Back.Ground

"Ukwanda" , which means"to grow", begins in the heart of the beautiful Breede Valley in a town known as Worcester on the stunning modern campus of Stellenbosch University.

The reason for Ukwanda ,for Bsc Dietetics students, is to allow us to work with all 3 subjects of our IV year in one. These subjects include Diet Therapy, Community Nutrition and Foods.This means that it gives us a better idea of what the working world is like(where all 3 aspects of dietetics will be combined until we decide on the path we wish to take) and hopefully help prepare us , if only a little bit, for the following year of Community service.

Our Ukwanda block allows us to be exposed to more of a rural setting as well, which is a good break from the busy life of Cape Town where the city never sleeps.

I think that the name Ukwanda is beautiful, because the way Stellenbosch have designed this section of the Health allies curriculum allows us to be exposed to "real" life in a way in which we are still guided yet given opportunity to grow in the direction we choose. What I mean by this is that although there is structure to the work we have to complete and there are tasks which must be finished for marks(sadly), we are still given many different learning opportunities all of which add to our growth as an individual. This can be academic knowledge, growth as an individual as well as how to consult in different ways.

We are also very lucky that in this setting we are able to work as a multidisciplinary team, which we are often not exposed to in the bigger hospitals and communities.

Needless to say I am very excited about the next 6 weeks and I hope to grow in as many ways as possible, except for sideways.

I hope that this brief Back.Ground has given you a general understanding of what Ukwanda is and what this block means to us as students. 

As the weeks go on I shall post various reflections of what we have done, seen and experienced which will hopefully give you further insight into the beautiful structure of Ukwand as well as a better understanding of what a Dietitian is and does, hopefully.

Enjoy