Health not Wealth is important
SUNNINGHILL - Sunninghill resident Faith Xoliswa Ndamse is a semi-finalist in the Mrs South Africa competition.
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Ndamse is a loving wife and mother with a prosperous career as Programme officer of the Lilly multi drug resistant TB partnership. She believes that the pageant will provide her with an opportunity to become a health ambassador.
She said “We have ambassadors for so many things and for so many brands, but nobody is focusing on health. We have ambassadors for specific diseases but none for overall health”, rather than focusing on a specific disease or illness she believes that “prevention is better than cure” and that a healthy lifestyle will prevent many of the health problems in South Africa.
Born in the Mawu-Mawu township, on the outskirts of Cape Town, she was raised in the Eastern Cape in Mdantsane. After matriculating she attended the University of the Western Cape (UWC) to study a degree in BPharm. While things seemed to be moving up she faced a great challenge when her bursary ran out in her fourth year. Ready to face the challenge head on, she entered and won the Miss UWC beauty pageant which helped her pay the rest of her tuition so that she could finish her degree.
After moving back to Cape Town and working 12 years for a number of multi-national pharmaceutical companies, she visited Eastern Cape and noticed the appalling conditions in which many people in rural areas are forced to live in.
“I believe that the major hurdle in terms of health in South Africa is the lack of infrastructure in many areas and the lack of health facilities available to many people” she explained.
The Mrs South Africa pageant will provide her with a perfect platform to educate citizens on health issues and Faith has searched for many avenues such as social media and radio to share her voice with the people.
To vote for Faith or learn more about her views on health issue in South Africa:
SMS Faith to 35959
Or Follow her on Twitter – @Ndamsefx