I am an ambitious, hard-working, humble, confident and resilient young woman. I am currently studying medicine at the University of the Witwatersrand.
I need help with funding, because my family cannot afford it. My mother is a single mother of 4 (I am the first born) and unemployed. My father abandoned us when I was just a few days old and the same applies to the fathers of my 3 siblings. We depend on my grandparent’s old age social grants, which doesn’t cover a lot of things.
The university doesn’t allow students to register owing fees for the previous year of study, therefore if I don’t pay this huge amount of money I won’t be able to register for the 2018 academic year. Our registration starts on the 18th December until the 05th of January (they may extend it for further two weeks as many students don’t have funding and will be searching for it therefore the registration may close on the 19th January 2018)
All I ever wanted was to become a doctor, specifically one of the youngest female neurosurgeons in South Africa. The reason I want to become a doctor is I love putting smiles on people’s faces through helping them, I want to show many girls that a female can become a neurosurgeon and I have many plans on how to help poor communities in South Africa get good health care systems. I have been through so many challenges in my life, but I did not allow myself to become a victim of circumstance, I fought hard for what I have achieved thus far. I really never had much while growing up and still don’t have much as my family is very poor, but a Neurosurgeon I will be!
I look up to the likes of Dr Ncumisa Lihle Jilata (became a neurosurgeon at the age of 30 this year), Dr Boitumelo Phakathi (one of the youngest general surgeons in the country), Dr Precious Moloi-Motsepe, the list is endless. In short, I look up to people who made something out of nothing, through challenges but still emerged victorious!
This year was very difficult for me, I was all over looking for help but I was unlucky everywhere I went. I had to travel to Wits using the metro rail train (R10 from Orange farm to Park Station) just to attend my classes and keep the dream alive. Not enough money for food or anything but I kept going. Through the tears and the sweat I kept pushing.
I am appealing to you , the people of this world to please help fund me , to help keep the dream alive and to help keep a girl child in medical school, please.