FEATURED ARTICLES
A YOUNG GIRL
FROM MARAPYANE
TO A LADY CONCURRING THE WORLD
Growing up in an environment which offered little to no chance of advancement pushes one to explore what she wants to be and who she wants to be remembered as. Marapyane, one of the country’s most rural and underdeveloped villages, produced the remarkable Lesego Molai popularly known as Leah M. Molai. To become one of the best in her field of study (Biomedical Technology) she had to love and accept herself and her village. But who is Leah M. Molai?
Mothibi Setlhanka
mothibis@thevillagemag.co.za
08 August 2020
A young energetic girl from Marapyane, Mpumalanga; who started her early schooling years in Patrick Mankolane Primary School in 1995; in the same village, was fortunate enough to complete her high school years at an English-medium school called Settlers Agricultural High School in Settlers; Limpopo. This is where she experienced her first failure, and that is when she learned to build her own character and understand the most important life lesson which is when you fail in anything you do in life, you have to pick yourself up; dust yourself off and press the restart button. Most people don’t know this about her, but she failed her Grade 11 English midterm exams which meant she failed the whole semester. Luckily through perseverance she managed to pull through and pass her final year exams “Fast forward to Grade 12 I was awarded with the Best in English certificate” explained Leah.
Upon completion of her matric, she went to study Biomedical Technology at the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT), Leah M. Molai is a proud Cum Laudè alumnus of TUT having graduated three (3) times from the same university. She holds a National Diploma, Baccalaureus Technologiae (BTech) and a Master’s Degree all from TUT. Biomedical Technology is the application of engineering principles to the fields of biology and health care, these are the guys that test everything from the human body. During the Covid-19 pandemic these are the guys that work in the laboratories and are continuously working around the clock to diagnose patients and aid in containing the spread of the virus by determining who has been exposed to ensure quarantining and self-isolation, while others in the field are involved in clinical trials and research for the much-anticipated vaccinations. The jolly mother of two, who during her Master’s studies specialized in Tissue Engineering which mainly involved osteoarthritis and how to regenerate knees that are unable regenerate themselves.
Upon completion of her board exams, Leah decided to specialize in Clinical Pathology – this is a multidisciplinary field which includes amongst others Chemical Pathology, Haematology, Microbiology, Serology, and Molecular Biology.During her university studies she worked as a part time lecturer and this afforded her the opportunity to discover something amazing about herself, the love of teaching and helping others grow and reach new heights in their lives. It was after passing her board exam that she then ventured into Chemical Pathology she scored the highest marks (distinction) and then decided to specialize in it.TUT then later made her an offer of a part time lecturer mainly focusing on preparing students for board exams, an offer she could not refuse as it offered her two main satisfactory reasons 1.Teaching and helping others pass their exams and 2. Seeing people from destitute families actually earning a qualified’s salary and not just a student salary which allowed them to provide from themselves and their loved ones, that is what made her love teaching which is something she tells us that she still loves dearly.
She held multiple positions which included being a Technical Trainer which means she still continued to train junior laboratory personnel, she was on the TUT advisory board and an external moderator for the institution. To date she works as an Application Specialist in Immunology which is basically a study of how the human immune system produces antibodies to fight against foreign substances (viruses and or bacteria’s).
She held multiple positions which included being a Technical Trainer which means she still continued to train junior laboratory personnel, she was on the TUT advisory board and an external moderator for the institution. To date she works as an Application Specialist in Immunology which is basically a study of how the human immune system produces antibodies to fight against foreign substances (viruses and or bacteria’s).
To succeed in the lab Leah has told us that one has to be strategic and “do these three (3) key things 1. decide to be an outcast 2. get a mentor and 3. be able to do the things that nobody wants to do”.
Her job has allowed her to travel the world, she has been to multiple places like Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Nigeria, Germany etc. had it not been because of her job, she believes she would have not been able to travel and sleep at those five (5) star hotels that she has visited so far. According to her recollection; from Marapyane she has inspired Boikanyo Matseke from Ntoane section, and many others from TUT especially those she met during the career guidance (Open Day).
She has had her fair share of failures; one notable is the Onyx Hair in Marapyane which has a building in Marapyane, the project failed but she never let that bring her down. Today she has authored a book called The Secret to Success for Medical Technology and Training Book, the book is available from her website https://leahmolai.com/as well as on Amazon. She has also started her own clothing line called Leah M. Molai, she does workshops, mentorships and continues to share more about the industry on her social media platforms and guides those who are ready for change and are willing to invest in themselves. Leah said that “As a result of my coaching sessions, my clients get to identify their purpose in life; live their best lives and flourish in their personal and professional lives.” Leah is a blessing to many and a breadth of fresh air!
We really wish Leah M. Molai and others in the Biomedical Technology industry as well as other medical professionals all the best especially now with the fight against this deadly novel coronavirus. It took her ten (10) years of blood (literally she works with blood), sweat and tears to get to where she is today, that is something amazing and as we celebrate women’s month in August, we celebrate strong women such as herself.