How volunteering shaped this learner’s purpose

BEYOND the pressures and challenges of the matric year, one experience reshaped Anya Oommen of Crawford International Pretoria’s sense of purpose entirely.

- MASABATA MKWANANZI

While academic demands tested her resilience, it was her family’s community service at a children’s home in Buccleuch that emerged as the most defining highlight, exposing her to the harsh realities faced by neglected and abused children and igniting a lasting commitment to service and medicine.

Reflecting on her academic year, Anya described it as demanding yet ultimately rewarding. She said navigating three major exam periods, the June exams, preliminary examinations and final IEB assessments, required discipline, endurance and mental strength, particularly in subjects she found most challenging, including Further Studies Mathematics, Physical Sciences and Music.