Woman on top – Dr Portia Gumede
DR PORTIA GUMEDE, 42, has become one of the leading medical aesthetics professionals in South Africa. She says when you educate a girl, you really do educate the nation.
Imagine an eight-year-old girl, waking up very early to catch a bus to school. Home is a two-room house in Clermont, a township in Durban. The school’s on the other side of town, in the leafy suburb of Musgrave. Now, imagine her in her new offices in Hyde Park – an exquisite skincare oasis with a white and gold theme.
How did an ambitious black girl move from the semi-rural dusty streets of Clermont to owning a practice in upmarket Jozi? Education. “My parents didn’t have money, but they wanted my siblings and I to have a better life. They applied for bursaries, and I was fortunate enough to win one from the Mercury newspaper. That’s how I got into Durban Girls’ College,” says Dr Portia Gumede. She recalls the first day at school and the culture shock she experienced. “There were tarred roads, double-storey homes and palm trees, while back home, you’d see goats and cows roaming the streets.” Besides having to take a different bus to school – hers was green, which transported passengers back into the township, while that of her classmates was blue and took them back to their homes in suburbs – young Portia had to make do with hand-me-down uniform. “I was that kid who got her uniform from the school’s second-hand shop. The only time I got a new blazer and tunic was when I became deputy head girl!”
The aesthetics specialist says she threw herself into schoolwork and played different sports so she could succeed. “I never felt inferior
I never felt inferior to anybody at school. I felt like an equal. It shaped how I viewed the world.”
to anybody at school. I felt like an equal. It shaped how I viewed the world. Back in the 1980s and 90s, there’d be riots for a week at a time, which meant I couldn’t get to school. So my classmates’ parents would take me in, and look after me so I didn’t have to miss class. My parents didn’t have to worry about my safety. I’m still friends with those classmates.”
On how she became attracted to medicine, she says: “My mom was a nurse, and she looked after my ill grandmother. I used to feel helpless. That’s why I studied medicine. I was able to make it through varsity with a bursary from the KZN Health Department.” It’s while studying for her BSc that Dr P, as she’s affectionately known, fell in love with skin. “It’s the biggest organ in our body; it protects us and the organs inside and regulates our temperature. When a person sees you, it’s the skin they see first. After I completed the degree and served my internship, I decided I’d specialise in dermatology and aesthetics.” After graduating in 2001 she worked at a number of hospitals in KZN, which include King Edward Hospital, KwaDabeka Clinic and Saint Mary’s Hospital. “I got to do a little bit of everything, from primary healthcare up to practising at the specialised Albert Luthuli Hospital.”
In 2010, life changed even more: she got married and left for Joburg. She and her husband started a family and she became a stay-at-home mother of three. “Don’t get me wrong – I was happy. Motherhood’s a different mode – it’s a tough job, but I enjoyed it. I wasn’t totally out of the workforce, I ran my family’s foundation, which means a lot to me.”
She’s referring to the Robert Gumede Family
Keni Foundation, established to support vulnerable communities that lack resources. “We support a lot of educational campaigns because it’s one of my biggest passions. We offer bursaries to kids who are academically gifted but lack the funds to go to school.
They can study wherever and whatever they want so they can excel.”
Around 2015, Dr P decided it was time to go back to work, but this time, she’d do things her way. She enrolled for an aesthetic medicine diploma through the American Academy of Aesthetic Medicine. “I attended classes and did courses around the world to learn from the best. This industry is very whitedominated; we need to get more black doctors. More importantly, we need to educate more black people about the possibilities that exist in the medical field.”
That’s where her practice, Dr. P Aesthetics Lifestyle Centre, which opened in 2016, comes in. The centre provides a holistic approach to medical aesthetic treatments. It has tailor-made treatments such as skin analysis, chemical peels and rejuvenation. In relation to her field, Dr P says there are big misconceptions about aesthetics. “You’ll hear things like ‘Aesthetics is only for white people’ or ‘Black people don’t need sunscreen’.” She becomes very animated when talking about skin – something she’s very passionate about. “Even on a cloudy day, we need to wear sunscreen because the light rays are harmful.” She then preaches the gospel of drinking water, limiting alcohol and avoiding pigmentation, a big problem for black people.
And how did she manage to shift from being a medical practitioner to starting her own business? “I wanted to be independent! I wanted to prove, especially to black girls, you can do it! I made all the decisions – from sourcing the personnel to choosing the décor and dealing with construction companies. I learnt to be assertive and to trust my intuition. It’s tough but it’s been so worth it.” In the future, Dr P says she’d love to open up more branches around the country. “But for now, everything I do is for my kids. I love spending time with my family, they’re such fun people.” However, it’s giving back that makes Dr P smile even more. “We love to give back to disadvantaged kids. We really need to push education, especially for black girls. If you educate a girl, you really do educate the nation.” Who better to say that than Dr P? She’s living proof that education can help create more #blackgirlmagic.