Why Med Student Tshegofatso Took a Study Break for Life-Saving Volunteering

Rediscovering her “why” in the operating theatre, Tshegofatso put her books aside two days before a big test to work alongside doctors who would inspire her to be a physician defined by a commitment to compassionate care.

Cape Town, South Africa (09 April 2026) – When third-year University of Cape Town medical student, Tshegofatso Kgatse, found herself chasing distinctions and slowly losing the sense of why she wanted to become a doctor in the first place, she decided to step away from her study room and into an operating theatre just two days before her first assessment of the year!

Tshegofatso had signed up to volunteer with Project Flamingo the weekend before test week.

“And I have no regrets,” she says.

“When I told my friends I signed up to volunteer with Project Flamingo the weekend before test week, they looked at me like I was insane. Honestly, if you had told my second-year self the same thing, she probably would’ve thought I was crazy, too.”

But for Tshegofatso, the decision wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment one; it was deeply personal and motivated by wanting to reignite her passion for medicine and healing people.

She not only gained real-world experience but was humbled by the courage and inspired by the strength of the patients she encountered, bravely fighting breast cancer.

“This experience reminded me that my true purpose in this degree is to help and to serve. I cannot even put into words the fulfilment that I felt from simply being in the room where so many women’s lives were changed.”

Project Flamingo exists to provide swift, life-saving interventions for breast cancer patients. The nonprofit organisation bridges critical gaps in the Public Healthcare system by providing urgent surgeries, radiography, echocardiography, psychology, and diagnostic services.

Through involvement in The Flaminglets programme, medical students like Tshegofatso and young medical professionals gain firsthand experience in patient advocacy, learning the importance of standing up for those in need and providing empathetic care.

“As a woman in South Africa, I am perpetually affected by the discrepancies in our healthcare system. So, I want to extend my sincerest gratitude to Project Flamingo for providing a practical solution to a problem that claims the lives of thousands of women each day.”

Tshegofatso extended her appreciation to the two Anesthetic registrars she had the privilege of shadowing, Dr Jacobus and Dr Berzelius, whose willingness to teach and engage with all her questions was a kindness she will never forget.

With renewed purpose, Tshegofatso is determined now more than ever to become a doctor who teaches and treats with patience, empathy and compassion.

Sources: Project Flamingo

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