also have the necessary skills to do so effectively.

According to Dr Frenette Southwood of the Department of General Linguistics of Stellenbosch University (SU), the department has been offering shorts courses in the Foundations of Linguistics, Sign Language Linguistics and Literature of SASL to teachers of Deaf learners since the beginning of 2015.

"South African Sign Language is now acknowledged as a first language by the Department of Education, just like Afrikaans and English, and is also taught in schools," says Southwood. SU is one of three academic institutions in South Africa that offers these types of courses.

"The courses are intended for language teachers who do not have a sufficient background in linguistics or literature and helps these teachers to interact optimally with the curriculum they have to teach."

The three courses were created after the department presented the first intensive five-day Foundations of Linguistics course to 31 teachers of Deaf learners and staff of the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) in June 2015.

According to Ms Minna Steyn of the WCED, who also was the project manager of the pilot project at De la Bat, teachers in the Western Cape were provided with basic training by the WCED to implement the new curriculum. A year later, training was done at the national level.

"During the training at national level we realised that there was not enough training that focused on literature and poetry, although these form part of the new curriculum. The idea therefore was to show teachers and teacher assistants how to teach poetry and literature in sign language. I thus was keen to offer our teachers who teach Deaf learners more in-depth training and then discussed the possibilities with the Department of General Linguistics. The ETDP-SETA was then approached to find funding for 30 students to undertake training at Stellenbosch University," says Steyn.

Steyn has been involved with the education of Deaf people for the past three decades and was head of the Thiboloha School for the Deaf and Blind in Qwaqwa in the Free State before being seconded to De la Bat for the launch of the SASL curriculum. She also completed her MA in the SU Department of General Linguistics in December 2015, focusing specifically on language and literacy acquisition by Deaf Foundation Phase learners in her thesis. In a report of the WCED in 2015, she said the following about the implementation of SASL as a first language: "Deaf children who are born into hearing families do not have the privilege of learning language in a natural manner from birth. It is only when they go to school that a Deaf child is exposed to Deaf adults and friends and that they learn sign language. South African Sign Language is the first language of Deaf people in South Africa and is equivalent to any spoken language. It has been proven scientifically that a child's mother tongue must be established firmly and be in place before an additional first language can be mastered."

During her time at De la Bat she noticed how Deaf learners in the pre-school classes started participating more in lessons because they now had sufficient Sign Language vocabulary to participate more easily thanks to the pilot project. Previously, sign-supported Afrikaans or sign-supported English (these are spoken languages that are converted into signs word for word, some of which were artificial, non-SASL signs) were used as language of teaching and learning in schools for the Deaf. This deprived learners of exposure to SASL in the classroom. With the rolling out of the SASL curriculum, SASL is also implemented as language of learning and teaching in schools for the Deaf – as early as in the preschool classes. Deaf learners' SASL skills therefore are being improved from early on and they have the opportunity to receive their school training in a natural language.

The courses of the Department of General Linguistics accommodate 30 people at a time, who complete the Foundation and Sign Language Linguistics courses over six weeks, with one week of lectures on campus and the rest being done by way of directed self-study and distance teaching. The course on the Literature of South African Sign Language runs over two days and comprises lectures that are presented on the SU campus. According to Southwood, the purpose of the training is to sharpen teachers' knowledge of language and sign language as a language so that they can be better language teachers.

"This is not a sector that received much attention in the past and the quality of teaching therefore is not up to standard. There also are some teachers who cannot use sign language fluently but who have to teach in sign language.

"So besides for teachers' sign language skills needing to be improved, they also need to have knowledge of this first language of their learners so that a teacher can be better able, for example, to teach their sign language-using learners English or Afrikaans as language of literacy. Through these courses we help our teachers to do the latter by helping them to understand what language is, how it works and how it is learnt. Our courses cover concepts such as the nature, function and structure of human language, how human languages are used and understood, how they are processed and produced, and how these aspects are applicable to sign language."

Steyn believes that the courses will not only lead to better equipped SASL teachers, but also will raise the profile and visibility of sign language.

"South African Sign Language is a stigmatised language, with rules and principles such as any other language. It therefore helps the image of the language if academic institutions such as Stellenbosch University offer courses on it."

Steyn has herself completed three courses to gain a better idea of the type of training that teachers received by way of the courses.

"There is no other way to describe it other than to say that it is really wonderful for me to know that teachers are now empowered to implement this curriculum with the knowledge that they have received from SU."

Thus far, a total of 61 teachers completed the three courses in June to October 2015, with a further 36 who started training in April 2016.

