As part of Black History Month and our ongoing work to make RCOT and the occupational therapy community a more inclusive place for Black individuals, we’re hearing from Brandon Mhondiwa, a member of BAMEOT about his heritage and how his familial history drew him to a career in the health care profession.
My journey to become an occupational therapist was not by design but by default. A default I will never regret.
I set out first to become a Social Worker back in 2008. This is the time I heard my former university Brunel was doing clearing in social sciences. Out of interest I applied, went for interview and that was the first time I learnt about occupational therapy.
Having an African heritage, occupational therapy made me open my eyes and look at different situations with better understanding especially on matters of cultural sensitivities during our interactions with our clientele/service users.
Given my upbringing as Black African, respect, patience, empathy, dignity, and person-centred approach became some of the key components that informed my practice. This has made my interventions with service users from different ethnic and racial backgrounds much easier.
I was born in Zimbabwe. From young age I was compassionate as I had to care for close family members who were ill with various ailments. My sister had cancer, relatives had HIV, other family members had mental illness and my aunt had Downs Syndrome. In my endeavours to assist my family, I unwittingly gained invaluable experience.
This early exposure to family various health conditions made me appreciate the importance of activity and facilitating occupational performance independence is key to health and well-being. This was particularly true with my aunt who had Downs Syndrome. I remember we used to encourage her to undertake activities such as knitting and productivity, part time work. This gave her a huge sense of independence and contributed well to her confidence and wellness.
When I qualified there were few black occupational therapists but in recent times, I have noticed that the profession is growing and there seem to be a noticeable increase of black occupational therapists which contributes to a beautiful diverse occupational therapy profession drawing wealth of experience from occupational therapists from all rich racial backgrounds.
Occupational therapy is a profession that is very fulfilling. Going through the occupational therapy process with service users especially in the intermediate care teams I worked for since I qualified has been satisfying.
In my last role with Falls Service. I completed my occupational therapy process with a service user who was previously house bound, setup in a micro-environment downstairs. I provided this patient with rehab and compensatory equipment such as a key safe, lifeline, galvanised rails for front door access and put a half step on the front door, FSTF for downstairs toilet and mopstick rail for stairs and perching stool.
That service user called me recently very happy and full of praise. He said to me on the phone, "Brandon, you gave me my life back. I have been seen by other disciplines due to my various ailments and they all did well but you have assisted me so much so that I can now go back to my bedroom upstairs. I can now exit my property and go for a drive. Thank you, Brandon...you gave me my life back".
These kind of feedback makes our profession potent and worthwhile. Gives me the zest to wake up every morning and make a difference, just to change someone's life and promote independence were possible.
Brandon Mhondiwa
Occupational Therapist