UKZN Medical Graduate Overcomes Adversity to Serve with Purpose and Compassion

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The University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) celebrated the graduation of Dr Ndumiso Ellias Majola with a Medical degree, marking a significant milestone in a journey defined by resilience, faith, and an unwavering commitment to serving communities in need.

Describing his achievement as “a great moment of testimony”, Majola reflected on the culmination of years of perseverance and prayer. “It’s an answered prayer”, he said, expressing deep gratitude to those who supported him throughout his academic journey. “I am deeply grateful to everyone who walked alongside me - those who taught, challenged, encouraged, prayed, and believed in me, even when the path was difficult.”

Originally from Nkandla in the Matshenezimpisi area and a former learner at Velangaye Comprehensive High School, where he achieved four distinctions, Majola’s path to Medicine was shaped by humble beginnings and a desire to uplift others. “I come from a very poor background. The situation at home has to change for the better,” he said, adding that his calling is rooted in giving back to underserved communities facing the burden of an overstretched public healthcare system.

Now a Medical intern at Ladysmith Provincial Hospital, Majola speaks passionately about the transformative power of healthcare. “It is fulfilling to see how beautiful Medicine is when a person’s state of health changes for the better and you have played a part in that,” he said, emphasising that healthcare is a fundamental right and a tool for restoring dignity.

Among his most defining experiences at UKZN was a moment on the sports field, where he led efforts to stabilise an injured player during a soccer match - a turning point that affirmed his calling and later inspired his leadership in advocating for improved medical readiness in student sports structures.

Majola developed a strong interest in Family Medicine for its holistic and patient-centred approach, with aspirations of specialising in the field or in Sports Medicine. Despite the challenges he encountered, he credits his faith, mentorship, and strong support system for sustaining him through difficult periods.

Guided by his personal mottos, ‘I will speak to God, He will understand’ and ‘Let my people go!’, Majola’s story stands as a powerful testament to purpose, perseverance, and the enduring impact of community-centred healthcare.

During Majola’s time a Medical student, he also became a poetry member of the Institution’s Voice Arts Club (VAC), where the poem, Motherless child, by Majola and VAC’s Chairperson, Dr Stanley Sekhula, was one of the first projects with which he worked with the former Dean of the School of Clinical Medicine and UKZN’s Dermatology Discipline, Professor Ncoza Dlova, a proud supporter of VAC and who is known for pioneering therapeutic art-based interventions that soothe Medical students from the academic stress that comes with studying to become Medical doctors, and which have had similar effects on fully-fledged healthcare professionals.

In her congratulatory remarks, Dlova said, “The fact that you could transform your experiences into poetry says a lot about your creativity, and Medicine is indeed an art that you can continue to embrace. As you graduate, remember: patients may forget the prescriptions you wrote, but they will always remember how you made them feel. Carry your knowledge with confidence, your humility with pride, and your compassion without limits. The world needs doctors like you.”

Majola also dedicated a poem to healthcare professionals, particularly doctors, graduating on 13 May.

Words: Lunga Memela

Photograph: Sethu Dlamini