UCT: Uncommon Commitment to Transformation
“The only limit to your impact is your imagination and commitment.”
Exploring aspects of how we educate at the University of Cape Town was fascinating! My exploration included two parts: I met with researchers at UCT for a first-hand look at how they use exercise science to assess and attack barriers to fitness and nutrition activities, and I met with a current UCT student to hear about the opportunities and challenges from primary school to university.
First, UCT’s Health through Physical Activity, Lifestyle and Sport (HPALS) Research Centre leads scientific research conducted at the Sports Science Institute of South Africa. The HPALS Research Centre seeks to optimize human performance and to promote health and well-being, addressing the growing pandemics of obesity and inactivity, reducing the burden of disease and injury, through physical activity and sports participation.
HPALS engages in a variety of work, including a Healthy Active Kids South Africa (HAKSA) Report Card that reports on the most recent and best available research evidence relating to the physical activity and nutrition of South African children and adolescents (3-18 years old). Additionally, HPALS conducts research programs at local schools to assess health behaviors as well as environmental factors that influence these behaviors.
I visited one such school with UCT Professor Vicki Lambert and her team, Faye Weiss of HPALS and Sasha West of Cape Peninsula University of Technology. They have worked with the students for months to identify barriers to a healthy lifestyle - all with the goal of strengthening advocacy to create healthy environments and support healthy nutrition.
Second, it was my honor and privilege to meet Londiwe Madondo! Londi will be graduating from UCT soon, and has already secured a job after graduation, which is a rare feat! Londi and I spoke about her journey from a more rural area in the townships where she experienced poverty and lack of resources. Her intelligence was identified by mentors, including the Imbeleko Foundation. She was admitted into a private boarding school with a scholarship, and then admitted into UCT with a scholarship. She is an amazing success story. Her energy is infectious. Her drive is motivating. Her passion is inspiring.
“I believed in my intelligence. I had the drive. I told myself I could go to UCT. And now I am about the graduate from UCT.”
