In Honour of Madiba

During the month of July, the Division of Molecular Biology and Human Genetics took part in a series of social outreach events in honour of our late, great president Nelson Mandela for Mandela Day (18th July). The purpose of this national holiday is to make a difference, no matter how small, towards changing the lives of fellow South Africans for the better. Our research aims to do just this - change lives for the better! This is a cause we strongly believe in and one that drives us to do our very best to improve global health and well-being through innovative clinical research. Here are some of the activities our team got up to, in celebration of Nelson Mandela's life and all he stood for:

Rise-Against-Hunger Meal Packing Event

On 11th and 29th July, MBHG members took part in the SAMRC and Tygerberg Postgraduate Student Council (TPSC) Mandela Day meal packing event, hosted in collaboration with Rise Against Hunger, respectively - to rise to the call to celebrate Madiba by acting on the idea that each person has the power to change the world. These meals are used as a tool to change lives by promoting education, improving students’ health and nutrition, addressing gender inequalities, stimulating economic growth and fighting child labor. During each of these event, over 10000 meals were packed for donated to the underprivileged families that experience food insecurity. Specifically, the meal packed at the SAMRC meal packing event were donated to Rainbow Educare in Greenpoint for distribution to households within Khayelitsha.

Free TB and HIV testing Drive

On 18th July, the Stellenbosch University Immunology Research Group (SU-IRG), together with the SU Molecular Biology Clinical Research unit (MBCRU) and SU Community Advisory Board (CAB), hosted a testing day at the Elsies River and Ravensmead Community Clinics to raise awareness about the TB and HIV epidemic. The key message of this event was "Get tested" and "Know your status", while a key objective was to address the stigma associated with disease status. The rationale behind choosing Mandela day to host the event: our late president, Nelson Mandela, was passionate about public health surrounding HIV & TB – being a TB survivor himself. His aim and passion were to breakdown the stigma and discrimination associated with these diseases and emphasize the importance and the power of knowing your status. This event celebrated the life of Mr. Mandela, by hosting a day of testing that supporting and enables his wishes.

180-minutes for Madiba: Sarepta Community Day

On Saturday 20 July, members from MBHG took part in the Uniting Reformed Church in Sarepta, Kuilsriver Mandela Day celebrations. The interactive community day hosted by the church brought together a number of professionals, including professionals, including pediatricians, general practitioners, lawyers, nurses, social workers, optometrists, podiatrists and beauticians, to name a few, to engage with the community and give advice/information surrounding their topic of interest. The topic of focus for our group was tuberculosis and the on-going clinical research with which our institution is involved. Our station set up included a microscope and specimen slide for demonstration, a display of preserved organs from deceased TB patients, information leaflets about of division as well as TB signs and symptoms, and interactive games relating to TB prevention and treatment for children. The event was well attended and provided a great opportunity for staff and students to develop their science communication skills. Our group has already been invited to take part in the 2020 Mandela day Community day and we look forward to improving our stall and providing additional services as requested by several of the community members.

Mandela Day School Bag Project

For this initiative, members of the Stellenbosch University Neuropsychiatric Research group within the MAGIC Lab at MBHG collect conference bags, personal bags or material and stationary from division members and sponsors over several weeks. Following this, the donated items were sorted and filled with various goodies (including stationary and educational material) to be handed out to Grade 10 learners from underprivileged schools in the Tygerberg area - this year the chosen school was Isilimela Comprehensive School. This initiative aims to promote the tertiary education options within science available to the learners to ensure equal opportunity and give back to the local community from which many of our study participants, staff members and students originate.

MBHG is proud to have a group of staff and students passionate about community engagement. We look forward to continuing our social outreach efforts to make a impact in the lives of many South Africans. As a wise man once said,

"What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead." - Nelson Mandela

Written by: Dannielle K Moore

Photography: Multiple Sources