Hi, my name is Mzamo Ntanjana, also known as 'Teddy-bear' or 'M-zet' around the clinic.

I am the only child from my mother and father, despite the fact that there were 15 other children on my father's side (three of whom are still alive). My mother raised me in the absence of my father.

I grew up in an impoverished family, and life compelled me to live alone at the age of 14 when my mother found a job as a Domestic Worker, almost 200 kilometers away from my hometown in Umzimkulu, KZN.

After finishing matric, I had to hustle because I didn't have sufficient funds to continue my education. I worked as a sliding door operator of a Taxi, a Taxi Driver, a Construction Worker, a Marketing Representative, a DJ, and a Videographer. I took every cent to pay for my fees at Esayidi TVET College.

My first clinical trial experience was in 2017, whilst working at Ekhaya Vac in Khayelitsha, as a Data Capturer on the HVTN702 study. Due to my dedication to my profession, I ended up going into Quality Control and Query Resolving. I worked there for 5 years and then an opportunity presented itself to work as a Data Administrator at the Emavundleni, DTHF Research Site. I worked there for two years but like they always say, ‘there’s no place like home’ so I returned to Khayelitsha in 2024 to work at the Vuka Research Clinic as a Research Administrative Assistant.