By Nicolette van den Eijkel, Chief Director Facilities Management
Today, 13 November, is World Kindness Day.? I self-righteously ponder what 2024 would have been like if we had all been kind and focused on collective well-being.???
Then I realise I’m not feeling kind when I think of our student murdered on his birthday.? I’m not feeling kind either when I reflect on all the media attention about security and the emails from lawyers, parents, and the community, which take time and energy and seem to blame us. I want to shout that we are doing our best!
I’m most definitely not feeling kind when I have to deal with anything related to questionable residence culture or when I see the bad culture that creeps into some of the engagements between colleagues.? I want to remind people that we are here for collective well-being, not personal benefit or the easy way out with populist decisions.
But then I stop, take a breath, and reflect.? I can’t control what others do, but I do know that despite all our challenges at SUFM, we do model kindness and collective well-being in our interactions with our stakeholders – a way of doing that I can do along with each of your influence.? We remain positive, continue to interact constructively, and deliver the goods.? 2024 was just another year. We at SUFM stepped up and did what was required, and as a team, we delivered.? There are many, many successes that we achieved.? Thank you to each person in SUFM for being a team that we can all be proud of.
If you have a holiday, take time to be kind to yourself. Enjoy the holiday time with family and friends. As always, thank you to those of you who will keep the lights on and everything safe during the holidays. I hope you will find time to be kind to yourself. ?
I look forward to 2025, where, as a team, we will once again focus on providing a world-class environment for our staff and students.
