How medic hustled to pay for studies
Congolese doctor did odd jobs to survive
To make his childhood dream and promise to his mother that he’ll become a medical doctor, Yannick Leyka went to the extent of sleeping hungry in the 24-hour library at Wits University during his studies.
“I would sacrifice everything, including living in a residence and go without eating just to pay for my fees,” he said. The 27-year-old from Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was part of the class of 2018 medical students who graduated on Friday.
He said his mother moved him and some of his siblings to SA when he was still in primary school to find a better life. “My mom is in business and my dad is in politics back in the DRC. My mom had a small shop where she sells things from Congo and although my dad was in politics, he had been unemployed for the longest time,” Leyka said. He said obtaining his two degrees – a bachelor in science and his medical degree – was difficult because he was financially excluded twice and had to take time off to raise funds for his fees.
“I didn’t want to become a burden on my family. I took a year off when I should have been in my third year of my BSc to raise funds. “After that I started working and studying at the same time,” he said.
Leyka said after spending years juggling three part-time jobs and a tough curriculum, he was eventually part of a crowd-funding group that paid for his third year of medicine. “Whenever I wasn’t in class, I would work to make enough to pay off debt from the previous year and just enough for registration for the next year.” Leyka said he would work in retail, do promotional work, help scout for models and any other work that would bring in money.
“After that I got a bursary. I probably would have dropped out around that time because I was not coping,” he added. Leyka said his academic performance previously suffered because he was spending a lot of his time working to pay for his fees, but it improved after he received a bursary. “My mental health suffered, I was very depressed. I was not aware of the programmes at school. It was only in my second year of medicine that I realised what was wrong with me,” he said.
The young graduate said he was now waiting to hear which hospital he would be completing his internship at. However he has to wait until all South African graduates have been placed.
“It feels unreal. I don’t know how to describe it. I’m excited and hopeful that things will work out,” he said.