Finding ease in hardships

Occupational therapist (OT) and doctoral candidate Fadia Gamieldien will receive her PhD in psychiatry during the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) September 2025 graduation season. Her journey to this juncture in her academic career serves as a powerful example of resilience, purpose and unwavering dedication in the face of myriad personal and research challenges.

Fadia’s interest in occupational therapy and the relief it can provide people struggling with physical, cognitive or emotional challenges started at a young age. More than just helping people, though, the aspiring healthcare worker was motivated by her fascination with the various instruments that could be used to improve a patient’s outcomes.

“My grandfather on my dad’s side had a stroke when he was very young. Growing up, we always saw him in a chair, not mobile and unable to work. That was purely because of the limited access to rehabilitation at that time,” she recalled.

“My gran on my mom’s side also had rheumatoid arthritis, so she often came home with gadgets that the OTs had given her. These were assistive devices that help people to become more independent in their homes and everyday life.

“In our area of OT, it’s the people who are the assistive devices.”

“I’ve always loved gadgets and thought that it would be interesting to work in the OT field, where I’d be able to develop or improve these devices and therefore help to improve people’s lives.”

Fate – or qadr, as it’s known in Fadia’s Islamic faith – had other plans, however. During her clinical rotations, the trainee OT was placed at Valkenberg Hospital, where she was exposed to and nurtured a deep passion for mental health practice.

“I was placed at Valkenberg while I was studying and my first job was also at Valkenberg, and I’ve never looked back. It’s funny because as much as I’ve always loved gadgets, and still do, we don’t use any in mental health. In our area of OT, it’s the people who are the assistive devices,” she explained.

Returning to academia

After 12 years of career- and family-building, Fadia left full-time employment at the Department of Health and returned to UCT as a part-time member of staff in the Faculty of Health Sciences. Not long after being immersed in the academic environment, she decided to complete a master’s in OT.

“When you’re in the academic environment and you don’t have a postgraduate qualification, there’s lots of subtle encouragement for you to get one. I decided to get my master’s and graduated with that in 2015,” she explained.

Advanced degree in hand, Fadia then focused on fulfilling her duty to perform the Hajj, the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Sadly, just before she embarked on this mission, her father passed away suddenly.

Still somewhat shrouded in grief and returning from this cathartic religious experience, Fadia spoke with her sister, who was at the time completing her own PhD, and the seed for further study was planted.

“I started entertaining the idea, which I hadn’t done before. Then, in 2018, I was fortunate to get a three-year African Mental Health Research Initiative (AMARI) fellowship. I was placed at the Alan J Flisher Centre for Public Mental Health here at UCT and given the opportunity to focus on my PhD full time,” she said.

A roller coaster ride

While her sights were now firmly set on obtaining her PhD, Fadia’s pathway to becoming a doctor of philosophy would be more reminiscent of a roller coaster ride.

“I registered for my PhD in 2018, but I only got ethics approval in 2019. I did some data collection, but one of my objectives was to interview 300 service users across the City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality,” she explained.

“Just as I was about to do that, the pandemic hit and all face-to-face research was suspended. That meant I couldn’t go out to interview healthcare users. The nature of my data collection was also such that I couldn’t do anything online.

“The lockdown meant that people were really struggling, so I got involved in instituting a community action network in my area.”

“As I was still on study leave at that time, I redirected my energy into helping the community that I was living in. The lockdown meant that people were really struggling, so I got involved in instituting a community action network in my area.”

By 2021, restrictions had eased and Fadia was able to return to her studies – albeit without the AMARI funding, which had expired during the course of the lockdowns. Not one to be held back by this, the PhD candidate applied for and obtained a Bongani Mayosi Scholarship that would support her as she completed her research.

Unfortunately, this would not be the last challenge the OT had to overcome. In October, a month dedicated to raising awareness about both mental health and breast cancer, Fadia was diagnosed with breast cancer.

“It was an aggressive form of cancer that needed to be treated aggressively,” she said. “I had to have a mastectomy, chemotherapy, radiation therapy and reconstruction on my road to recovery.”

Faith as a compass

Throughout this journey, Fadia found her faith to be an anchor in her life, helping her stay on course while weathering the various storms she was facing.

“During that time, it was my Islamic faith that grounded me. It taught me patience and discipline. It taught me to trust my Creator’s plan. I think it was because of those values that I stayed committed to my goals, despite the challenges that I faced,” she explained.

“My identity as a Muslim woman was a source of resilience and it became a compass that guided how I approached my studies.”

“My identity as a Muslim woman was a source of resilience and it became a compass that guided how I approached my studies, how I approached my diagnosis, my work and my relationships, and the communities that I serve.”

As a mature, first-generation university student who came to academia later in life – not only due to the limited opportunities available to people of colour in South Africa in the early 90s, but also as a result of her desire to raise a family and uplift her community – Fadia can offer a simple yet significant piece of knowledge:

“We are all on our own timeline and it’s really not a race. You’re only in competition with yourself, where you were yesterday and where you want to be,” she said.

“One of my favourite verses from the Quran that gave me grounding in what I like to call a roller coaster journey is, ‘Surely with hardship comes ease.’ So, at the same time that you are going through difficulty, there’s also some ease. You might have to look for it, but for me, that was evident in this whole journey.”