How My Faith Led Me to Medicine

Dr Ethel Seleke is a doctor in the SA National Defence Force with the rank of captain. She told Daluxolo Moloantoa how her faith is the foundation of her vocation and life.

When the Church celebrated the Jubilee of Health Care Workers in April, Dr Ethel Miranda Seleke had a second opportunity to mark a special occasion relating to her work, following the Jubilee of the Armed Forces, Police and Security Personnel in February. Dr Seleke serves as a medical officer with the rank of captain in the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).

Her journey to the field of medicine was in great part inspired by her lifelong Catholic faith and her commitment to serve God.

It goes back to her name, Ethel, which she received at her baptism by Fr Wilfried Joye OMI at Calvary church in Ikageng, Potchefstroom. The name is associated with a narrative about a young woman who dedicates her life to Jesus (2 Corinthians 8:9). “From that moment, I resolved to give myself to him, committing to belong to him eternally,” Dr Seleke said.

She was born on October 12, 1972, the second of four children of Molefe Jonathan and Gladys Kedibone Seleke. Her father had once studied for the priesthood at St Paul’s Minor Seminary in Hammanskraal, near Pretoria. “Divine providence had different plans for him,” Dr Seleke noted. However, he would always remember his rector, Mgr Vincent Hill, after whom he named his first-born son.

In 1975, the family relocated to what was then the Bophuthatswana homeland, eventually settling in Mabopane, where the family joined the parish of Christ the King.

At the age of five, Ethel entered Tshimologo Primary School in Mabopane. “My catechism teacher was Mrs Tokelo. She was quite strict but excelled in imparting the teachings of catechism to us children. We often participated in excursions and attended various children’s events across the parishes within the archdiocese of Pretoria,” she recalled.

Growing up in the Church

Ethel was a member of the sodality of Masolenyana a Kriste Morena (Little Soldiers of Christ) at Christ the King church. This children’s organisation aims to enhance spiritual life by fostering a commitment to prayer, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, sharing the message of the Kingdom of God with other children, and engaging in acts of mercy for those in need.

As she moved from childhood into her teenage years, Ethel became a member of the Chiro Youth Movement, whose mission is to foster the spiritual development and identity of young people through evangelisation and involvement in ecumenical and community initiatives. “As a member of Chiro, I took part in various initiatives, primarily concentrating on home visitations alongside fellow members and our parish priest, to offer prayers for the elderly and ill parishioners of our parish.”

In 1988, Ethel was chosen, as part of a campaign by Bophuthatswana’s education department to identify the top middle school students, to enrol at the highly-rated Motswedi High School, where she matriculated in 1990.

She then studied medicine at the Medical University of South Africa (or Medunsa, now the Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University). At university, Ethel attended weekly Mass on Monday evenings. The Masses, for Medunsa students and staff, were celebrated by the late Stigmatine Father Michele D’Annucci or by Fr Victor Phalana, now the bishop of the diocese of Klerksdorp.

A divine calling

From a young age, Ethel knew that her future was in medicine. This determination was primarily shaped by two significant influences. Firstly, it was during the Mabopane township home visits which she went on as part of Chiro that she knew that her vocation was to help the sick.

Another incentive followed a bout of poisoning by a contaminated snack when Ethel was in middle school. “I spent several weeks in hospital recovering. During this period, despite my young age, I felt what I can only describe as a divine calling to pursue a career in the medical field, specifically as a medical doctor. Once I embraced this calling, I dedicated the remainder of my hospital stay to observing and learning about the medical environment, fully aware that my future lay within this profession,” she recalled.

Ethel also took inspiration from her cousin, Dr Magome Masike, who hails from Klerksdorp. In the 1980s, while he was a student at Medunsa, Magome frequently visited the Seleke home in Mabopane. Usually these were social visits, but Magome’s involvement as a student activist during the apartheid era occasionally compelled him to seek refuge at the Seleke home.

“Despite my young age, I was deeply intrigued by Magome’s academic journey and often asked him about his medical studies. He was always willing to share insights and knowledge regarding his education,” Dr Seleke recalled. Dr Masike went on to serve as the mayor of Klerksdorp and MEC for health in the North-West provincial government. Currently, he is the registrar and CEO of the Health Professional Council of South Africa.

Career as a doctor

After obtaining her medical degree in 1999, Dr Seleke began her career at HF Verwoerd Hospital, since renamed Steve Biko Hospital, in Pretoria. She subsequently served at Kalafong Hospital in Atteridgeville. She joined the SANDF Medical Health Services in 2012, assigned to the 1 Military Hospital in Thaba Tshwane, the military base in Centurion.

Shortly after her appointment, she found herself involved in a significant assignment. After the death on December 5, 2013, of Nelson Mandela — who had been receiving treatment for an extended period at 1 Military Hospital — Dr Seleke was part of a contingent from the SANDF Military Health Services assigned to the former president’s funeral in his hometown of Qunu, Eastern Cape.

“We travelled by military aircraft to the village a few days prior to the funeral. Our primary responsibility was to address any potential medical emergencies that might arise before, during and after the ceremony. Fortunately, no significant incidents occurred in this regard. We remained for an additional week following the funeral, assisting in managing the backlog of hospital cases at several rural hospitals in the vicinity of Qunu and Mthatha.”

Brush with history

Another brush with history came more recently. On October 7, 2023, Dr Seleke was on pilgrimage in the Holy Land. The group had just finished breakfast in their Tel Aviv hotel and were preparing to get on the bus for another day of exploring sacred sites when they observed children from the nearby school exiting in a state of chaos and noticed black smoke billowing into the sky from a short distance.

Soon they learnt of the Hamas attacks. “A prompt decision was made to evacuate us from the hotel and transport us to Tel Aviv airport, where we would board the next available flight home,” Dr Seleke recounted. The drive to the airport was adventurous as the bus encountered a roadblock set up by the Israeli Defence Force (IDF).

“We were requested to present our passports, along with our other travel documents. Subsequently, we were instructed to wait before being allowed to continue our journey to the airport. The delay lasted five hours, during which IDF personnel periodically entered the bus, repeatedly asking to see our passports and travel documents,” Dr Seleke recalled.

“Throughout most of this waiting period, we engaged in praying the rosary, imploring our heavenly Father to clear the way for us to reach the airport. Eventually, they granted us permission to proceed, and with a collective sigh of relief, we made our way to Ben Gurion Airport”. There the group still had to spend a night and most of the following day before finally heading home.

Daily prayer routine

Dr Seleke, mother to a 19-year-old daughter, Amukelani Nkohane, is now a dedicated parishioner of the church of the Beatitudes in Zwavelpoort, Pretoria, where she assists in the coordination of parish events, with a specific focus on medical services, especially the availability of ambulances for special occasions.

She maintains a life devoted to prayer. “I engage in prayer daily at six in the evening. I light candles in my home and recite the rosary from Monday through Sunday, whenever that is feasible,” she said.

She hopes that aspiring medical professionals will cultivate a genuine passion for serving others. “The most profound fulfilment comes from aiding your fellow human beings, irrespective of their race,” Dr Seleke said.

Published in the April 2025 issue of The Southern Cross