Meet Colliam: A Future Doctor in the Making

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My name is Colliam Kyatabankana, and I am a 23-year-old fifth-year medical student at the University of Zambia. Born and raised in the rural town of Kasempa, in the North-Western Province of Zambia, I have faced significant financial challenges throughout my life. My parents, peasant farmers, struggle to produce enough to even feed the family. Despite these obstacles, I excelled academically, graduating from Mpelembe Secondary School with distinctions in all nine subjects under a special scholarship program by the Zambian Conference of Catholic Bishops. I applied to pursue a Bachelor of Medicine and surgery (MBchB) at the university of Zambia and I was accepted but I was ineligible to apply for a bursary .This really threatened to derail my dreams.

I was on the verge of giving up when an anonymous doctor generously covered my first-year and part of second year tuition fees and he could not manage anymore due to the overwhelming responsibility. It was at this point that Dr. Kunj Desai reached out to me and he has since covered my tuition fees. I am deeply indebted to Dr. Desai for his kindness and generosity, which have enabled me to continue pursuing my medical degree. I aspire to specialize in plastic surgery after completing my internship, God willing.

Without Dr. Desai’s support, my dreams would have been impossible to achieve. As I look to the future, I am filled with gratitude and a sense of purpose. I hope to make a difference in my community, using my medical skills to improve the lives of those around me. I am living proof that with determination, hard work, and the support of kind-hearted individuals, anything is possible. Thank you very much,