Siyabulela Mkabile, a doctoral student in the Department of Psychology, has recently been awarded a Bongani Mayosi scholarship, which will allow him to complete his PhD studies.

The scholarship, named after world-class clinician and A-rated scientist Prof Bongani Mayosi, creates opportunities for deserving South African health practitioners to further their studies and research.

Mkabile, a senior psychologist in intellectual disability services at Alexandra Hospital, said he feels honoured to have received this accolade from the National Health Research Committee and the Medical Research Council.

“Development within my line of work is very important. This scholarship will ensure that I focus on my PhD and on retaining those skills and abilities required to improve my work as a public servant."

Mkabile's PhD research focuses on intellectual disability and specifically how the families and caregivers of those with intellectual disability are dealing with it, i.e. through their experiences and the kind of help they are seeking for their loved ones.

“There is still a lot of stigma out there about intellectual disability, because it is not something that is freely spoken about in communities. I am trying to do away with this stigma by trying to understand parents' experiences," he said.

But why the interest in intellectual disability specifically?

“People with intellectual disability resonate with me as a black South African growing up in the rural parts of the Eastern Cape, because they too know what it feels like to be neglected and they too struggle to access appropriate services. I feel this is the group in society that really needs professionals like me and the services we can offer," said Mkabile.

Born in the poverty-stricken Eastern Cape town of Cala, where very few of those he grew up with managed to overcome their circumstances, Mkabile knows very well the value of education in bringing about change. He credits his grandmother for instilling in him a commitment to education.

“My grandmother believed in education. She has always been my motivation and always encouraged me, even though she was not educated herself. Even now, doing my PhD, I'm thinking of her. But I also have to thank my mother, Nomalungelo. As a single mother and a domestic worker, she selflessly provided for me and the rest of the family."

When pressed to motivate what drives him to keep bettering himself, he said: “I just want to make sure I succeed, as I represent every rural child who finds it difficult to make it in life and who doesn't believe they can make it to university."

He said working on his PhD would not have been possible without his children and his wife, Dr Wanga Zembe-Mkabile, who holds the family together on top of her own scientific work.

He was also full of praise for his PhD supervisor at Stellenbosch, Prof Leslie Swartz of the Department of Psychology.

“He is like the father I never had – caring and understanding. I would not be able to do this without his guidance and support. He makes the whole PhD journey manageable. I feel lucky he agreed to supervise me," said Mkabile.

Swartz was just as complimentary: “Siyabulela brings to his PhD study not just his academic skills, but also his professional experience as a clinical psychologist and his own experience as a black isiXhosa-speaker in Cape Town," he said. “All his interviews with research participants have been conducted in a language they both share and with a shared understanding of cultural norms, social exclusion and prejudice, and the daily realities of living in a city that was not designed for the needs of individuals and their families.

“It is well established that there is a strong relationship between rates of disability and poverty, so the burden of disability is greater among poorer people. When these people seek care, however, it remains the case in Cape Town that there are few professionals who can speak their language and who have experience of their context. This, of course, has implications for the quality of care. The work Siyabulela is doing is an important contribution to righting a series of historical imbalances."​