Bianca Tromp studied BSc Dietetics at North-West University and completed her MSc Dietetics degree at the university of the Free State. Bianca worked for the Department of Health for 7 years where an interest in public health policy was sparked and research in this sector ensued. This interest grew during her years working at the Heart and Stroke Foundation South Africa, advocating for public health policies. She is currently working as dietitian for FUTURELIFE® where her role includes market research, product development and food labelling legislation.

Janke Draper has a Master’s degree in dietetics from the University of the Free State and she is a Certified Lactation Consultant in South Africa. She has been practicing as a dietitian since 2013. She completed her community service year at Pelonomi Tertiary Hospital. She is currently employed by the Mpumalanga Department of Health at Standerton Hospital where she mostly works in the paediatric, ante-natal and post-natal ward. She has a special interest in optimal nutrition during the first 1000 days, thus focussing on the pregnant woman and the new-born baby. She is passionate about incorporating science-based principles into a simplified food-based language and supporting her clients towards a healthy relationship with food and how to make lifelong sustainable lifestyle changes.

Carrie-Anne Stegen completed her BSc Dietetics and Human Nutrition degree at UKZN in 2020. She then completed her cherished community service year at St Apollinaris Hospital in rural KwaZulu-Natal. Carrie has then started her own outpatient private practice and relocated to Noordhoek in 2023, where she has continued her passion for women’s health, disease prevention, geriatrics and oncology care.

Mikayla is originally from Pietermaritzburg, where she completed my qualification in Dietetics and Human Nutrition at the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal. She gained a vast amount of knowledge and skills over her years of studying and internship.
She went on to do my community service in a rural town in the Free State where she developed and grew her knowledge and skills even further. Mikayla believes in a holistic nutritional approach when treating and managing patients with their dietary issues. She is currently working as a registered dietitian in the Bryanston and Northcliff area and is passionate about enhancing the nutritional well-being of individuals.

Ashleigh studied her B.Sc. in Human Bioscience and Medical honours in Dietetics at the University of Cape Town. She completed her community service at Barberton Provincial hospital in Mpumulanga, where she developed a passion for nutrition education. She then moved to Durban where she worked at St Mary’s hospital as well as for a nutritional app company, developing an endorsement logo. In 2015, she moved to Cape Town and worked for a Futurelife, where she developed a passion for combining business with her background of nutrition. She is currently working as an enteral nutrition sales representative at Fresenius Kabi, based in the Western Cape. She has serviced on the ADSA committee since 2015 in various roles.

Thereso Gladness Mathe is the community service dietitian, based at a community centre, currently rotating between 4 clinics in the Erkuruleni health district in Benoni. Extremely passionate about infant and complementary feeding under child health services and also Nutritional management of Diabetes and Hypertension, under chronic services. Gladness is working closely with the community members and the healthcare team in supporting the SDG (sustainable development goals) for, Zero hunger and No poverty, through the support groups and strategies for generating income in order to improve the people’s socio-economic status and therefore improving their daily nutritional intake.

Tessa is a busy and energetic dietitian working in Cape Town. She works as a full time dietitian in private practice. She consults in Panorama and Constantia and also does weekend locum work at a busy hospital. Her work interests are disease management, chronic pain and gut health. She is a passionate plant based fundie herself and is always looking for ways to get her clients to be more plant focused. When Tessa isn’t working, you can definitely find her trail running in the mountains!

Annika is an outgoing person who loves the outdoors. She sees herself as a dynamic, trustworthy, diligent, and adaptable individual. She is intrigued by nature and spend s her free time learning new things. She is adventurous and love to explore.
Her main focus is to help others and to serve those around her. She has a passion for paediatric nutrition and enabling mothers to provide their children with the most optimal nutrition possible, working with children as well as with the elderly. Annika flourishes in group activities and sees herself as a strong leader.