Steyn is now encouraging other provinces to build up similar co-operation with local universities in their environment and to ensure that teachers are empowered in this manner.

For Southwood and her colleagues, this co-operation with the WCED also offers many other exciting opportunities for the training of students at US.

"Our department is very grateful to be part of this. Sign Language Linguistics is now a section of our second-year module in General Linguistics and we will also offer it as a third-year module from next year. We are also planning to offer Sign Language Acquisition to students as a subject in 2017. We therefore are not only busy strengthening the expertise of current teachers, but also preparing a new generation of students to qualify themselves as teachers of Deaf learners."

For Steyn, the broader impact of the project, which they started in 2011, is the most important result of a longstanding aim of ensuring that SASL is recognised as a fully-fledged language.

"The Deaf child now receives the type of education that prepares him/her academically. My dream is to have SASL as a subject in our mainstream schools and that hearing people are also given an opportunity to learn sign language."

Photo: Nine Deaf students (of whom seven are teachers of Deaf students) completed the courses in Foundations of Linguistics, Sign Language Linguistics and Literature of SASL in March and received a certificate from Stellenbosch University. Mr Christopher Dontsa (fourth from left) completed all three courses. In front, from left, are Prof Johan Oosthuizen, Ms Annette Humphrey-Heyns, Nodumo Same, Christopher Dontsa, Phumla Mosia, Ncumisa Loliwe, Andiswa Fayindlala, Lazya le Roux, and Dr Frenette Southwood. At the back are Christoffer Galada and Simon Ndaba.

"While many researchers who write about South Africa's history view history from a political perspective, my research is an attempt to look at the history from an entirely different perspective. Music offers that other lens. Many people listen to music, and my research shows that there is a link between the music we listen to and the values we hold."

This is the view of Dr Schalk van der Merwe, who is not only a lecturer but also a freelance bass guitar player, on his research on the history of Afrikaans music in South Africa that he did as part of his doctoral thesis in the History Department. Van der Merwe obtained his PhD degree from Stellenbosch University in December last year.

"It was my attempt to look at ordinary people," says Van der Merwe.

His thesis analyses the interaction between political events and popular music, with specific reference to recorded Afrikaans music over the last 115 years. It started with the first recordings of the national folk songs of the Boer republics during the Anglo-Boer War and concluded with expressions of racial exclusivity in post-apartheid Afrikaans pop music. His research provides examples of the support of, and resistance against, the master narrative of Afrikaner nationalism as it existed for large parts of the twentieth century, and also provides examples of how these values still are manifested in the present.

"By using popular music as a lens, a clearer idea could be obtained of the lives of ordinary people, viewed against the background of fundamental social and political change. By creating an overview of popular music over a long historical period, certain noticeable themes in the development of Afrikaner culture over this period – for example class tension and the repeated attempts of cultural nationalistic entrepreneurs to co-opt popular Afrikaans music for the Afrikaner nationalistic project – are exposed," he explains.

The first Afrikaans music recordings, says Van der Merwe, were recorded by musicians who lived in London in the early 1900s. By studying that music he could look at how these artists depicted their identity at that time.

"It was clear from music and correspondence that some of them were stalwart nationalists and also supporters of Hertzog. In my investigation I therefore did not concentrate on what the music sounded like, but at how the political history is reflected across the various decades of recordings. For example, in the thirties there was conflict between record companies that released country music (boeremusiek) records and the Federasie van Afrikaanse Kultuurvereniginge (FAK; Federation of Afrikaans Cultural Associations) – basically the FAK did not like the country music of the time because they regarded it as inferior. Afrikaners outside the FAK, however, thought very differently of their culture and Afrikaner music," says Van der Merwe.

His research also highlights the power struggle and elitism that developed between Dutch Afrikaners and other Afrikaners in the first decades of the 20^th century.

"To make recordings therefore also was a form of nationalism," he says. "For example, there were very strong class elements in the music – there was your country music and then you had the FAK, which had strong nationalistic links to the Broederbond. The only capital that they had as journalists, ministers of religion and teachers was their culture. The FAK therefore was strongly opposed to this other Afrikaans culture of listening to music and dancing and partying. There are even articles on how poor Afrikaners spent their money on records and music!"

Although Van der Merwe's research focuses specifically on Afrikaans music that was recorded by white artists, he explains that Afrikaans music has strong influences from all sides.

"Just as Afrikaans is a fluid and multiracial language with many cultures that influence it, so also is Afrikaans music. The roots of boeremusiek, which has now become such a big white symbol, are not nearly exclusively white. It was just that the coloured artists at the time were not given many chances to record their music.

