By Yumna Bodiat
Edited by Radiyyah Hassim
Radiyyah Hassim speaks to us on her experience as a medical student and director of the non-profit organisation F.E.E.D.
Twenty-three-year-old medical intern made a lifelong commitment in the 8th grade to strive to assist others and make a difference.
Her desire to be of service to others was borne out of her high school community service experience at the pediatric oncology ward at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital.
Having recently graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery ( MBChB) Cum Laude from the University of the Free State, Radiyyah Hassim currently works as an intern at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital.
I really enjoyed medical school even though it was very stressful at times. I studied away from home and therefore had the opportunity to network and gain independence very early on. Many of my closest friends became family as we grew closer through many adversities.
Hassim says that despite the many woman medical students that graduate annually and head departments in hospitals around the country, many patients still assume every woman staff member at the hospital is a nursing sister.
While nursing sisters play a significant role in the running of health care systems, she says "there’s still a generational stigma that exists where many people believe that being a doctor is a male profession".
Pictured: Radiyyah Hassim and her co-workers. Photo: Provided
Hassim takes us behind the scenes of the healthcare system operating during the COVID-19 pandemic. She told To EmpowHER that working as an intern in Obstetrics and Gynecology has proven challenging, as it is one of the busiest wards. With new cases increasing daily, it makes it an incredibly physically and emotionally tolling experience because labour and delivery is a particularly stressful time.
Our healthcare system was already overburdened before the pandemic with multiple staff shortages per patient. The lockdown has had massive implications for patients as certain specialist clinics at the hospital have been cancelled to protect patients from possible exposure.
She has not physically been posted to swab and screen patients. The hospital has designated COVID-19 teams in different departments to limit the spread of cross-infection. There are also numerous screening tents set up which aim to ensure that each patient entering is screened effectively.
I recently admitted a COVID positive patient who was a high risk exposure and I was placed into quarantine for seven days. This was a very stressful time as you become very paranoid about all the patients that you could’ve passed it on to and [risk] exposing your family at home.
Photo: Provided
Aside from working tirelessly as a medical intern, Hassim is also the director of the F.E.E.D Youth Group. F.E.E.D is a charity and faith-based organization with both a NPO and PBO registration issued by the Department of Social Welfare. Their mission is embodied by the acronym F.E.E.D which translates to 'to FEED,' 'to EDUCATE,' 'to EMPOWER,' and 'to DEVELOP'.
F.E.E.D was started in 2005 by a group of discerning women with a like-minded vision of striving towards alleviating global poverty and working towards creating sustainable communities.
Hassim says that "it was important to start with conscientising our own communities and youth about how fortunate they were, by exposing them to the disparities in society" in order for the organisation's objective to come to fruition.
The F.E.E.D Youth Group was founded in 2003 and focuses on developing the individual through the F.E.E.D SQUAD. This is a leadership initiative with over 170 volunteers from various schools and universities around the country and hosts many initiatives, projects and community service programs throughout the year.
Pictured: F.E.E.D Youth Group. Photo: Provided
Hassim told To EmpowHER, "Our mission for the youth is to nurture and inculcate a strong sense of responsibility and accountability to society at large."
They aim to achieve this "through various programs be it service, sport, international relief efforts; working with the aged, the needy, the disabled or the marginalised and [tackling] the woes of substance misuse and addiction".
Some of our projects include our Girl Rising Campaign for Girl Education and Empowerment and the annual F.E.E.D Autism SA walk. During Ramadaan (the fasting month) and the school holidays we have community service programs where anyone can volunteer for feeding programs and the packing and distribution of hampers at orphanages around Joburg. We assist a lot of students in obtaining their community service hours.
Girl Rising Campaign for Girl Education and Empowerment. Photo: Provided
One of the organisations most recent projects was their Heal the World Crowdfunding Video as part of their COVID-19 mask, bread and mieliemeal (MBM) campaign. F.E.E.D Squad volunteers from around South Africa each sent a video of themselves singing a section of the song 'Heal The World' by Michael Jackson.
Hassim says their aim was to incorporate as many indigenous languages in order to create a spirit of ubuntu. The campaign resulted in public support and the distribution of 500 masks to patients at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital. Bread and mielemeal were distributed to the Department of Social Development in Orange Farm, Diepkloof, Coronation and Alexandra.
Pictured: Distribution of masks, bread and mieliemeal for the (MBM) campaign. Photos: Provided.
We asked if Hassim's career path as a healthcare worker has urged her commitment to community service. She says, "Medicine is a very social career. You ask patients very personal questions and you always have to look at the patient as a whole, along with the environment that impacts them."
In South Africa we have many socio-economic difficulties but luckily we have many NGOs doing their best to try and bridge the divide between the massive disparities in our country.
Join the F.E.E.D community on their Instagram: @feed_sa
To donate to F.E.E.D please follow the banking details below (Left)
To donate specifically towards the MBM campaign please use the REF: MBM+your name.
Comments