At her class's 50-year reunion in April 2025, Dr Joan Louwrens welcomes her classmates to the cocktail party and commemorates colleagues who have passed.  

Classmates of the Medical Class of 1975, 

Thank you for making the effort to come to this — our 50th reunion. 

Welcome to this home in Rondebosch where my daughter, Mary, and her family now live, and where I once lived and reared my children. We gathered here 30 years ago for a similar function. It just seemed appropriate that we should return, remember and celebrate life. 

In 1975, there were 142 of us graduating. Twenty-four of that number have died…16%. Before I name them, so we can think of them, I need us to think of another 16% of our class who need to be remembered. I refer to the group, represented by Asgar Kalla, with whom as a reluctant class rep. I had many deliberations. UCT, well ahead of its political time, admitted these aspiring young doctors, despite the despicable law of the land. You were in our class. Thank you. Some of you are here tonight, but you never did feel that you fully belonged in the class. You suffered discrimination and hardship. Perhaps, every day, you died just a little bit. But against these odds and the deep divisions, you emerged, together with the rest of our class, as highly trained, highly regarded, sought-after physicians. Here, we are equal, and I thank our teachers and mentors for this precious gift. We have all benefited hugely from it and contributed to our dear country and globally to the medical profession. 

It is a sad fact that we have all probably got to know each other better during the course of the four reunions we have attended than while at varsity. During the years at medical school, it seems that few (except perhaps me as class rep.) knew all the names of our class. Many of us were guilty of insensitivity, or simply a lack of will to reach out across a racial divide. For this, I am deeply sorry. 

Now, 50 years later, we stand proud of our country, well-qualified and we are one. My wish is that all of us continue with the healing process, on a personal and country-wide level. Let’s reach out, add understanding, assistance of any sort, to achieve a just and equitable society with a good health care system for all. This, while the world around us seems to be hell-bent on sowing division.  

Thank you for your attention. As class rep. for 55 years, I felt a small entitlement to snatch two minutes of your time! 

I will now ask Dinky Levitt to light the candle of remembrance for those who have passed, but also for anyone who has suffered loss and who needs a kind thought and healing.