This is a guest blog post written by two of the Final Year Dental Students at Kamuzu University of Health Sciences – Chifundo Banda, BDS Year 5, President of the Dental Surgery Students Association, with input from George Kafera, BDS Year 5 Class President.
The 18th of May, 2024, was a big day for the Bachelor of Dental Surgery degree students at the Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, Mahatma Gandhi campus, Blantyre. Everyone was excited and had been looking forward to this day. Dentistry students from Lilongwe campus came all the way to Blantyre to witness the event. It was the day that we were officially welcoming the foundational year students into the programme.
The event was celebrated under the theme: ‘A happy mouth is worth taking action for‘.
The Organizing Committee, led by the Dental Surgery Students Association (DSSA) President, Chifundo Banda, made a wonderful job of organizing the event and ensuring that everything was in order. This included sourcing funds for the event, identifying guests, caterers, the venue, and everything that was needed. It was a great privilege to have a beautiful poster for the event made by our very own foundational year student, Nishat Sema. We also invited representatives from other programmes like Pharmacy, Medical Lab Science and Physiotherapy.
Dressed in black, dental students and all the invited guests started arriving at the John Chiphangwi Lecture Theatres and took their seats for the event. Some of the excited students are seen here …
In no time, the event started with a word of prayer by Emma Thawani who is in BDS Year 3.
The hosts for the event, Jaffar Manyozowho in BDS Year 1, commonly called Bleu, and Wezzie Nkhata who is in BDS Year 3, made sure that everyone was attentive and the function was interesting.
The audience enjoyed the special dance by Mr. Bleu in what he referred to as “showing them love”. The hosts prepared a good foundation for all those that spoke during the event.
The DJ, Luka Phiri, BDS Year 5 did an amazing job. He made sure that everyone was happy by playing modern and trending songs in Malawi:
Alinafe Makhumbo Gondwe, one of the foundational year students, represented her fellow premeds by speaking on behalf of them. She stressed that most of them do not know anything about BDS except removing teeth. She had been wondering how one can study just a tooth for 6 years. She thanked the DSSA executive for organizing this event since it answered most of their questions and motivated them in different areas.
George Kafera, a BDS Year 5 student and Class President for the BDS Year 5 …
and Williams Kumwenda, a BDS Year 4 student …
… gave a motivational talk to the students. They both emphasised tips that students can use to become successful in the BDS programme. They highlighted the importance of having a vision and goals. They also encouraged the other students to work hard and never give up, as the failures are the stepping stone to success.
The DSSA President, Chifundo Banda, who is in BDS Year 5, delivered a speech to the audience on behalf of the DSSA Executive.
It was well prepared, profound and on point. He started by congratulating all the premeds for choosing BDS. He emphasised that for them to achieve great things in life, they must go beyond the boundaries of their comfort, which is hard work. Therefore, they should be ready to embrace discomfort in order to unleash their potential. He thanked everyone who made this event a success through their financial support. These included Prof. Jeremy Bagg, Dr. Niall Rogerson, Dr. Peter Chimimba, Dr. James Mchenga, Dr. Yusuf Maundala, Dr J. Mlotha-Namarika and Mr. Innocent Bamusi among others. He thanked the DSSA community for entrusting him as their President and hence promised to deliver on their mandate. Previously, Chifundo served as a Secretary and also as a Treasurer for the Association.
To inform students of what dentistry is like in the outside world, there was a session in which the invited practising doctors were asked some questions on how students should prepare for work outside the classroom. The panellists were Dr. Shabana Yusuf …
… and Dr. Robert Mbianshu.
This session was very beneficial as the doctors clearly expounded what the students should be doing right now for the future. Students were encouraged to do more whilst they are students, as some mistakes they make now can be forgiven but not when out of the school. This session was co-hosted by Nivah Mwafulirwa, BDS Year 4 and Judith Magona, BDS Year 2.
It was a real honour to have Dr. Shabana Yusuf as our Guest of Honour. This is because she has been in practice for over two decades and is a part-time Lecturer in Orthodontics at the university. Besides, she owns her own private practice.
Her speech covered all areas on how to be a good student, why the BDS programme is a good choice and how one can prepare to have a private practice. She explained the various opportunities and different areas of specialisation that are available in the field of dentistry.
A special event was prepared to happily welcome the newly selected students. There was a cake decorated with dental stuff:
One of the premeds, Aubrey Gama, represented the rest in cake cutting together with the Guest of Honour:
Each foundational year student received a gift and photos were taken:
This was done to remind them how much we care for them.
Lastly, photos were taken with the Guest of Honour and different BDS Classes:
Everyone enjoyed their food while interacting with one another:
It was indeed a day to remember!
What a joyful and uplifting post this was to read. The photography is stunning and the enthusiasm and dedication of you all is palpable. I wish all the new Bachelor of Dental Surgery degree students much success with their studies, as they embark on this journey. You are so very fortunate to have such support and encouragement from your more mature cohorts and your lecturers. I wish I had been there for this obviously exciting and colourful event. It must have been wonderful. May you all be blessed on your journey.