"Some of the important fathers of country music, such as Hendrik Susan, performed with black jazz musicians such as the Jazz Maniacs in the thirties and he is known as the father of light Afrikaans music," says Van der Merwe.

He adds that kwêla music, for example, became very popular among white musicians after they heard the music style from young, black boys who played their penny whistles to while away the time while they waited for their mothers in the afternoons – women who usually worked as domestic workers in white communities.

In the sixties, Afrikaans music developed a strong European flavour with recordings such as Gé Korsten's Erika. "There was a positioning of Afrikaner culture as something European, as something that was not from Africa."

At the same time very little was sung about the political climate in South Africa, and especially about apartheid, but, says Van der Merwe, "that apparent hegemony had started to unravel, especially after events such as the Soweto uprising in 1976, as well as the arrival of TV in South Africa the same year."

"The border war also had a very big impact on the psyche of white men, and therefore the music of the seventies and eighties started to focus more on such issues."

During the eighties, artists started talking more about the border experience and the deconstruction of the male protector through cabaret and literature, and one also started seeing more of these sentiments in Afrikaans music.

"I think the Voëlvry movement in 1989 was the most acute outburst of this. Before this, David Kramer started projecting a clear message by means of his work, among others also with the late Taliep Petersen."

At the onset of the post-apartheid years in the 1990s there again was a resurgence of Afrikaans music and a growth in music festivals.

Besides playing bass guitar for groups such as Delta Blue and, more recently, Bed on Bricks, Van der Merwe also performs with Karen Zoid on a regular basis (and can be seen in her award-winning TV series Republiek van Zoid-Afrika), and he has also worked with some of South Africa's best-known Afrikaans artists, such as Anton Goosen, Laurika Rauch and Valiant Swart.

"Because I am a musician myself I have worked with many artists in the Afrikaans music industry and therefore know it quite well. The irony is that politics and Afrikaans music now is something that is more prominent among some mainstream artists, and no longer alternatives as in the eighties. The political content also differs completely. Artists such as Steve Hofmeyr, for example, appear regularly in the media in relation to political remarks on Afrikaner identity. His concerts function as culturally homogenous – and exclusive – platforms where people of a particular conviction feel safe to say what they want to say and that cannot necessarily be said in a public space – and that naturally can be problematic."

On his own research and the contribution that it has made to research on the history of Afrikaans music, as well as the impact of his research on current debates on the development of Afrikaans within university environments, Van der Merwe says: "My research offers a critical view on, and is a deconstruction of, the white verstalting of Afrikaans. It is an attempt to show how Afrikaans culture was subjected to a system that wanted to send it in a specific direction.

"I hope it is a history that shows how wide the boundaries are of what it means to be Afrikaans."

When Matie athlete Justine Palframan (22) walks on to the athletics track at the Olympic Games in Rio, she will fulfil a dream that originated in the rural hamlet of Eshowe in KwaZulu-Natal.

"I'm excited, I'm relieved, I'm very happy," she said after her inclusion in the South African Olympic team was confirmed. "I can't believe it is actually happening!"

Justine, a BSc Sports Science student and Stellenbosch Sport Ambassador (SSA)*, comes from an athletic family. Her parents Steve and Trevlyn Palframan met on the track and both represented their province in athletics.

When she was younger, someone told her parents that no top sportsman or woman will ever come out of a small town like Eshowe because they don't have the facilities. Justine is proof that this is not true. She overcame the lack of facilities by training on her school Eshowe High's hockey field and her "against-the-odds" story is one of the main reasons she has agreed to become an SSA ambassador.

She believes many people don't reach their full potential because the obstacles they are faced with seem unsurmountable and she hopes her story will inspire others to believe that anything is possible.

"I would like to say to them: I know you don't have this, but you have that. You have to be inventive. It is possible to get to the top using what you have. It is not an excuse."

She does however emphasise the importance of support.

"I have an athletic background and my dad coached me. Some people don't have a coach or facilities – I at least had the coaching and support."

In January 2013 Justine enrolled for a BSc Sports Science degree at SU where she trains with her coach Mohamed Ally from Maties Athletics.

Not even four years later Justine is a seasoned athlete who has competed in world events on junior and senior level. She won gold in the 400m at the World Student Games in 2015 and was part of the 4x400 relay team who won gold at the African Senior Athletics Championships in June.

As part of her preparation for the Olympic Games, she spent a week training alongside friends and fellow athletes Wayde van Niekerk and Akani Simbine at the Racers Track Club in Jamaica, home of the famous sprinter Usain Bolt.