Debby completed her BSc in Dietetics in 1992 at the University of Stellenbosch. After graduation she was appointed as a dietitian in the South African Military Health Service (medical wing of the South African National Defence Force), where she is currently still serving. The first 8 years were devoted to primary health care in the Gauteng Province and in 2001 got transferred to 2 Military Hospital in Wynberg, Cape Town. Since then she has been practicing as the sole dietitian in paediatrics. For 15 years this role was also shared with food service management and GIT surgery & diseases. She has extended dietetic experience and living her passion within paediatric nutrition care. Debby is also currently a PhD candidate at the University of Cape Town.

Candice Japhta is a registered dietitian, working at Dora Nginza Hospital in PE, Eastern Cape. She has also worked in the private and tertiary sector. She received her undergraduate BSc from the Nelson Mandela University in 2019 and her Masters in Therapeutic Nutrition through Stellenbosch University in 2022. She is passionate about people, especially children and using nutrition to make a difference!

Justine Barkhuizen holds a BSc degree (honours) in Dietetics from Nelson Mandela University. Thereafter, Justine completed her community service year in 2021 in East London, working in a large tertiary hospital, namely Cecilia Makiwane Hospital, where she is still currently employed. Justine is responsible for the nutritional management of various patients, including surgical, medical, and critically-ill patients. She has a special interest in the nutrition management of surgical patients, in particular conditions focusing on the gastrointestinal track. Furthermore, Justine also has a passion for working with children with developmental disabilities, such as cerebral palsy. In her spare time, Justine enjoys reading and hiking. She has been involved with ADSA since 2019, starting out as the student representative for the Eastern Cape.

Kimberlee obtained her degree in BSc Dietetics through the University of the Free State. She is currently a registered dietitian at a district hospital in Graaff-Reinet, and also does community outreaches. She has a special interest in maternal and infant nutrition and she is a passionate breastfeeding advocate.

Justine Terblanche is a BSc Dietetics student at the Nelson Mandela University. She has a passion for therapeutic nutrition and is interested in practising in a clinical setting one day. Her hobbies include gardening, baking, and spending time with family.

Teresa completed a BSc in Physiology and Genetics at Stellenbosch University, and then went on to complete a BSc Dietetics and MSc Dietetics at Nelson Mandela University. She completed her community service year in a rural Eastern Cape Hospital and remained in the Eastern Cape thereafter. Teresa has a passion for community nutrition and training, with the aim of empowering people to help themselves and others. She currently works in government community clinics in Nelson Mandela Bay.

Carla is a registered dietitian working for the Department of Health. She completed BSc Dietetics at Stellenbosch University in 2009. In 2016, she completed her Masters in Nutrition with a special interest in nutrition, human rights and governance. This involved international collaboration between Stellenbosch University, the University of Oslo (Norway) and Makerere University (Uganda). She has a passion for community nutrition, maternal and infant nutrition, as well as food security, and loves being involved in community projects involving food gardening, sustainable food procurement, and health promotion.

Pranisha Deonarain obtained her BSc Dietetics and PgDip Dietetics at the University of UKZN. She has worked as a registered dietitian in both the private and public sector in Pietermaritzburg and Durban for over two decades. She has lectured nutrition courses at Varsity college and ICESA city campus. Pranisha is the Director of Pranisha Deonarain Incorporated. She is the chairperson of the Pietermaritzburg branch of Diabetes South Africa. This NPO hosts workshops and outreach programs to educate communities and individuals. She is a diabetes educator providing training for nursing staff and patients.

Nokubonga Mcunu is an innovative and passionate registered dietitian with a special interest in Community nutrition. She holds a Post Graduate Diploma in dietetics (2019) and a BSC in Dietetics (2018) from the University of KwaZulu-Natal. To ensure optimal utilization of acquired skills she enrolled for a public health management diploma at the University of Pretoria. She hopes to broaden her scope of practice in health promotion and prevention. As a dietitian practicing at a Community Health Centre, she values providing evidence-based nutrition advice and care.

Joanne Lerwick RD (SA) holds a BSc (Dietetics) and a Postgraduate Diploma in Hospital Dietetics, both obtained at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Pietermaritzburg. She worked for several years for a food service management organisation, climbing her way up the corporate ladder. After resigning due to family responsibilities, she continued to consult to contract catering companies, with regards to both food service management and dietetics. Over the years, Joanne has been involved in, amongst others, corporate wellness, lactation consulting, therapeutic menu design and contract tender evaluations. She is currently the Teaching Assistant for the fourth year Food Service Management Module at UKZN. Her passion is to promote dietetics and its diverse career opportunities.

