Living to serve others

Samantha Nobubele Mkandhla is the head of philanthropy and partnerships at Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders

What does Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) do, especially in Southern Africa?

MSF is a global network of principled medical and other professionals working in teams to respond to the medical needs of people affected by conflict, disasters and epidemics, as well as those excluded from health care.

We provide free medical care to people who need it and ensure our work is guided by medical ethics and the humanitarian principles of impartiality, neutrality and independence.

MSF runs projects in Southern African countries including Eswatini, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Lesotho. These projects have focused primarily on HIV/TB, health care for mobile and migrant populations, and sexual and gender-based violence (GBV), while also providing emergency medical care in areas affected by armed conflicts, epidemics, natural disasters and other crisis situations.

How did you get to work with MSF?

I live to serve, and MSF is my current channel to do so. I have always worked in channels where I served others, such as counter-human-trafficking, sexual and gender-based violence, women’s rights, entrepreneurship development and corporate social investment.

Access to health and emergency medical humanitarian work, via MSF, felt like an organic connection to my other work, as well as an opportunity for me to learn.

What do you do at work each day?

When I am not in meetings, I work hard to engage my team to ensure their task-related needs are supported, as well as fostering relationships with other colleagues. A lot of my work requires direct donor and stakeholder engagement, which is ongoing.

Apart from this, a lot of administration happens too, such as reporting and uploading documentation and information on our internal systems.

What do you enjoy most about your work?

The knowledge that the little I do contributes to the bigger global impact to improve the lives of others, regardless of how those problems came about. If I could, I would alleviate the effects of poverty and inequality, but I cannot, so I am purposefully and diligently making a difference where I can.

What did you want to be as a child?

A pilot, mainly because I was fascinated by aeroplanes, and I love to travel. However, we could not afford to pursue that, so my father asked me what my plan B was. I instinctively said law because I wanted to fight for people who cannot fight for themselves.

As a lawyer today, that remains my foundational goal.

What is the best career advice you have received?

To take all of me into every job, project, opportunity or other professional engagement, because owning who I am and presenting that at all times is where the power lies to truly make a difference, while also learning and growing.

What advice do you have for young people starting out in their careers?

To understand that the only constant thing in life is change and that the more open they are to this, the more opportunities they will have to learn, grow and be impactful leaders in the spaces they choose to operate in.