Dr Mumtaaz Emeran, when she was only 16 years old, became pregnant. Following her pregnancy at that tender age, unfortunately for her, she gave birth prematurely. Keeping her dream still in sight, nevertheless, she worked extremely hard to obtain a degree in Medicine.
According to her, she was born and raised in a less privileged community in Cape Town, South Africa, where one's ambitions normally would fall apart. And, this was due to the negative influences that were dominant there and the fact that most people did not have any futuristic plans of a better life.
"The truth is, prior to getting pregnant I had fallen prey to a bad company of friends and had lost thought of my dreams of aspiring to be a medical doctor one day.”
In her own words, "when my son was born prematurely and had to spend two straight months in the neonatal intensive-care unit, it then dawned on me that I had to be serious about life, and place myself well to be able to take care of him. That moment was a life changing period for me."
As a result of that inspiration, she immediately left for Joburg to pursue her dream of becoming a medical doctor. She said, " I was discouraged from going by some community members, saying, I was too young a mother and that, it was misplaced for me to have left my son behind. I must say, I owe my mother and step-dad a huge round of gratitude. They really supported me during these times."
Dr Emeran, had no sponsorships at the time and had to apply for bursaries, scholarships and private sponsors. However, none of these avenues yielded any positive outcomes. As a result, her only resort was to do some part-time menial jobs so she could pay her medical school fees at Wits University. And that really helped her though, it was not enough.
In the year 2020, some few weeks prior to her graduation, she received an email notification from the University indicating that she would not graduate until she had cleared all her outstanding balance. This was R471, 000.
Heartbroken and feeling devasted, Dr Mumtaaz Emeran gathered courage and shared her story with her Instagram followers in a five-minute video, explaining that she was in desperate need of financial support. This video, in no time, had gone viral touching the hearts of many, who were willing to support. In deed, she managed to raise the said amount in arrears and even beyond in a little over 24hours.
“Till now, I am in complete awe and feeling speechless about how it all happened over that short period. The love and kindness I had received from my fellow South Africans was so phenomenal. I didn't expect it, even though I had to try it, and it worked. I thank God, and I thank the people of South Africa. Before, I felt alone, while struggling during the early stages of my degree. But, now I feel like South Africa is my family,” she said.
Dr Mumtaaz Emeran is currently a Medical Doctor at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital. She hopes, soon, to specialise in Cardiothoracic Surgery, an area she has so much interest in. To her credit, she also has a Foundation that seeks to help other students, who are less privileged like her good self some years back. She is very hard working and a delight to be with.
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