Ntando Briton Nene

Youth in Uniform

Nominee's Province:
Kwazulu-natal

Age:
29

Project Name/Description:
Male Nurse

More info:
https:/Facebook.com/NeneNtandoyamadlokovu

Ntando Briton Nene, 29, from Osizweni, Newcastle, is a qualified young male nurse who works tirelessly to bring healthcare to communities in rural KwaZulu-Natal. Nene was studying towards a Bachelor of Administration when his mother was diagnosed with cancer and later succumbed to the dreaded disease in 2013. That was a turning point for Nene who strongly felt rural areas struggled to access proper healthcare. In 2016, he enrolled at the KwaZulu-Natal College of Nursing, in Pietermaritzburg. After qualifying as a nurse in 2020, practised in the rural areas so he could best apply his expertise. It’s a job he does with great dedication. The highlight of his career came last year when he took up a challenging post in Pomeroy Community Health Centre in Msinga uMzinyathi District, KwaZulu-Natal, a deeply rural part of the province. He works as a male midwife. Initially, he worked as a bedside nurse to tend Covid-19 positive patients. The harsh reality of working in a rural area soon hit him. “There were many challenges in the area I worked in, especially myths associated with Covid vaccines. Part of my role as a professional nurse is to be an educator,” says Nene. Other challenges included the inaccessibility of some communities due to a lack of proper roads as well as a lack of sanitation and water. But Nene endured, proving that young heroes can make an impact anywhere in the country, not just in the cities.