She had to prove her fitness after struggling with injury. This injury prevented her from defending her national titles in the 200m and 400m at the South African national track and field championships in April this year.

"Having to withdraw from the SA Champs was very upsetting, but it was the right decision at the time. I wanted to run, I wanted to defend my titles, but looking forward it wasn't worth the risk."

She admits it is not always easy to look at the bigger picture. A coach plays an important role in this regard, as does experience.

Justine spent the weeks before the Olympic Games in Europe to train and prepare. This preparation and her participation in the Olympic Games mean that she is missing class. She has two more subjects to complete to graduate at the end of the year.

Balancing studies and sport is not easy, especially when you want to do well in both, she says. Hard work and a willingness to "put in the effort" is her advice for success. She doesn't regret any of the sacrifices she has had to make to be able to compete at the highest level.

"It's worth it," she says.

*The Stellenbosch Sport Ambassadors programme aims to empower local athletes on their journey of excellence. Their empowerment will in turn market Stellenbosch as a town of excellence and inspire the immediate community. The programme is a working partnership between the Stellenbosch Municipality, the Stellenbosch Academy of Sport and Maties Sport. Like the Stellenbosch Sport Ambassadors page on Facebook or follow them on Twitter at @SboschSA.

Three Maties coaches – Karin Hugo, Karin le Roux and Suzanne Ferreira – were selected to join Team South Africa at the Paralympic Games in Rio. They tell as a bit more:

Karin Hugo (swimming)

How many Paralympic Games have you been to?

This will be my third Paralympic Games. Athens 2004 was my first and I also went to London for the 2012 Games. I was involved with the South African women's hockey team between 2005 and 2010.

Have you ever been to Rio?

Yes, I have been to Rio three times and to Sao Paolo (also Brazil) twice. I travelled to Rio in April this year when the facilities were tested. The swimming pool for the competition is very impressive and the swimmers are very satisfied with the quality of the pool. 

How would you describe your daily routine at the Games?

We are very busy because we have heats in the morning and final rounds at night. We get up early in the morning and go to bed late. After lunch there is usually some time to relax before we leave for the pool again. If a swimmer does not compete every day they still train twice a day to retain the feel for the water. Swimming at the Paralympic Games is the longest swimming competition in the world and extends over eight days. 

What are the expectations for Rio?

The 2016 SA Paralympic team is smaller than the team at the previous Games. The competition is getting tougher all the time and the athletes and coaches need to work exceptionally hard to perform. I expect the team to win quite a few medals but I hope that each individual achieves his or her personal best; be it a medal or not. What makes this team so special is that they support and spur each other on to greater heights.

How special is it to be part of the Games?

Despite this being my third Paralympic Games it still remains an unbelievable privilege to go again. It is an experience that many people dream of and work very hard for. I am privileged to be able go to Rio and want to thank everyone who makes this possible for me.

Karin le Roux (athletics)

How many Paralympic Games have you been to?

This is my second Paralympic Games.

Have you ever been to Rio?

I have never been to Rio, but I travelled to Brazil last year when my athletes participated in a competition in Sao Paulo.

How would you describe your daily routine at the Games?

The routine at the Games will differ from day to day. We usually just try to get used to everything during the first two days. We go and inspect the facilities so that I can make sure where the training locations are. I also test the transport to find out how long the bus ride takes. I compare the job of a coach at the Games to that of being a "sponge" – we "soak up" everything around the athlete that could possibly influence them. And in the process we try to create a perfect competition environment for the athlete to be able to perform optimally.

What are the expectations for Rio?

The Games are the highlight of a four-year cycle – the athlete has put in so many hours, weeks and months of hard work and have made so many sacrifices. It is always difficult to make predictions as far as medals go. What I am sure of, however, is that every athlete representing SA will give their absolute best.

How special is it to be part of the Games?

There aren't words to describe the feeling when you hear that you have been selected as part of the team. I am overwhelmed with gratitude to be part of it all and privileged to be able to experience everything with the athletes. It is an unbelievable honour and privilege.

Suzanne Ferreira (athletics)

How many Paralympic Games have you been before?

This will be my fourth Paralympic Games.

Have you ever been to Rio?

I have been to Sao Paulo, but never to Rio.

How would you describe your daily routine at the Games?

I don't think there is something like a set routine at the Games. When the athletes compete they usually determine what course my day will take. I try to get up extra early in the morning so that I can spend some time on my own for a few minutes. How early will depend on when my athletes participate.

