Eight medical students in their sixth and final year of study at the University of KwaZulu-Natal have been awarded bursaries from Bonitas Medical Fund in partnership with the Gift of the Givers.
The partnership, which began in 2018, will see an additional investment of R3.3 million into the bursaries, that covers outstanding and current debt, as well as the provision of boreholes at various health facilities.
Speaking at the Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine in Durban on Tuesday Lee Callakoppen, principal officer of Bonitas, said there were many students at tertiary level in dire need of financial support.
“The SA economy is challenging and parents and students are challenged in terms of just getting themselves through the educational system,” he said.
Callakoppen said one of the key imperatives to strengthen the health care system was human resources to serve the needs of South Africans.
“It’s our privilege today to acknowledge, support and enable students in that last mile of their journey in becoming health-care professionals. It’s a great privilege to be able to contribute and make that difference,” he said, adding that the recipients come from various backgrounds and diverse families.
Professor Ncoza Dlova, dean of the School of Clinical Medicine and head of Dermatology at UKZN, said they were grateful for the public-private partnership.
“These are students who are deserving but because of challenges they would not be able to go through the sixth year without leaving debt within the university,” she said.
Ndumiso Majola, 30, from Nkandla, who has six siblings and was the first in his family to complete matric, said he was excited to receive the bursary.
“Financial struggles made it seem like we were not going to be able to get our degrees, but through this I am motivated that I can become what I want to be and make a difference in my community,” he said.
Majola would like to specialise in family medicine.
Nhlakanipho Buthelezi, 27, from Ulundi said he really appreciated the bursary.
“I’m really grateful for this opportunity.”
Buthelezi said as a child he was fascinated with medical detectives programmes on TV and would like to specialise in forensic medicine.
Dr Ahmed Bham from Gift of The Givers, advised the medical students, who he called the future doctors, ambassadors and advocates for the most vulnerable, to live with the philosophy to ‘first do no harm’.
“Always have respect and treat people with dignity, it’s very important. Adhere to medical ethics, it’s so important, and be advocates for our most vulnerable,” he said.
The Mercury