Stacey-Leigh Pillay obtained her Pgdip Dietetics and Bsc Dietetics from the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN). She is currently working at UKZN as a clinical tutor for the 4th year Dietetics and Human Nutrition students. She finds great pleasure in shaping the future dietitians of South Africa. She has been practising as a dietitian since 2018 and has worked in both government and private sectors.

Kelly Francis has been a Registered Dietitian, practicing independently in Westville KZN, since 2010. She enjoys finding creative ways for people to adopt healthier and sustainable eating habits for improved health. Kelly finds great satisfaction in sharing her nutrition knowledge with her clients and has a special interest in diabetes in all its forms.

Dr Govender is a registered dietitian, who obtained her BSc Dietetics, PgDip Dietetics, MSc Dietetics (summa cum laude) and PhD Dietetics at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN). She is a Senior Lecturer in the Discipline of Dietetics and Human Nutrition at UKZN. She teaches and supervises students up to PhD level. Prior to taking up employment at UKZN, she had been working for the Department of Health as a Clinical Dietitian at Harry Gwala Regional Hospital and was an accredited training dietitian for the fourth year UKZN dietetic students for six years. Her current research focuses on food-based nutrition interventions to reduce both over- and undernutrition particularly in rural population groups of KwaZulu-Natal, SA. She has presented her research at local and international conferences. Her research interests include public health, infant and young child nutrition, clinical nutrition, community nutrition, food security and the potential of underutilised crops in alleviating malnutrition.

Bernice Theron is a food service dietitian at the Cook Freeze factory in Bloemfontein.

She is passionate about helping mothers in their breastfeeding journey and is currently completing her South African Certified Lactation Consultant course. Bernise loves spending time with her family and believes she will never hold a greater title than “daughter, wife and mother”. She is committed to living a life of loving God and loving people.

Bio coming soon.

Hanna Williamson holds a Masters degree (cum laude) in Dietetics from the University of the Free State. 

She is currently working as a junior lecturer at the University of the Free State and a clinical dietitian in private practice. Her professional interests include clinical nutrition, public health nutrition, research and education. She is married and has two children. She enjoys cooking, reading and running.

I am currently a Dietetics student at the North-West University (Potchefstroom) and chair of Viviente – an academic student association for NWU (Potchefstroom) Dietetic students. Since I have been a teenager, I knew that Dietetics is the field that I would want to pursue for the rest of my life. Nutrition is an immense passion of mine; thanks to an incredible mentor I had since a young age. We experience on a daily basis that Dietetics is a very underrated field in our society, therefore it is my passion to advocate Dietetics as a profession. One of my goals is to allow others to see Dietetics and Nutrition the way I see it; the nature’s way of preventing and healing. I am extremely honored to have received this opportunity to serve on ADSA, I will strive every day to serve, advocate and promote Dietetics as a profession. “When in doubt, use nutrition first” – Roger Williams

Cari studied BSc Dietetics at the North West University (NWU), Potchefstroom Campus and graduated in 2020. In 2021, she is doing her community service at the Klerksdorp / Tshepong Tertiary Hospital Complex in the North West province, where she is gaining very valuable experience in various clinical areas such as medical nutrition therapy and patient nutritional counselling skills in the clinical areas of surgery, internal medicine, burns, MDR-TB, adult critical care, COVID, renal, oncology, ENT, paediatrics, antenatal care and NICU. In this year she has also realised her passion for community empowerment and aspires to assist others to live a fulfilled life through efforts in attaining food security and self-sustainability.

I am a Registered Dietitian with the HPCSA since 2020. In 2019 I completed my community service at the Connie Vorster Memorial District Hospital in Hartswater in the Northern Cape. Currently I am pursuing my masters’ degree in Dietetics at the North West University, Potchefstroom campus, while working as a student assistant and seeing campus clinic patients. The topic of my mini dissertation involves the association between feeding practices of 6-month-old babies and the diversity and type of gut microbiota. My areas of interest in Dietetics include gut health and sport nutrition. I love running, reading, and baking tasty treats.

