Two underprivileged Young Women Receive life-changing Surgeries

Kanego Lewele

POLOKWANE: Department of health through its Rural Health Matters outreach is once again, continues to restore hope to the hopeless, and vulnerable community.

For instance, Tshwarelo Prescious Machubeng, and Dineo Maunatlala (19 and 28 years old women respectively) are among those who received critical medical procedures during recent outreach held from 21 to 29 June 2025 in Mopani District, in Limpopo. Prior this rural health matters outreach, both Tshwarelo, and Dineo found themselves in dire conditions which completely isolated them from the real world.
Tshwarelo was forced to put her dreams on hold after completing her grade 12 due to a large abnormal facial growth that also severely affected her dental alignment, since 2023. The condition, which caused her immense emotional distress, shattered her self-confidence and kept her from pursuing further education.

"I was afraid to go out in public," said Tshwarelo. "I completely withdrew from people, because I could not imagine walking into a lecture room looking the way I did. But now, after the surgery, I feel like I can breathe again."
With her self-esteem restored, Tshwarelo is now ready to apply for tertiary studies and resume her educational journey. "I think going forward I will be able to live a normal life like any other person, and all thanks to Limpopo department of health for the swift intervention."She added.
Similarly, Dineo had been silently battling a rare and painful condition with complication of congenital foot deformities. For years, she carried the burden of enlarged breast tissue weighing up to 3.3 kilograms, affecting both her physical health and quality of life.
Following a successfully rural health matters outreach, Dineo successfully underwent the much-needed procedure known as Post-Bilateral Breast Reduction which she describes as “a new lease of life."

According to Health MEC Ms Dieketseng Mashego the main objective of this week-long outreach, which (comprise a multidisciplinary team of medical specialists) is to bring quality healthcare services to underprivileged communities, mostly children, women and elderly people living in rural areas.
MEC Mashego commends all the volunteers who participated, and says it is because of their collective commitment that the rural health matters continue to play a pivotal role in transforming lives of the vulnerable in remote communities. "My gratitude goes to each and every health professional whose efforts contributed towards the success of this outreach." Mashego emphasises.

The following is statistics of rural health matters outreach at Mopani District, per surgical departments, Orthopaedics: 35; ENT: 23, Maxillo-facial: 13, Plastic Surgery: 4, Paediatric Surgery: 14, Urology: 25.