For Mbali Ngcamu (62), the journey to graduation was nothing short of inspiring. Despite facing multiple challenges, including a visual impairment that cut short her career as a radiographer, ill health, and losing her home in devastating floods in KwaZulu-Natal, she has persevered in her determination to make the world better and more inclusive.
Her passion for understanding issues affecting local communities motivated her to pursue a postgraduate diploma in disability studies at the University of Cape Town and an MPhil in inclusive innovation, which she could not complete due to illness.
Furthermore, her quest for knowledge eventually led her to Stellenbosch University (SU), where she recently earned an MSc in food nutrition and security. Her thesis, “The effects of sauerkraut on human health, nutrition and food security: a review of the literature”, explores ways in which cabbage can be processed locally to improve food security and nutrition.
Ngcamu’s desire to help other women entrepreneurs pushed her to complete a BA in social sciences and a BCom in small business development. She even registered a company that advocates for the elimination of foods negatively affecting the gut.
Unwavering determination bears fruit
Her personal experimentation with fermented foods inspired her to study the impact of fermented food on the body and led her to her MSc research focus.
Despite her impaired vision, Ngcamu persevered with the help of SU’s disability unit, which provided her with the necessary assistive technology to convert articles into an accessible format.
Even after the devastating floods destroyed her home and laptop, she relocated to the Western Cape to complete her thesis with the help of her supervisor, Professor Gunnar Sigge, and the staff at the faculty of agrisciences.
Ngcamu’s unwavering determination is not limited to her academic pursuits. She set up a practice dealing with gut health and is working on a food bank project with the Technology Innovation Agency. Her future plans include commencing with a PhD in 2024.
“I was not ready to give up,” says Ngcamu, a true testament to the power of perseverance and resilience. “By taking our own health seriously and into our own hands by choosing what we eat, we can one day have a country free of malnourished children with stunted growth.”
READ NEXT: Byron takes agriculture to Atlantis community
Get Stories of Change: Inspirational stories from the people that feed Mzansi.
