'A dream is a dream': the man who refused to give up

Solomon Lefakane longed to become a doctor, but apartheid South Africa tried to stop him. He lived through the early years of apartheid as the government imposed racist and discriminatory laws. Despite the challenges, he excelled at school and gained a rare scholarship to go to university. But he had to take a different career path because the only scholarships available to Black students were to study civil engineering. Solomon took up the opportunity, reluctantly accepting the condition that he would later work for a forced relocation programme that he himself had been a victim of. He soon left the country for neighbouring Swaziland and then the US, but never forgot his dream of studying medicine.

(A longer version of this interview was first broadcast in July 2023)

Presenter: Jo Fidgen
Producer: Rob Wilson

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(Photo: Solomon being honoured on a university wall of fame in 2022. Credit: Pedro Ridwan)