I recently had the privilege to sit and chat with one the most influential women in the LGBT community – Dr Dulcy Rakumakoe. We had an 11am meeting scheduled at the bustling and European style influenced Melrose Arch which is known for its high end fashion stores and café culture where many indulge in unique shopping and culinary experiences.

 

Many words can describe Dr Rakumakoe and after her inspiring talk I could sum her up as one the most business savvy gurus of our lifetime. Dr D, as many have fondly come to refer to her, graduated from the University of Witwatersrand with her first qualification which was her Medical Degree. She reminisced about her childhood in a township outside of Pretoria (Hammanskraal) known as Temba.



Growing up was not glitz and glam she recalled. She took me on a journey of her upbringing; the many influences that played a critical role in her strong business sense.  As any teenager Dr D loved Brands and branded clothing but unfortunately could not afford such luxuries as she did not come from a wealthy home. In order to attain such lavishes she became business orientated and started selling various things in the form of “ice-blocks” and sweets to her school mates and peers to gain extra change to acquire her desired shoe or branded jean. 



In varsity it was even more difficult as the pressures to keep up with the trends grew heavier. Dr D bid to run her residence tuck-shop at the University and managed to secure this deal for three consecutive years which. In one year, at the University, she concurrently ran a pub and this was her first exposure to the entertainment business. She spent great time analysing human behaviour and entertainment – she could ascertain what worked and what did not work at that early stage.



She finally graduated and got her Medical Internship in a very quiet and forlorn town of Klerksdorp. She recalled grappling with the deadening quotidian of the “9 to 5” work conditions and most importantly the substantial low income from her internship. Her business sense kicked in and she realised she needed to earn extra income to sustain her fast-paced lifestyle. She started using her experience from her recent past in establishing entertainment for the town, networking with all kinds of entertainers in the Johannesburg area which grew her pull of entertainers and insight into the entertainment industry. She hosted numerous events for the Klerksdorp community. This created an impression about her at work and she was assigned further away from Klerksdorp to a deader town known as Vryburg in a village known as Ganyesa.   Dr D decided to acquaint herself with Vryburg. She would commute to the quiet town regularly to keep herself busy from time to time. She described Vryburg as quite a backward town; there was not even a single black doctor in that community. On one of her drives she noticed one of the most disturbing situations she had ever witnessed which she described as most inhumane. People were queuing in the street to consult with one of the doctors who consulted from his car from time to time where he did physical checks out in the open. She was alarmed at the proportion of violation she saw and immediately recognised an opportunity to open a Private Practice. She realised that she needed to familiarise herself with the people of Vryburg and met a friend she tenderly called Bobby. Bobby was an ordinary man from Vryburg, charming, very humble and quite known in the community. He would rub shoulders with the “who’s who” of the town which he later introduced Dr D to. Bobby helped Dr D find a place to open her first business and assisted her in marketing her Practice, which at the time did not exist. He managed to convince people that a young, vibrant and black doctor was going to assist in helping out the community. On the first day of her opening she had about ten clients and this did not dishearten Dr D. She made me realise the importance of people in any business or entrepreneurial venture. The importance of networking and its power is beyond any textbook knowledge. This was her first lesson in the business playing field. The following week her 10 clients translated to sixty people and that was the beginning of something great.

Aside from her involvement in the medical field she found a ladies soccer team in Vryburg that she decided to manage and play with. She became the teams goalkeeper and their medical doctor. She was blown away by the teams spirit, passion and commitment. She then sought to get this team in a woman’s league. She contacted SAFA in the North West and fought to get her team finally registered with SAFA. In her many battles she encountered a man called Mr Monnkgotla who was the head of SAFA during that period.

Dr D is one woman who is not a friend of complacency. When she felt she had reached her career ceiling in Vryburg she sold her Practice and moved back to the Gauteng region. She acquired a Practice in Caltonville that had been previously run by a Afrikaaner man. She spent some time assessing the Practice and was highly concerned about the impact of her taking over as she was a young black female who was about to run this Surgery. A month before working there she would park outside the place to ascertain the kind of people who would visit the Practice. 90% of the people who would go there were black and refused to see the other black doctors that resided in the area. She spoke to the doctor who ran the place and asked if she could work with him two weeks before she took over. People’s perceptions warmed up to Dr Rakumakoe as they believed there must have been something extraordinary for her to be working with a Afrikaaner man. This initial perception was changed by her ability to actually execute her work exceptionally.

