“Mental health is equally important as physical health, we need more awareness.” – Dr. Boitumelo Makaulule.
Dr. Boitumelo Makaulule also called Dr. Tumi a virtuous woman born in Bloemanda Bloemfontein in the Free State, she grows up in a Christian-bound family with her parents and her sibling, she is also a wife and a mother. Dr. Tumi attended Christian Brothers College (CBC) in Bloemfontein from grade R until she completed her matric. Thereafter, she went to the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg where she embarked on her journey as a medical student and later obtained her qualification as a doctor.
Dr. Boitumelo’s passion for people started back in High school, where she was equipped with leadership skills, and that nurtured her love for people. Being head-girl and president of outreach that increased her interaction with other students and eventually made her fall in love with people and understanding the differences and indifferences that people possess. Even though her father is also a doctor the factors that influenced her career path were nothing other than her love for the human body. She added that her father advised her not to go into medicine, however, because she had already made up her mind about what she actually wanted she went for it regardless. Her journey was not an easy one, but she managed to toil irrespective of her circumstances because she had already envisioned her future. While studying towards her degree she did her internship with East Rand Eye institution for two years, and one year with South rand hospital.
Dr. Tumi’s advice for girls and women across the globe is to have goals, you do not just dream about things, but you find a way to execute your dreams by having attainable goals. Meaning, as a person you should have specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timed goals. Ladies should remember that nothing can be done without hope and confidence, therefore, anything is attainable in life you must be fully invested in your goals.
Dr. Boitumelo has partnered with Libreese SA and she describes the relationship as an amazing partnership and hopes it is a continuous one, given that the brand advocates for issues she strongly believes in. For instance, women’s periods should stop being regarded as taboo and such things should be addressed without fear or feeling embarrassed. Every woman can relate to the womb-stories depicted in the campaign even though experiences may differ from person to person, but women can attest to it.
Her take on mental health is that we need more awareness, she said “Mental health is equally important as physical health, and we need more awareness.” Consuming and taking everything in with a notion that people are strong should stop, in as much as people take their physical health seriously the same should be done with mental health. Her advice is to seek help, it can either be from a psychologist but if you cannot afford one public hospital offers services such as counselling and social workers are available. She added, it is important to journal, writing things down helps.
In conclusion, Dr. Tumi is indeed a Bloem girl that rocks coming from Bloemfontein and making waves is Johannesburg is an inspiration to young girls indeed and congratulations to her pertaining her partnership with Libresse SA may she attain more and continue to inspire girls.