The athletes are usually very focused on the bus on the way to the track and I will mostly listen to music. At the warm-up track I support the athletes. See what they need, watch the time, maybe stretch. My athletes and I have the habit and need to spend a last second together before they have to report for their item, to relax and to hand it over to God … It is very special.

After the athlete has competed we warm down and return to the athletes' village. If athletes compete again in the evening the process will repeat itself. Dinner on such double-session days is usually around 22:00. There is every chance that you will still have a conversation or three before you go to your room. Coaches and team managers never get more than five hours of sleep.

What are the expectations for Rio?

Expectations? I suppose it depends how you look at it and from what perspective. Personally I hope that the athletes will be prepared in body, soul and mind and be in a space where they can fulfil their full potential with joy. That they can appreciate the occasion for what it is. #RunFree. I believe that if they are in this space any achievement will be the cherry on the cake. Medals and times are wonderful results, but not what drive me as a coach. 

How special is it to be part of the Games?

The Games only happen every four years and the journey that I have with each athlete in the four-year build up to this highlight is very special. It has always been a privilege for me to experience and be a part of the team spirit of our SA Paralympic team.

Photo: Suzanne Ferreira and her athletes. Photo credit: Bonzai Photography

"If you're studying on any Medical and Health Sciences campus worldwide, you're likely to need support," says An-Maree Nel, senior clinical psychologist at the Centre for Student Counselling and Development (CSCD) at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS) at Stellenbosch University (SU).

"The nature of the work as well as the pressures students have to deal with, especially within a South African context, are extraordinary," says Nel.

Unrealistic academic expectations contribute to this stress. "Our students are used to being good academic performers. When faced with failure they don't see it as part of a learning curve, but internalise it to the extent that their sense of self-worth is dependent only on their marks," she explains. Financial and social pressures often also influence a student's mental wellbeing. Unfortunately, says Nel, many students are not taking advantage of all the support networks available to them.

"Emotions are often perceived as a sign of weakness," she says. But suppressing your emotions is not a good long term strategy. It's bound to pop back up, like when trying to keep a ball under water, she explains. "Instead of seeking help proactively, students often wear their competency masks until they are no longer able to function and are forced to seek assistance."

Nel invites students to use the support services the CSCD offers. In addition to free individual access to educational and clinical psychologists, there are also have ongoing group initiatives on the Tygerberg campus. Every semester there are academic work sessions on effective study methods and learning styles, memory techniques and time and anxiety management. Personal and professional development sessions and groups include Connect and Breathing Space.

"Connect provides a safe space to reflect and learn from the perspectives and experiences of fellow students," says Nel. Students commit to attend one-hour sessions for eight weeks and the next group will start in September 2016.

In the Breathing Space sessions, which is facilitated every second Tuesday from 12:00-12:45 in the societies' room in the TSS, practical skills such as relaxation techniques, mindfulness, meditation and visualisation is taught to enhance student's coping skills.

"We also arrange ad hoc sessions with different classes based on their specific needs, such as post-clinical reflections," says Nel. They are also open to suggestions and requests from students.

If you're unsure whether you need support, Nel provides this list of tell-tale signs that your emotions might start causing havoc in your life:

• You start isolating yourself and avoiding others.
• You procrastinate excessively.
• You feel sad or depressed most of the time.
• You sleep too much or too little.
• You have an excessive or diminished appetite.
• You feel excessively tired, demotivated and struggle to concentrate on your work.
• You fail academically.
• You become excessively irritable, self-critical, tearful, overwhelmed or anxious.
• You drink alcohol excessively or start experimenting with drugs.

Says Nel: "Everybody needs a safe space to reflect, connect, re-energise and grow. You don't have to be in a vulnerable space to utilise our services. The CSCD offers various safe spaces that will facilitate your personal and professional growth. Grab these opportunities, you'll be glad you did."

Meet the FMHS team*

An-Maree Nel: Senior Clinical Psychologist
Liani Joubert: Consultant Educational Psychologist
Louise Fischer: Consultant Educational Psychologist
Natalie Smith-Chandler: Consultant Educational Psychologist
Laetitia Norval: Receptionist
*They also make use of other psychologists on an ad hoc basis. 

Get in touch

To find out more about the group initiatives, or to book a free and confidential appointment with an educational or clinical psychologist, contact the following people:

• Breathing space: liankik@sun.ac.za
• Connect and suggestions for sessions: anmaree@sun.ac.za
• Appointments: 021 938 9590 (Laetitia Norval)

Information on new initiatives will also be put up on TSR notice boards and on the TSR Facebook page.