I obtained a BSc Dietetics degree at Northwest University (NWU), Potchefstroom Campus in 1992, and a BSc Honours (Dietetics) in 1993; in 1995 I completed the Post-graduate Diploma in Hospital Dietetics at University of Pretoria (UP). After working as a clinical dietitian in a government hospital in Pretoria for 2 years, I worked for 15 years as a lecturer at the Dietetics department at Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University (SMU). During this time, I was on and off involved in the ADSA Pretoria branch committee for about 10 years, serving in several portfolios and also as chairlady for 2 terms. Later, I also served on the core ADSA executive committee for 2 terms (2009 – 2011 and 2011 – 2013) in the membership portfolio. In 2011, I moved to Potchefstroom and started working at the NWU in the Dietetics department, mainly as the internship coordinator of the 4th year Dietetics student, travelling to students at training facilities, evaluating and supporting them and ensuring quality control of the internship training. I also obtained a MSc (Dietetics) in 2014 at the NWU. From 2010 I also served on the ADSA North West branch committee, on and off for several terms in different portfolios (member relations and treasurer) and also chairlady. I served in the CPD portfolio for the 2019 – 2021 and 2021 – 2023 terms; currently I am the chair lady for ADSA NW branch committee for the 2023 – 2025 term. I have a special interest in adult and paediatric anthropometry and malnutrition and critical illness. I am passionate about my profession and very grateful to be able to contribute to the training of future colleagues in Dietetics.

I am a dedicated dietitian who graduated in 2020, driven by a deep passion for enhancing health through proper nutrition. I completed a community service year at Klerksdorp Tshepong Hospital Complex, where I extended my commitment by serving on a Covid contract for 18 months. During the second half of 2022 I discovered my passion for academics as a part-time lecturer and assistant at North-West University. Following a brief tenure as a program liaison lecturer for a group of exchange students from a Malawian University, I embarked on a master’s degree journey in 2023. My diverse experiences shape my holistic approach to nutrition, underscoring my unwavering dedication to improving lives through dietetics.

I am currently a Community Service Dietitian at Klerksdorp Tshepong Hospital complex, who graduated in 2022. I am planning on going into the Private sector of Dietetics in 2024. Dietetics is my passion, and I strive to improve the lives of others around me especially Diabetes patients and critically ill. I can be best described as honest, organized, loyal, reliable, disciplined, productive, attentive, and very open-minded. I am competent to achieve all my goals in life and I always strive to reach success in everything I do.

My name is Eloïse Swanepoel and I am a dietitian working in a government hospital in Potchefstroom. I have a special interest and passion for paediatrics. This passion led me to also qualify as a South African Certified Lactation Consultant in 2021. My other passion is to help mentor and teach dietetic students and those starting out. I love to always learn more and stay updated with the latest guidelines and research in my field. I previously served on the ADSA NW committee but took a break when my children were born. They are 7 and 3 now and I’m excited to become part of this committee once again.

Eunice Mpehlo studied BSc Dietetics at Stellenbosch University, whereafter she moved to Port Elizabeth to complete her Community Service Year. While living in Gqeberha, Eunice undertook and completed her Masters in Dietetics through Nelson Mandela University. Eunice has many years of both public and private health experience, knowledge and skills. Within her professional practice she believes in effective and evidence-driven initiatives to assist in creating a well-rounded and healthy lifestyle for every patient.

I completed my Honours degree in Human Nutrition and Dietetics at the University of Limpopo. I have year experience in private practice, currently in the middle of staring my own practice. I completed my community service at Witbank General Hospital, where I developed my interest in management of chronic lifestyle disease, therapeutic nutrition and infant feeding. Some of my achievement during my community service was, successfully advocating for the inclusion of paediatric TPN with SMOF lipids as part of Mpumalanga province’s paediatric feeds, and being featured on the local radio station to raise nutrition and obesity awareness (Emalahleni radio station). I am enthusiastic about working with diverse clients to assist with sport nutrition, weightloss and weight management, medical conditions and many more. I am passionateabout equipping my clients to make informed decisions to improve their lifestyle and general health.

