Page 8 - UKZN Foundation AR 2023

Medical student Ms Nokubonga Sabela uses the Prodigi Connect device.
EXTRAORDINARY MEDICAL STUDENT
BREAKS BARRiERS WiTH BRiLLiANCE
In the bustling corridors of UKZN, one medical student stands out not just for her academic excellence but for her incredible resilience in the face of adversity. Ms Nokubonga Sabela is a young woman with oculocutaneous albinism (visual impairment) with nystagmus. She has defied the odds to excel in her medical studies with the help of a ground-breaking assistive device, the Prodigi Connect.
Through funds raised by the UKZN Foundation, the device was donated to the University’s Disability Support Unit (DSU). The device is a combination of a tablet with specialised software and a stand that enables her to magnify and read textbooks and notes with ease. It has also significantly reduced the strain on her eyes, often caused by reading textbooks with shiny pages for extended periods of time.
The device’s camera feature, when connected, allows Sabela to zoom in on what is projected in lecture halls, ensuring she doesn’t miss any crucial information during presentations. With the Prodigi Connect, she navigated her academic challenges with confidence, making her an exceptional and top-performing medical student.
Sabela, who comes from rural Eshowe, would often sit closer to the chalkboard to see and take notes during high school. She didn’t have the means to get a proper diagnosis. Her family’s financial constraints also meant she received glasses at a later age, exacerbating her visual impairment.
Despite being an exceptional student at Velangaye High School in Nkandla and getting early acceptance into UKZN to study medicine, she found herself academically excluded in her second year because of poor performance. This was due to her visual impairment that she silently struggled with.
6 UKZN FOUNDATiON ANNUAL REPORT 2023