Every year, staff and students at Stellenbosch 肆客足球's (SU) Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS) undertake numerous activities aimed at driving social change through projects designed to educate, empower, uplift, and build the communities they serve. These initiatives represent the faculty's unwavering commitment to creating meaningful impact beyond the classroom and clinic.
“At the FMHS we're committed to driving societal transformation and advancing health equity. Our mission is to create systemic, structural, and social change by addressing pressing health challenges and promoting access to quality healthcare for all," said Dr Therese Fish, Vice Dean: Clinical Services and Social Impact at the FMHS.
Fish emphasises the faculty's holistic approach to community engagement: “We believe that authentic social impact includes fostering meaningful community partnerships, promoting social justice, and empowering communities to lead healthier lives."
In 2024 alone, FMHS staff were involved in 39 community initiatives. These projects engaged 225 students and 43 community partners, providing more than 800 health procedures and 10 rural outreach activities. The initiatives span diverse areas including health and wellbeing interventions, addressing healthcare needs of people with disabilities, education, and food security, among others.
Recognition through the 2024 Social Impact Awards
The FMHS's dedication to community service was formally recognised in 2024 when the faculty received outstanding recognition from SU through Social Impact Awards. The FMHS received 27 nominations and five awards – a testament to the quality and breadth of their community engagement efforts.
SU's Social Impact Awards represents the highest honour granted by the university community to staff for outstanding contributions to social impact. The five winning projects from the FMHS included two individual awards: Prof Eileen Africa's KIDSMove project for improving gross motor skills of foundation phase children, and Tembela Boyana's culturally sensitive method for disclosing HIV status to young children.
Three team awards recognised collaborative efforts: the Desmond Tutu TB Centre's community health initiatives, the Rare Diseases Genomics Research Group for transforming healthcare through genetic testing accessibility and rare diseases advocacy, and Dr Therese Fish and Prof Karin Baatjes' Central Karoo InReach project addressing backlogs in cataract surgeries and dental services in the Garden Route and Central Karoo Districts.
Social impact projects
The comprehensive scope of the FMHS's community engagement is captured in their annual Social Impact Report for 2024. “Our social impact initiatives are rooted in community-based participatory action, ensuring cultural relevance and sustainability. These initiatives exemplify our commitment to social justice, equity, and the advancement of health for all," notes Fish.
Here are six key projects featured in the report:
1. Group Empowerment and Training (GREAT) for People with Diabetes
The GREAT Project addresses diabetes care challenges in underserved Cape Town Metropole communities by bringing services directly to people's daily lives. This community-driven initiative focuses on Growing, Reaching, Empowering, and Transforming health outcomes through university-community partnerships. The project leverages interdisciplinary collaboration and capacity building to tackle non-communicable diseases, mental health, and social determinants of health while integrating direct healthcare services with education, research, and community empowerment for sustainable change.
2. Buddy's Support Group at FAMCRU
Ms Tembela Boyana developed an innovative, culturally sensitive approach to HIV disclosure for young children, beginning around age seven with caregiver preparation. Remarkably, none of the 120 children assisted have experienced family rejection, depression, or treatment adherence issues. The Buddy's Group, launched in 2017, provides peer support for approximately 80 HIV-affected adolescents, creating safe spaces that strengthen emotional resilience, treatment adherence, and long-term wellbeing through education and empowerment.
3. Framing Mobility: Frame Running for People with Disabilities
Framing Mobility makes adaptive sports accessible to individuals with disabilities across South Africa through frame running – a three-wheeled assistive activity that enables participants to experience movement, improve health, and enhance social engagement. The programme provides equipment and creates inclusive weekly activity groups in Cape Town, Helderberg, and Stellenbosch. As both a registered social impact project and research platform, it integrates engaged teaching and community-based research while training students in adapted physical activity.
4. Community-Based Rehabilitation Projects
These WHO-guideline-based rehabilitation initiatives operate across Cape Metropole and Cape Winelands communities, improving healthcare access for people with disabilities through systematic three-phase implementation. The projects include comprehensive training for patients, community health workers, and rehabilitation professionals; health promotion through educational materials; and health systems development via patient registers and local service integration. This approach bridges the gap between rehabilitation needs and access in low-resource settings.
5. Open Doors to Future Possibilities
This community engagement programme connects the Department of Biomedical Sciences with Voorbrug Senior Secondary School in Delft, bringing disadvantaged learners to the Biomedical Research Institute. The initiative exposes high school students to career opportunities in medicine and health sciences while providing mentoring and relevant health education. By offering early exposure to health science careers, the programme aims to ignite aspirations and potentially change life trajectories for youth in underserved communities.
6. MitoSAKen: Promoting Cardiovascular Health
The MitoSAKen research group at CARMA bridges scientific research with community health improvement, investigating mitochondria's role in cardiometabolic disease among people with and without HIV. Their September 2024 outreach event at Esselen Park Senior Secondary School in Worcester enhanced community understanding of cardiovascular health, promoted preventative care practices, and strengthened relationships with study participants and the broader Worcester community, demonstrating how research initiatives can effectively engage and educate communities about critical health issues.
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