S Sekoati: Third Auxiliary Nurses Certificate Award Ceremony

16 March 2007

Programme Director
The Executive Mayor of Vhembe
The Honourable Mayor of Thulamela Municipality
Head of Department: Dr J Dlamini
Head of Health Branch: Dr Nkadimeng
Head of Social Development Branch: Mr Mogane
Principal of the Nursing Colleges
Chief Executive Officer
Senior Managers
Councillors
Graduates
Ladies and gentlemen

This graduation ceremony takes place two weeks after the Nursing Education
and Training in Mokopane. The occasion also takes place at time when there is a
shortage of health professionals. Today we are proud to announce that the
department is awarding 318 candidates who satisfied the South African Nursing
Council requirement for enrolment as Auxiliary Nurses. They represent a 92%
pass rate. With the opening of the two campuses in Sekhukhuni and Waterburg
this year, we expect the numbers to double in future.

The department initiated the programme of Auxiliary Nurse Training as a
poverty alleviation programme in 2003, taking students from needy families.
What makes this occasion special is that the graduates' achievement is a
success to what we initiated and most of all it is a relief to the backlog and
strain experienced by health workers in our institutions, in particular
nurses.

The Health Department National Strategic Plan's key priority is to restore
the dignity of our people by improving the quality of our Health Care system.
This occasion serves as testimony and a step towards restoring that dignity and
in so doing we are at the same time pushing the frontiers of ill-health and
poverty in this province.

In congratulating you I would like to thank the Nursing Directorate, the
principal and vice principals, tutors, nurses and all those who were involved,
for the sterling work you have done in ensuring that these graduates are well
skilled and ready to do their work as Auxiliary Nurses. The process of
identifying vacancies in institutions, identifying and selecting students,
formations of selection committees, working with councillors, mayors, social
workers, religious leaders and many others, was laborious but we can now look
back with pride. Let us go and work as a team and improve on what we have
already started because we have taken a step in the right direction.

To you graduates, your life and that of your families will change and we
hope that you will occupy your rightful place in your communities. The people
you are going to serve have expectations from you and you need not fail them.
You are celebrities today because of your commitment, determination and
continued motivation to achieve your goal of becoming Auxiliary Nurses. Nurses
are the backbone of our national healthcare strategy.

I am confident that you will make your mark by serving our communities with
dignity and respect. Your skills as Auxiliary Nurses will contribute
significantly to our efforts to promote good health and manage various diseases
affecting our communities.

Lastly, take note that learning does not stop with graduations, it is
on-going and you still have a lot to learn as nurses. You are going to work
under an ever-changing environment and you therefore need to be prepared to
learn, to be flexible and aspire to be multi-skilled in your profession.

Once again let me take the opportunity to congratulate you for your
achievements as Auxiliary Nurses and we are looking forward to your
contribution in a better life for all.

I thank you

Issued by: Department of Health, Limpopo Provincial Government
16 March 2007
Source: Limpopo Provincial Government (http://www.limpopo.gov.za/)