Dear Alumni and Friends,

I once again bring you snippets of news from UCT and its many projects.  I also have some news of my own …

The time has come for me to pass the baton.  I have been at the helm of UCT Canada for 15 years, and am now looking forward to slowing down, travelling, and exploring other activities.

My time here has been phenomenal.  I came to Canada with a mailing list.  I thank Henry Blumberg for meeting my daughters and I as we emerged exhausted at Toronto Pearson airport.  In the weeks that followed, he set me up with laptop, cellphone and bank account – crucial equipment for functioning in Canada, and showed me the ropes of doing business in Canada.   Later, with the winding down of the UCT Foundation, I took over sole responsibility for planning and operations, reporting directly to Cape Town.

Over the years we have had some memorable events in Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal, Ottawa and Vancouver.  It always depended on the number of alumni attending - the good old Return On Investment.  I recall my first event in Vancouver at the Fish Café, when we took over the whole restaurant, and the food had to be brought out of the kitchen around the corner and in through the front door.  Everyone was so welcoming and friendly.  I came to love my visits out west usually with a VC or Faculty member in tow, and enjoyed personally meeting and thanking our many BC and Alberta donors.

Many of you may recall me touring with “the best 15 minutes of rugby you’ll ever see”  when the Ikey Tigers won the Varsity Cup in a magnificent comeback display in the last 15 minutes of the game. I got to witness the Ikey Tigers vs Maties in February this year, and the match was just as exciting as ever, even though Ikey Tigers were pipped at the post in the last 60 seconds of the game. I travelled with Gavin Joachims of SHAWCO on his roadshow across Canada, meeting with alumni and bringing all up to date on SHAWCO activities.

Unfortunately budget cuts and Covid lockdowns put the brakes on travels over the last few years.

Being centred in Toronto I was able to form strong bonds with alumni and donors, meeting them regularly for tea, coffee or lunch to provide personal feedback on their support.  I shall miss those encounters.

But time marches on, and change is afoot as younger alumni are landing on Canadian shores needing job and networking opportunities,  and a new friendship circle to help with the daunting task of setting up a new home in a new land.  Samantha Mandigora, who has been heading up young alumni coordination for the past few months,  is well equipped to meet the needs of our alumni with a view to continuing the relationship with UCT, linking with alumni and providing feedback on donations as the incoming Regional Director from May 1st  at info@UCTcanada.ca.

I will be in the wings handling the accounting and donations processing to UCT, providing support to Sam when needed, and also tending to our loyal legacy donors.  I can be contacted at distafford@UCTCanada.ca   if you would like information on a future bequest to UCT to support its students and its many community projects.

Samantha Mandigora will be shadowing me from May 1st, and in early June I will be departing for the shores of Nova Scotia.

So it’s not quite goodbye, just au revoir. 

Di