“Newcastle is a fast-growing centre and I like the fact it doesn’t only remind me of home but also feels like home,” said Mr Lunganathi Hose who was placed at Madadeni Hospital in the town for his Physiotherapy community service.

Hose fell in love with the area when he did Decentralised Clinical Training (DCT) programme stints at Newcastle and Madadeni hospitals during his undergraduate years. He graduated in 2018 and said that community service gave him the opportunity to work hands on before qualifying.

“My DCT programme experience was very rewarding. My best memory was a community project at Asimuthande School in Newcastle. They invented an indoor game for blind learners called ‘go ball’ which involved playing catch with a ball that had sound and players had to follow the sound to catch it.

“We also did a play for the learners and they sang for us.”

 Hose plans to return to UKZN to complete his master’s degree.