Top KZN pupil to study medicine
TWO people motivated Renata Jairam to study medicine – her paediatrician and her teenage cousin, who has Down syndrome.
“Dr David Senoga (Kingsway Hospital) is warm and friendly, and it didn’t feel as if I was at the doctor’s surgery but at a friend’s. The care that he has for his patients is next to none,” said Renata, 17, of Westville. “My 13-year-old cousin, Kevash Naidoo, who has Down syndrome, also motivated me. He is different and needs a certain type of care, and one day I hope to become a paediatric surgeon.”
She matriculated from Eden College Durban with 9 distinctions, having taken on two additional subjects, accounting and French.
“I wanted a challenge and perform better when I have a lot to do.”
Renata opted to pursue French as she hoped to work with Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), an international humanitarian non-governmental organisation known for its projects in war-torn regions and developing countries affected by endemic diseases.
“They extend a helping hand to those who don’t have anyone else.”
She was provisionally accepted to study at six of the universities she applied to and is leaning towards the University of Pretoria. “The university invited me to spend a week there in October and I am inclined to study there.” Renata, an only child, said her biggest supporter was her mom, Shakilla, a financial consultant and single mother. Speaking of her daughter’s 9 As, Shakilla said: “I am overwhelmed and extremely excited.”