Lesego graduated from the University of Pretoria and served her community service year at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital. She is now working in, both, private and public sectors to deliver high quality nutrition care to her patients. She believes in empowering and educating her patients and clients to follow healthy food practices and to develop sustainable and enjoyable eating habits.

Taneesha is a Registered dietitian that obtained her Dietetics degree at the North-West University in Potchefstroom and is completing her Msc at Stellenbosch University. She is registered with the HPCSA and is currently a private practicing dietitian .Taneesha has a special interest in surgery and neonates. She has experience working in various different fields of clinical nutrition.

Bongiwe completed her BSc Dietetics and PGDip Dietetics at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. She has experience in the public and private sectors and has worked at West Rand Heath District, Kalafong Provincial Tertiary Hospital and at Abbott Laboratories Nutrition Division. She has presented talks on various platforms in the area of nutrition and wellness and is currently working at Tshwane District Health Services.
Her areas of interest are optimum nutrition, nutrition throughout the life cycle and non communicable diseases.

Lindi obtained her Dietetics degree at the North-West University in Potchefstroom. She is registered with the HPCSA and a proud member of the ADSA Gauteng South team for the 3rd term. She is the director of her private practice for the past five years and works at a Sub-acute unit in Gauteng. Lindi has a special interest in plant-based nutrition, gut health and nutrigenomics. She has experience working in the fitness industry, corporate wellness and commercial publications as well as public speaking. Lindi believes nutrition should be simplified and individualised. I love to help my clients find their love for food again, it is not something we need to fear.

Tanya completed her BSc in Microbiology, Biochemistry and Psychology before going onto complete her Bsci(Med)Hons in Dietetics and Nutrition at the University of Cape Town. She is cuurently a masters candidate at Stellenbosch University in Theraputic Nutrition. Tanya has worked in both the public and private healthcare system. She has a passion for Neonatal, Critical Care, Surgical and ICU nutrition and spends most of her day in the critical care wards of a private hospital. When she is not practicing in-patient care, she is also passionate about all things womens health in her out-patient practice. Tanya believes in encouraging behaviour change to instill new habits and lifestyle change.

Kylie completed her Bachelors’ Degree in Dietetics at the University of the Western Cape and started her career in a rural public hospital where she headed up the Dietetics Department and managed nutrition services at surrounding clinics. Her special interests include Gut Health (she completed a course in the nutritional management of Irritable Bowel Syndrome), Mental Health and Sports Nutrition. Kylie’s mission is to follow evidence-based nutrition while providing practical guidelines that enable you and your family to live a healthy sustainable lifestyle.

“Our food should be our medicine and our medicine should be our food” ~ Hippocrates.

This is her lifestyle motto and one of the reasons she became a Dietitian. Hanna obtained her BSc Dietetics degree at the University of Pretoria in 2013. She completed her community service year at Job Shimankana Tabane Hospital in Rustenburg and thereafter returned to her hometown, Johannesburg, where she worked at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital. There she mostly had exposure to paediatrics and neonates where she specifically worked in the NICU. She has a great passion for working with breastfeeding mothers and infants. She is currently doing a post-graduate course on breastfeeding to also become a Certified Lactation Consultant. She currently works in a private practice in White River doing mostly out-patient consultations.

My name is Hayley Craig.  I am a Dietitian at Rob Ferreira Hospital in Nelspruit Mpumalanga. I studied at the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal during the transition from the University of Natal and graduated in 2005.  I have a special interest in Diabetes management but also enjoy working in the ICU and surgical settings.

I studied Dietetics at the North West University. I finished my community service year in 2018 at Standerton Hospital. That year I discovered that my field of interest is definitely Paediatrics and Breastfeeding. Currently I’m a part time Dietitian focusing more on healthy lifestyle eating patterns. Because I am not able to work as a full time Dietitian, I love being part of ADSA to still interact with fellow Dietitians and to receive all the new updated information.

