Kuvashna Singh

Kuvashna Singh grew up in a small town called Mandeni, along the north coast of Kwa-Zulu Natal. The design and spatial arrangements of this town clearly displays the apartheid spatial planning, and although it was at least 5 years post-apartheid, her family was one of the first few Indian families to move into the mostly White suburban area. For the first few years of her schooling life, Kuvashna was always the only Indian girl in every class, an experience which has not only made her appreciate the importance of representation in the room, it also taught her, from a young age, how to identify with people beyond race and to be comfortable, proud and confident with being the only Indian girl in the room. Kuvashna also comes from a very cultured, staunch and strict Indian family and despite growing up in a white neighbourhood, her parents never tolerated any adaptations to the “westernized white” culture; she’s really grateful for such an up-bringing because it taught her to always be proud of who she is and where she comes from and to never change for anyone.

During school vacations, Singh often volunteered to assist at the CHC which was situated in the township. It was during this time when she was actually exposed to some of the challenges that people were faced with in terms of access and availability to medicines. This helped her in choosing to pursue a career in pharmacy, with the hopes of improving healthcare in the public sector.