Doctor Randall Ortel is from the notoriously gang-infested Cape Town neighborhood of Manenberg. From his early days as a well-known taxi driver in the community, he has come a long way. This poor cab driver was, unbeknownst to the residents, a suffering medical student attempting to raise funds for his education at the University of Cape Town.
He persisted and eventually became Manenberg’s first doctor of color.
Last Thursday, the TikTok-famous physician who provides important medical advice and education graduated with a master’s degree in medicine. The cum laude student has achieved a Master of Science in Obstetrics. An more first for Manenberg
It is well on its way to redeeming itself from its reputation as a cesspool of gang activity by producing a young medical doctor and three more who will follow in his footsteps. From a region where the majority of role models are gangsters and the average child’s destiny is a life of crime, this is a significant development. Manenberg will never be the same again now that a physician has moved in. And, if Ortel has his way, it will create a national health minister in the future as well. And ‘his way’ appears to be something he already owns in abundance.
When Ortel initially graduated in 2010, “everyone was genuinely pleased, proud, and supportive,” he said.
“As a student, I worked as a cab driver on weekends and during university breaks to supplement my scholarship. As a full-time student, it was tough for a young person to purchase books, travel costs, and basic necessities. In the town, I was known as a taxi driver. When the news that I had become a medical doctor emerged, people were shocked, but as the tale evolved, they realized that I was in fact a medical student. People in Manenberg were then pleased to have the so-called cab driver-turned-doctor,” he remarked.
Ortel explained that, being a native of an area infamous for gang activity, he had to change the narrative by heeding his father’s advice: “Just become a doctor; people will always be sick, therefore you will always have a job.”
His trip motivated three other local youths to seek professions in medicine, prompting him to establish a foundation where he could mentor and guide them.
Ortel stated, “The foundation’s name is currently unofficially the Randal Ortel Foundation. The foundation is rooted in my community’s concern for its future development. My goal is to connect with the other three doctors in my area and mentor them, present them to the community, give them a community footprint, and develop a platform to aid aspiring doctors.”
Regarding his TikTok popularity, he explained that he joined the platform in 2020, when Covid-19 was real and terrifying.
“There was a great deal of false information about this virus; I had to defend the community.” Therefore, I decided to utilize my medical knowledge to keep them informed,” he explained.
“My TikTok instructor, Morne Ebersohn, was introduced to me by Johannesburg-based Ultimate Media. This organization introduced me to TikTok.
“I now utilize it as an interactive platform, and as a result, I was able to build a partnership with the government and join the Western Cape Premier’s team.”
Ortel intends to become the minister of health in the future and remarked, “My slogan is ‘shoot for the moon, and if you miss, you land among the stars.’
“As a physician, I can only help the one in front of me, and if I’m lucky, that individual will share the information and help others. But if I am in the health ministry, I will be able to assist more individuals. In reality, I will impact the lives of a whole nation.
“I will be able to establish new teams, conduct new research, and develop and deliver health guidelines that will enhance the nation’s health system. As a traveler, I have witnessed the lack of access to health care and the lengths people go to in order to obtain it or for it to be freely offered to them.
“I believe I have the qualifications to be the minister of health. I am uninterested in politics. I desire to be selected on the basis of merit so that I may practice in an ethical manner. “Health ministry is still a possibility; I just don’t know how to get there. Perhaps my next endeavor will be to reach out and accomplish this within the next ten years,” said the confident Ortel.
His immediate objective is to become CEO of a new hospital in his neighborhood.
»The doctor at Manenberg TikTok is a man of many firsts«