Limpopo Leader - University of Limpopo

Campus with a pastTHE HIGHS AND LOWS FROM THE TOPaAN IMPORTANT THING THAT PROFESSOR LENKARLSSON LEARNED FROM THE ‘HIGH SOCIETY’CONTACT DURING HIS YEARS AS VICE-PRINCIPALOF MEDUNSA IN THE LATE 80S WAS THAT ‘THEMORE PEOPLE HAD TRULY ACHIEVED IN LIFE, THEHUMBLER THEY WERE. They had no need to jockeyfor the most important places at the dinner table orsmile endlessly for photographers’. It was an interestinglesson, but it dwarfed against the myriad of otherlessons he experienced while on the fifth floor.Something that invariably either tugged at theheartstrings or provoked a smile or a chuckle, werethe bursary committee meetings. As Vice-Principal,Karlsson was chairman of the committee. By far themajority of students needed financial support for theirstudies, he recalls. Most came from extremely disadvantagedbackgrounds, and several had single mothersworking as domestic servants, trying desperately to scrapetogether enough money for their child’s education.Sadly, these were the people who often becamevictims of unscrupulous and merciless loan sharks.Karlsson invested a large portion of his time to tryto build the fund’s resources. ‘It was not easy,’ hesays. ‘Medunsa students had received considerablenegative publicity following strike action and damageto property. A common response to a request forfunding assistance was, ‘if that is the quality ofstudents and potential doctors, we’re not interested’.Karlsson gives credit to many students who went insearch of sponsorship for themselves. Many were successful,so much so that negative perceptions held by manycompanies changed when they met the students face toface and heard their side of the boycott story – theintimidation, the threats to parents and family, and so on.There were, of course, also many chancers; thosestudents who were convinced that they were theSWEDISH VISITOR 1985 – Professor EL Karlsson (Vice-Dean, Medicine) ,Miss A Robertson (Nursing Science), Mrs L Fridolv (Press Liaison Officer of SA Foundation in Sweden), Mr H SvenssonP A G E 3 0