By Tselane Moiloa
BLOEMFONTEIN – Samuel Mzangwa has dreamt of being a medical immunologist since his high school days.
“Ever since I learnt about medical immunology, I have wanted to become a medical immunologist. There are a lot of viruses in our country and continent yet there are no cures which is a concern for me,” said the nineteen-year-old from semi rural Koppies.
Mzangwa, matriculated in 2011 with distinctions in Maths, Physical Science and Life Sciences from Kwakwatsi Senior Secondary School in Koppies, Fezile Dabi district, making him the highest achieving learner at his school which had an average of level two.
“There were obviously challenges, be it be from the school or at home. But I made it through despite it all,” he said.
However, Mzangwa’s dreams were deferred when his parents could not afford to send him to university to pursue a degree in medicine. However, he enrolled for a degree in biochemistry at the University of Free State (UFS). That was before he was approached by the Department of Education to apply for a space to study medicine in Cuba, a project initiated by the premier’s office.
Mzangwa is one of the 148 prospective doctors who will jet off to Cuba starting this month to start their six years of medical schooling and training.
Like many of his peers who were bade farewell by the provincial government on Monday, August 13, he comes from an extended family which is largely unemployed.
“The biggest thing for me is to come back at the end and change my family’s living conditions and make sure my siblings receive quality education,” the second-eldest child in a family of 10 said.
Mzwanga is one of the many learners from Free State who had dreams to become doctors yet could not because of the cost of university education.
Armed with a quality matric certificate from Relebohile Secondary School in Smithfied, 22-year-od Nosipho Motlohi obtained a study loan from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme of South Africa (NSFAS) and started pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in Microbiology at UFS as well.
Motlohi was the top learner in her 2008 grade 12 class at a school where learners wanted to burn it down because a large percentage had failed their previous year.
“The opportunity is beyond amazing. I applied late for the Cuba scholarship and had actually given up. I did not expect the call which I received in June,” she said.
“I am mostly nervous about whether I will survive but I am determined. This is important for me – I live with my mom and six other people in an RDP house. No-one is employed, we used to survive on the small children’s social grants,” Motlohi said.
While their conditions were not the best for studying, she made it through and would also generate some money by doing needle work.
Although the students were looking forward to the long-nights and exploring the Cuban lifestyles, the partnership between the South African and Cuban health ministries has in the past been marred by claims that when the students return to the country, they seem to be almost clueless because of the different curriculum.
Before getting certificated as medical doctors, the students have to complete their studies at a South African higher education institution to make them compatible with the health system in the country.
The head in the department of health Dr Sipho Kabane admitted that there had been problems in the past, but said that there had not been cooperation between the department and the local university.
“In the past, the system here was not receptive of students from Cuba. Those who came and were supposed to be accommodated at the university found it very difficult, with the dual-language policy being a big challenge.
“There was this attitude that we were not good, but once they were placed at Medunsa they found it better. However, we are going to restart negotiations with the university and hopefully get them to cooperate with us. We also need to take some academics from the country to Cuba so that they can understand the curriculum and the health system that side. If we fail to provide a receptive environment for the students, we would have failed,” Kabane said.
The initiative to train medical students in Cuba is largely due to the shortage of doctors in the province, particularly in rural areas. The students are therefore bound to serve in these marginalised areas upon their return.
In order to prepare them for the lifestyle that awaits them, a product of the Cuban programme Dr Celinah Lesenyeho has been giving them orientation.
“They can make it if they are disciplined. But they have to study 10 times harder than the Cuban students, taking the language barrier into consideration,” the doctor serving at Dr J.S Moroka Hospital in Thaba Nchu said.
“Our disease profile in South Africa is way different to that in Cuba. There they have a preventive method, which is cheaper. In South Africa, we have the hospice-centric approach – which means we want our people to come to hospitals instead of going to them,” she said.
Dr Lesenyeho explained that the new curriculum has been suited to the South African context so that the students can be effective when they come back.
“During our time, we used to do everything that was done by the Cubans. But now, they will be taught how to handle trauma and assault cases, for example, and these situations rarely occur in Cuba. The diseases are also very well controlled, which differs from this side,” she explained.
The province will spend over R200 million on the project and there are plans to increase the number of students to 200.