She made me aware of the significance of her many fights with Mr Monnakgotla. He had received a call from SAFA who were looking for a medical doctor for the South African Soccer Squad familiarly known as Banyana Banyana. She became the doctor for Banyana Banyana in the years 2008 to 2010. Whilst working as the doctor for the team she decided to further her studies and took up a Masters course in Sports Medicine. She felt she needed to empower herself more in this regard and pursued this qualification; her greatest motivation being the soccer world cup in 2010. In the same breath she had heard that there was great pay in the Mining Industry in the avenues of Occupational Health and she decided to also pursue this diploma qualification at the same time. In my honest disbelief I asked her when she would find the time to sleep as she had been doing so many things all at once – she humbly looked at me and told me she really did it and laughed. She later completed all her studies and managed to get a stint with a giant company in South Africa known as Transnet for Occupational Therapy. She would spend two hours at Transnet and the rest of her day running her Surgery. In one of her consultations with a patient she was asked if she knew anyone who had studied Occupational Health for a mining company which she managed to negotiate a better wage at. This was yet again another path that contributed substantially to her growth.

When 2010 came she was called again to come and be one of the doctors at the Soccer World Cup. She was one of the few women doctors who were working for SAFA at that time. She was quite chuffed to have had the best seats at the stadium. She beamed when talking about her contribution then; she described it as one of her best experiences ever.

When speaking about her sexuality she strongly emphasised that she saw no sense in living in the closet and denying her truth. She did not have it easy when she initially came out to herself and her family. In high school she had a crush on a fellow school mate and she had conflictions about her feelings towards her, it was a very confusing time for her. She then moved to varsity where she was approached by a first year student who professed her undying love for her. She remembered not being at ease with this proposal and spent many Sundays at a Catholic church trying pray away her feelings for the woman. We spent many moments laughing at how similar her story would be to many people in the LGBT community. She finally came around to self acceptance and she was in that relationship with her varsity sweetheart for 8 years.

We spoke about lesbian perceptions from the rest of world. She stated that many people tend to believe that homosexuals are the regression and rejection of humankind. The perception is that lesbians are largely people who do not have homes, who do not have careers and who do not have any kind of formal education. The issues are fuelled by many homosexuals who tend to keep hidden away from society in fear of being labelled as part of the LGBT community. We both agreed that potentially this take on the LGBT community could be eradicated and minimized if more women were to stand Out and Proud and form normalised circumstances in which more positive roles models could be recognised for homosexuals at large.

Dr D also runs a LGBT entertainment company known as Friends of Open Closet. She wanted to create a safe space for queer black people in the South African region where people can be free to be themselves. Among many other initiatives she also has a Property Business, Entertainment Business, Private Practice, Sports Medicine and Occupational Therapy. I came to understand why so many young people in the LGBT community admire her so much.

Recently Dr D went through a divorce and this was quite a difficult time for her. Whilst many people turn to the most negative solutions at such difficult times she chose to further pursue her studies with GIBBS and acquire her MBA. This will ultimately play a crucial role in her business aspirations. She is currently involved in a wonderful romance and believes in positive healthy relationships. She told me she would love to have two children whilst her partner would love to have four. Dr D believes in family and stability. When I asked her where in the world she would love to live she told me South Africa is the best place she could ever have hoped to live in.

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Off record we got philosophical about a book which I think we both would term our “life guide and eye-opener” which is the Alchemist. We only have one life, our greatest fear should never be death but having our lives and never living them.

When reflecting on our talk I have come to realise that some people truly work hard and they work smart. In the same light Dr D made me realise that if there is no self-empowerment then opportunities cannot be recognised. I have come to respect the notion that luck simply encompasses preparation to meet opportunities. One of the most important highlights was how she made me aware that things have not always been a bed of roses. That in some ventures and initiatives she had failed but had taken the time to see what had gone wrong and ensured that she never repeated those same mistakes. She made me think of my late uncle who always told me that in life “there is no success like failure”.

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Dr Dulcy Rakumakoe makes any young person become conscious of how versatile we are as individuals and how through hard work and dedication we can achieve anything we set our minds to. Personally for me she had made me aware that race, gender, background and sexual orientation can never limit the woman I aspire to be.

Dr Rakumakoe – Inspiring woman of our time.





Kutlwano Khali (KK)



Contact Dulcy at: drrakumakoe@gmail.com or check out www.facebook.com/friendsofopencloset