Reon qualified at the University of the Free State in 2014. After graduation, he completed his community service year at Rob Ferreira Hospital in Nelspruit, obtaining valuable experience in critical care, internal medicine, paediatrics and surgery. The following year he continued working in a hospital environment and private practice whilst commencing a Master of Science degree in Dietetics, which he finished in 2019 with a research dissertation on professional athletes.

Apart from doing clinical nutrition at the Nelspruit private hospitals, he also does consultations in sport nutrition (being a comrades ultra marathon runner himself), as well as disease specific nutrition and all lifestyle related conditions. Reon served on the Mpumalanga Committee of The Association for Dietetics in South Africa since 2019. Reon has co-authored a published article in the South African Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2016 – a descriptive cross sectional study which assessed malnutrition in the elderly residing in long-term care facilities. He is currently busy with his second publication

I’m Bernadine Blom a registered dietitian and SA certified lactation consultant. After earning my BSc Dietetics degree from the North-West University in 2019. I worked in Christiana, North West gaining experience as a dietitian in the hospital and community setting for two years. I qualified as an South African certified lactation consultant in 2021. I currently in full-time private practice since 2022. I’m passionate about helping breastfeeding mothers & beyond.

Tanya Alberts has been practicing as a Registered Dietician since 2009. Here she worked in rural KZN in a government hospital setting and 6 outpatient clinics. This is where she learned the true power food and food security can have on a person’s life. In 2015 she opened her own private practice. Today managing 10 branches with her team of dieticians and together with a team of dieticians

I am Nthangeni Murendeni Jameson. I was born in Tshitungulwane and now live at Njhakanjhaka, in Limpopo. I decided to become a dietitian because of my mother who has health issues and can’t eat certain foods. My goal is to help people who have health issues in the communities through food as an effective medicine and use it to the best of its capabilities for fuelling, repairing, and building our bodies to function at their maximum.

I would like to thank ADSA for their generous sponsorship of my studies, I am very appreciative to be a recipient of the bursary scheme, which lightened my financial burden and will allow me to achieve my goal of becoming a dietitian.

Ulrike Bleuler is a Registered Dietitian and Qualified Intuitive Eating Counselor.
She currently works in both in and outpatient settings. She sees patients at Mediclinic Tzaneen and also does nutrition counseling at her own Private Practice. She is passionate about working with women to help them improve their relationship with food & their bodies. She also has a special interest in Diabetes Management, Plant-based eating and helping clients improve their Gut health. Ulrike believes that there is more to health than only having a “healthy” weight or the absence of disease. For her, the word “health” means experiencing a life of abundance in all areas of a person’s being.

I am Zandile Ngubane, I was born and raised in Mtubatuba, a small town in KwaZulu Natal. I did my BSc in Biochemistry and Microbiology at University of Zululand (2016-2018). Nutrition was one of my modules in my previous qualification and that made me fall in love with dietetics. I decided to do dietetics because it treats medical conditions through medical nutrition therapy and helps people make the right food choices. I was fortunate enough to be accepted at the Nelson Mandela University and now I am doing my second year of study. Once I finish my degree I want to go back to my hometown and educate people about nutrition and the importance of living a healthy lifestyle to help improve people’s lives.

I would love to pass my gratitude to ADSA for awarding me with a bursary to study for the rest of my academic years. This bursary came in my time of need for funding as I did not have funding and for that I will forever be grateful to them for giving me a chance to pursue my dream.

I am currently a third year dietetics student at the North West University, Potchefstroom, and could not have been more excited to become a registered dietitian. I didn’t think it was possible, but I am enjoying my studies even more every day. The field of dietetics is growing into a whole new world that I never knew existed, but of which I am so excited to be a part of. I especially enjoy therapeutic nutrition and can’t wait to learn more about it. There is still so much to learn that it makes it impossible for me to imagine what will happen in the future, but I do hope that an internship with UNICEF is part of God’s plan for me.

