Doctors Gcinile and Mlungisi Mngoma, siblings, graduated together from the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), thanks to their hard work, devotion, and prayers from their loving mother.
Gcinile received a master of medicine degree in anaesthesia, while Mlungisi became a medical doctor.
“We are very proud of our respective accomplishments, and it is really a wonderful coincidence that we got to graduate on the very same day,” said Gcinile, who is currently a specialist anaesthesiologist in private practice.
“As his big sister, I am especially proud of Mlungisi, having watched him progress through medical school and gain his independence from me as someone who has walked the path.”
She recounted that they grew up helping to raise cattle in the remote town of Umzumbe on the KZN South Coast, where resources were sparse.
“A mobile clinic came once a month but there were no telephonic services and the area had a 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,” said Gcinile.
Mlungisi described his graduation as incredible, and he kept checking to see if he was dreaming.
Eventually, he relaxed and began to feel like a doctor. He is now completing an internship rotation at Cecilia Makiwane Hospital in the Eastern Cape.
“When my sister was still in medical school, she studied with me when she came home during holidays. She would teach me anatomy randomly and discuss physiology,” said Mlungisi.
“At the time, I had no idea what she was talking about. I just enjoyed spending time with her. As I grew older, I became more and more interested in medicine and Gcinile played a vital role in igniting that passion in me.”
IOL