​In the benevolent spirit of Mandela Day, students and staff at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS), Stellenbosch University, generously donated their time, energy, clothing and money to help the less fortunate.

Several outreach activities were undertaken at the Tygerberg Campus on Tuesday, 18 July, in celebration of the late Madiba's birthday.

Through the Toasties for Tummies initiatives, students and staff on the Tygerberg Campus prepared more than 1500 sandwiches that were handed out to patients at Tygerberg Hospital. In addition, 1500 juice bottles were donated by the Division Human Resources, and distributed along with the sandwiches.

The FMHS Dean, Prof Jimmy Volmink, helped to distribute a further 1000 sandwiches (which were prepared at the Stellenbosch campus) at the Next Generation Movement youth project in Khayelitsha, Site B.

In the run-up to Mandela Day, there was a drive to collect scarves from FMHS staff members – either through donating old scarves or knitting new ones. The aim was to collect 330 scarves that represents the 330m between the entrance to the Faculty's Clinical Building and the hospital CEO, Dr Dimitri Erasmus' office in Tygerberg Hospital, to illustrate the partnership between the two institutions.

The generosity of staff members exceeded all expectations and a staggering 607 scarves were eventually collected. The scarves were distributed to outpatients at the hospitals while they were waiting for consultations.

Caption: On Mandela Day, FMHS Dean, Prof Jimmy Volmink, helped to distribute 1000 sandwiches to the Next Generation Movement youth project in Khayelitsha, Site B.