After witnessing people lose their lives due to poor access to healthcare in their rural hometown, siblings Gcinile and Mlungisi Mngoma were fuelled by a deep desire to make a difference by being the doctors their community needed.
KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa (26 September 2024) – Inspired by their humble upbringing in the rural community of Umzumbe on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast, where access to medical healthcare was limited, siblings Gcinile and Mlungisi Mngoma were motivated to make a difference.
Graduating with their respective medical degrees from the University of KwaZulu-Natal on the very same day, Gcinile and Mlungisi are determined to deliver medical help where it is needed most.
Having come a long way from their cattle-herding days as children, Gcinile was awarded a Master of Medicine degree in Anaesthetics while Mlungisi qualified as a Medical doctor.
Reflecting on their background, Gcinile shares that there used to be a mobile clinic that visited Umzumbe once a month, but the area lacked telephonic services and had poor road infrastructure.
“This meant that in the rainy seasons, the roads and the bridges would get damaged, often resulting in the mobile clinic being unable to reach our community until the roads were repaired.
“The community had to find ways and means to transport an injured or critically ill person more than 30km to the nearest clinic or hospital for help. A lot of preventable deaths occurred and I knew that had to change”, says Gcinile.
While Mlungisi admits that Gcinile played a vital role in igniting the passion to pursue medicine, his big sister says she is especially proud of him, having watched him progress through Medical School and forge his own way.
With the pride of their supportive mother and a journey marked by a deep commitment to serving others, the siblings look forward to progressing in their medical journeys and saving lives.
Sources: University of KwaZulu-Natal
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