Dr Solomon Lefakane,Paediatrician

My dream as a child was not career driven but rather driven by the desire to escape poverty. At 18 I was compelled to plan my career path while at Orlando High School in 1954 when I started my matric year. The group of maths and science students that I joined had to excel to be eligible for university entry via the annual school principal’s scholarship program. My poor family financial situation compelled me to study diligently. It resulted in my being selected to receive a Johannesburg City Council appointment to be a pupil civil engineer training for participation in the Soweto Housing Division in 1956 and receiving a City Council scholarship to study civil engineering at Wits University where I qualified as the first black engineer in South Africa in 1961