Retshidisitswe Kotane, a 25-year-old medical graduate from Krugersdorp in Gauteng, is proud to serve her country at the forefront of the battle against Covid-19. Kotane recently registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA). She pursued her Bachelor of Clinical Medical Practice studies, a new mid-level health-care provider qualification in South Africa, at the Wits Medical School in Johannesburg. Growing up, Kotane always knew that she wanted to make a positive impact on people’s lives and make a difference in communities.
At the beginning of the year, Kotane was devastated that she had missed three graduation ceremonies because she had R95,000 in outstanding tuition fees. For Kotane to register with the HPCSA and be eligible to work as a health professional, it was crucial that she obtain her graduation certificate. Kotane learnt about the Feenix crowdfunding platform that allows students to formalise their fund-raising efforts and space for funders to find candidates they want to help.
Through Feenix she was able to connect with individuals in her community in order to partly achieve her fund-raising target, with the bulk of the amount provided by the Standard Bank Tutuwa Community Foundation. Tutuwa is an institution that collaborates with Feenix to ensure that graduates are not left behind. Kotane could not believe that her dream was finally being realised.
“After I received the email telling me my debt would be covered, I was in complete disbelief. I only realised it was true when I checked my fee statement a week later and found that the outstanding fees had indeed been settled,” she explained.
Immediately afterwards, she made her way to the HPCSA office in Pretoria and registered as a health professional and obtained her registration number. Within a week after registering with the HPCSA, a former lecturer called to tell her that there was an opening at Netcare. Kotane then submitted her CV to the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) and within a few days she was offered a position in the response team to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“I am so grateful to Feenix and the Tutuwa Foundation. It has been an overwhelming journey and I can still hardly believe it,” said Kotane. Cara-Jean Petersen, student engagement manager at Feenix, said cases like Kotane’s validate the work they do at Feenix.
“Not only to the employability of students but also to the lives of countless South Africans who could be receiving the support of caring, engaged and motivated medical workers like her,” Petersen said. As the rest of the world and South Africa wrestle with the novel coronavirus pandemic, Kotane is pleased that she is going to be on the front lines of the battle. I am doing what I am passionate about and learning so much at the same time,” Kotane said.
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Source: IOL
