Follow your dreams and be VERY AMBIOUS Matric Class of 2013 learner and former member of the writing team of S’godiphola News, 19 year old Nonhlanhla Reatile Moletsane, on Tuesday 28 October left home and family in Cosmo City to pursue her dreams of becoming a doctor in Cuba. In an effort to boost the number of medical doctors in the province, the Gauteng Department of Health awarded 145 bursaries to youngsters to study medicine in Cuba, and Nonhlanhla made the cut. “I am so excited to go there; I’m just worried about adaptation in Cuba,” said Nonhlanhla when S’godiphola News spoke to her on Wednesday 3 September at her house. Her first visit home will only be during the school holidays in 2016. After receiving her matric results in January 2014, Nonhlanhla registered with the University of Johannesburg to study Somatology. “I didn’t want to sit at home and do nothing, my family agreed, I still had my dream at the back of my mind of becoming a doctor and save lives in my community,” she said. In April, she began her journey and got application forms at the Gauteng Department of Health, she was invited for a panel interview in May. Medical and psychological tests followed as well as a four day orientation course administered by the Cuban course coordinator and doctors who had qualified already in the South Africa-Cuban programme – a parents’ orientation followed. “I am so happy for uNonhlanhla because this is an opportunity that I could have never given her, we will miss her obviously, but it is an opportunity of a lifetime,” said Nonhlanhla’s mother Daphney Moletsane in a telephone interview. The youngsters were selected based on their Grade 12 performance and financial status, among other requirements. They will return to the province after six years to make a difference in provincial hospitals and clinics. The course comprises of one year of Spanish and foundation courses; five years of medical studies and thereafter two years of medical study at a South African University to complete a degree in medicine. Gauteng Health MEC Qedani Mahlangu on Thursday 28 August met the students at Johannesburg City Hall to bid them farewell, giving words of encouragement and offered them support. The South Africa - Cuba Medical Training Programme started in 1998 as part of the governments efforts to address the critical shortage of medical professionals in the country. According to the 20Year Review: South Africa 1994 to 2014 document, released earlier this year by President Jacob Gedley’hlekisa Zuma, South Africa has 2 074 students from rural areas and disadvantaged backgrounds studying medicine in Cuba. To the learners at S’godiphola Secondary School: “Follow your dreams and be very ambitious. Do thorough research on the career path you want to follow,” she concluded.
Posted on: Tue, 25 Nov 2014 08:55:45 +0000
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