Thuliswa Sikweza

In partnership with Mountain Goat Challenge we, as NewDay United are excited to be able to support this amazing woman with a scholarship for her to be able to continue with her diploma in nursing

Here is her inspiring story…

“I was born in one of the rural villages in a small town called Nqamakwe. I come from a family of five children raised by a single mother and am a second born. My three siblings passed away, one due to illness and two in a car accident

My sister’s illness inspired me to become a nurse because I wanted to do to others what I saw the nurses doing (the care, empathy) for my sister in her last moments.

Because my mother is not educated, when I passed matric I did not have anyone to advise me on how to go about pursuing nursing and I did not know where to go to study nursing, so I ended up studying human resources management through NSFAS at Walter Sisulu University in Queenstown

After I finished my diploma I struggled to find employment, I couldn’t get anything, and I ended up taking a job as a tea lady at a security company in Pretoria

In 2008 my other sister, who also passed away in a car accident, went to the department of health head offices in Johannesburg and got me a form for applying for nursing training and that’s when my nursing journey started

I trained in Pretoria S.G. Lourens nursing college for two years and qualified as staff nurse, I then got employed at Tambo Memorial Hospital in Boksburg Johannesburg. I worked in oncology unit from 2010 until I got a transfer to Eastern Cape in 2013,

I worked in an ophthalmology unit from September 2013 to May 2017 when I got accepted at Life college of learning, I started my first year in June 2017 and I have just started my second year in bridging to become a general registered nurse.

I would love to go further in my studies and specialise in oncology or ophthalmology because during the course of my work I’ve realised that there are so many people who are not well informed on how to look out for early signs of cancer, who do not know how to prevent deterioration of eyesight especially in the remote areas and so it would be a much pleasure to give back to people through my knowledge and skills!!!”

WE ARE HONOURED AND DELIGHTED TO BE A PART OF THIS COURAGEOUS WOMANS ADVENTURE!!!

#STRONGERTOGETHER