The friendly social media sensation, Doctor Randall Ortel, is a product of the infamous gang-infested Manenberg suburb in Cape Town. He has come a long way, from his early days as a well-known taxi driver in his community. Back then, unbeknown to the locals, this struggling taxi driver was in reality a struggling medical student trying to raise money for his studies at the university of Cape Town.
He persevered and became the first medical doctor of colour in Manenberg.
The TikTok-famous doctor, who dishes out essential medical advice and education, achieved another feat last Thursday when he graduated with a master’s in medicine. The cum laude student now holds a Masters in Obstetrics. Another first for Manenberg.
The place is sure on its way to redeeming itself from being known as a cesspool of gang activity – to producing a young medical doctor, and three more following in his footsteps. Quite a big deal from an area whose role models are mainly gangsters, where an average child’s future is a life of crime. Manenberg will never be the same again, because there is a doctor in the house now. And it’s set to produce a national health minister in future too, if Ortel has his way. And ‘his way’ seems to be something that he possesses in truckloads already.
Looking back, Ortel said when he first graduated in 2010, “everyone was truly and honestly excited, proud and supportive”.
“As a student I was a taxi driver on weekends and for university vacations, to generate funds for my bursary shortfalls. Books, travelling fees and day-to-day needs were difficult to acquire as a young person studying full time. I was recognised as a taxi driver in the community, and when the news broke that I qualified as a medical doctor, people were in disbelief, but as the story unfolded, they realised that I was indeed a medical student. People were then happy to have the so-called taxi driver-turned medical doctor in Manenberg,” he said.
Ortel said that coming from an area that’s notorious for its gang activity, he had to change the narrative by taking his dad’s advice when he told him: “Just be a doctor, people always get sick, so you will always have a job.”
His journey inspired three other youngsters in the area to pursue careers in medicine, encouraging him to start a foundation where he could take them under his wing and mentor them.
Ortel said: “The foundation is named the Randal Ortel Foundation, the name is not official yet. The foundation is rooted in the concern for future development in my community. My intention is to unite with the other three doctors in my area and mentor them, introduce them to the community, give them a community footprint and create a platform to help up and coming doctors.”
About his TikTok fame, he said he had jumped onto the platform in 2020 when Covid-19 was real and scary.
“There was a lot of fake news on this virus, I had to protect my community. So I decided to use my medical experience to keep them informed,” he said.
“My TikTok coach, Morne Ebersohn, was introduced to me by Ultimate Media, based in Johannesburg. This is the company that introduced me to TikTok.
“I now use it as an engaging platform, and because of it I was able to partner with government and join the Western Cape Premier’s team.”
Ortel aspires to become the minister of health in future, and said: “I go by the motto ‘aim for the moon, and if you miss, you fall amongst the stars’.
“As a doctor, my help is limited to the person in front of me, and if I am lucky enough, that one person will share the information and help others. But if I am in the health ministry, I will be in a position to help more people. In fact, I will touch the lives of an entire country.
“I will be able to start new teams, do new research, create and provide health guidelines that will improve the country’s health system. As a traveller, I have seen the lack and lengths people go to in order to access health care, or for it to be openly advertised to them.
“I think I got what it takes to be the minister of health. I am not big on politics. I want to be chosen on merit, so that I can practice in an ethical manner. Health ministry is still on the cards, I just don’t know how to get there, maybe that would be my next venture to reach out and achieve this in the next 10 years,” said the confident Ortel.
His short-term goal is to be CEO of a hospital that will open in his area.
Follow @SundayWorldZA on Twitter and @sundayworldza on Instagram, or like our Facebook Page, Sunday World, by clicking here for the latest breaking news in South Africa. To Subscribe to Sunday World, click here.