Thank you ADSA for giving me the opportunity to not only follow my dreams, but also to develop this immense passion that I have for dietetics that is growing by the minute. “If you can’t figure out your purpose, figure out your passion. For your passion will lead you right into your purpose.” – Bishop T.D Jakes

I would like to convey my sincere and most humble gratitude to ADSA for affording me the opportunity and privilege to study with the aid of the financial support. I received the ADSA bursary in 2017 during my second year at Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, completing BSc Dietetics in 2019. I applied for community service at various hospitals and was placed at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital, one of the biggest hospitals in the world. This is where I currently am in my career and enjoying every moment of the experience

In 2016 I was privileged to receive the ADSA bursary and in 2017, I completed BSc Dietetics (Hons) at the University of the Free State. For community service I was placed in Schweizer-Reneke in the North-West. I was so excited to enter the interesting world of dietetics and put both theory and skills into practice, soon realising that theory can only take you so far. As the Afrikaans saying goes, “ ‘n boer maak ‘n plan”. It was a challenging year but extremely rewarding and humbling to give your absolute all to each and every patient, and seeing what impact you can have on someone’s life.

After my community service year in 2018 I was unemployed for 3 months. I applied for nearly 125 jobs all over South Africa. I received 6 replies and 2 interviews, realising that I was now part of the crisis statistic of so many other unemployed dieticians in our country. Life works in mysterious ways and I ended up with a job opportunity at a veterinary pharmaceutical supplies company as a key accounts sales representative. This position of course has nothing to do with nutrition or dietetics whatsoever, but I jumped in and gave it my all. Some of the skills and traits I acquired from my dietetics degree include the excellent organisational ability, attention to detail, determination, ambition, creativity, interpersonal skills, working well under pressure, computer literacy, research skills, leadership, efficient communication, and conveying evidence-based knowledge in a professional matter. These qualities can be applied to more than one profession. My current success in a complete new field of work proves that you can master anything through hard work and a positive attitude.

I truly love and enjoy nutrition and will always have a great respect for dietitians. My degree in dietetics is my biggest achievement and stepping stone and I look forward further channel it into a corporate-orientated career, hoping to return to the clinical field as when the opportunity arises.

Hi my name is Anke van Waveren and I obtained my Bachelor in Dietetics at the University of Pretoria in 2008, I worked in Mankweng hospital for my community serve year and another year in Pietersburg Provincial hospital as a junior dietitian. Now I am in my tenth year as dietitian in private practice in Polokwane where I see out patients mainly, but also in-patients at Medi-Clinic Limpopo on referral. I am passionate about maternal nutrition, breastfeeding and young child nutrition. I have been serving on the ADSA Mopani committee for the past 4 years, first as secretary and then as PPD portofolio and now it’s my second term as branch chair.

Anita Mafela’s journey as a dietitian. Young community Dietician, Working in WATERBERG DISTRICT PHC level, 6yrs working experience.Commitee member since 2017 under the membership portfolio.

Nerina Keyter’s journey as a dietitian has been woven with threads of passion for lactation and breastfeeding. Raised on a farm, I cultivated a strong connection to nature, igniting a deep commitment to incorporate its wisdom into my practice. My holistic approach embraces the back-to-nature ethos, infusing my recommendations with the same principles and sensibility. I’m all about fostering meaningful connections and creating impact through subtle transformations. Every day, I channel my love for people into fostering positive change, one small yet impactful step at a time. As part of ADSA Mopani, I invite you to join hands in our shared mission of effecting change, one small but pivotal step at a time. I believe we can make a big difference together and improve our communities through shared knowledge and support.

Glenrose Manale is a qualified dietitian with fourteen years experience as a Registered Dietitian with Health Professional Council of South Africa. She worked at the Department of Health as a Dietitian in 2008. In mid 2012,she joined the pharmaceutical industry as a Sales Executive Representative. She decided to pursue her destination career point at higher education institutions. From 2017,she worked as a Clinical Facilitator at University of Cape Town and Junior Lecturer at Nelson Mandela University. She is currently working as a Junior Lecturer at Department of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Limpopo, The knowledge and experience gained throughout the career journey ignited her interest and passion in training
and development within the field of nutrition and dietetics. Her area of special interest is clinical nutrition, focusing on nutrition and renal.