Centre for Cardio-metabolic Research in Africa (CARMA)
Social Impact
CARMA is involved in numerous community projects through both the Division of Medical Physiology (Tygerberg campus) and the Department of Physiological Sciences (Stellenbosch campus). At the Division of Medical Physiology, we strive to use our resources to make a positive impact in our community through the formation of mutually beneficial collaborations. Numerous initiatives are held which include collaboration with other divisions in the Department of Biomedical Sciences, one of which is the “Open Doors to Future Possibilities". This is held in partnership with Voorbrug Secondary School in Delft and helps promote good health through knowledge sharing between staff, students, and high school learners. The initiative also invites Life Science learners to interact with nursing, dietetics and physiotherapy students at the annual Physiology Symposium who discuss physiology as applied to everyday life health topics. This is to assist the promotion of good health and exploration of health science-related careers among the youth, as well as provide a mentoring platform to promote interest in STEM. Another platform through which local community high school learners can shadow biomedical scientists is the Department's Job Shadow Program. Furthermore, The Care Project is a collaboration with Die Pastorie home for the aged in Parow, as we believe that senior citizens need to be cared for as they carry a wealth of knowledge which we can learn from. Other projects include The “Cool"er box Drive which involves the repurposing of ice packs and cooler boxes to assist patients receiving medicines from the Tygerberg Hospital Outpatient Pharmacy, Mandela Day Drive and the Ladles of Love Sandwich Drive.
At the Department of Physiological Sciences (Stellenbosch campus), Drs Danzil Joseph, Balindiwe Sishi, Theo Nell, Sanjeev Rambharose, Miss Veronique Human and postgraduate students are involved in the fifth annual SU Life Science Outreach Initiative in 2023. The initiative involves the presentation of practical sessions in the senior phase (grades 10-12) and is managed in partnership with the school's Life Science teachers. Practical sessions involve experiments where learners make use of household items to explore various concepts in their Life Science curriculum. Despite COVID-19 and the resultant restrictions (2020, 2021 and first half of 2022), the programme continued successfully through the provision of practical material and resources in the form of individually packaged kits to the school. This approach enabled the successful completion of the required practical programme during this time. It also provided valuable lessons for the long-term sustainability and growth of the initiative. In-person facilitation of the sessions came with great joy in 2023, along with a proud moment for the initiative when one of the school's alumni joined as part of the Physiological Science Honours cohort. The initiative is featured in the 2021/2022 Social Impact at Stellenbosch University publication that can be found at this link:
https://www.sun.ac.za/si/en-za/Pages/ Resources.aspx.
Some of the Open Doors to Future Possibilities Collaborators within the Department of Biomedical Sciences on their way to Voorbrug Secondary School.
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Staff and students taking part in the 'Clean Garden' project at Die Pastorie.
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Staff with high school learners taking part in the Annual Physiology Symposium.
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Dr Danzil Joseph teaching practical laboratory skills to students from Voorbrug Secondary school.
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Staff and students prepare 2000 sandwiches in support of the Ladles of Love.
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High school learners part of are given insight into what we do in the laboratory during the Departmental Job Shadow Programme (GenS).
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