Her family lost everything in her last year of primary school and she had to use the money she received as a wedding gift to register for medical school.
Dr Sydnise Fourie-Nel (28) is a true example of achieving anything in life if you really want and do whatever it takes to get it.
Originally from Witbank Mpumalanga, her childhood wasn’t all sunshine and roses. Her parents divorced when she was just six years old. “Things weren’t easy for me since my parents divorced; my step-dad and mom moved around a lot,” she shared.
For most of her childhood, Sydnise remembers having a normal life without real financial issues. How-ever, everything came crashing down when she was in Gr. 7. Little did she know that the family’s troubles would carry on into her varsity years.
“My mom and step-dad lost everything in business; my bio- logical dad also experienced issues in his business around the same time,” she said. “We lost the house, the cars… everything.”
“At first, we stayed with my aunt who had an extra room. From there, we moved between family and friends who helped us with a place to stay. Things were incredibly difficult for my parents as they could no longer afford anything,” she remembers. “They struggled and things only began to pick up again when I was busy with my medical degree.”

As the second of five daughters, things were extremely tough for Sydnise. She had to drop out of school in Gr. 10 and get a job to help provide an income at home. But even that did not derail her on her path to becoming a doctor.
“My dad didn’t finish his law degree and my elder sister didn’t finish matric. It almost felt like a curse and I wanted to make sure that it stopped with me. I wanted to motivate my sisters and kept reminding myself that I wanted to be a doctor. That’s what kept me going, even in the most difficult situations,” she continued.
Sydnise started by studying for a BSc degree at North-West University and, from there, started her journey in medicine at Wits. “Even though I had not achieved the best marks to qualify for med school immediately, I studied for a BSc to eventually qualify for medicine,” she said.
She married her husband, Marcelle Nel (31), who has been one of her biggest supporters.
“About ten days into being married, I was accepted at Wits. My husband and I were living in Potch at the time and barely getting by. We were incredibly blessed to have received so much from our wedding that I could move my entire life to Johannesburg in less than a month,” she said gratefully. “I wanted a better life and wasn’t prepared to let anything get in the way.”
With her husband living in Potch and her new life in Johannesburg, things got more challenging, but they pulled through.
“Because I was not working, Marcelle paid R500 or R1,000 a month for my tuition and also sent money for food and other things. I eventually became a tutor so I could generate money to assist where I could,” she said.
Because debt had caused her family to lose everything, she avoided it at all costs. Instead of a study loan, she looked for a bursary. The Helping Hand Study Trust (HHST) and an interest-free study loan served as her lifeline.
“They commit to paying your fees until you complete your studies and you only pay them back when you start working,” she explained.
Sydnise started working as an intern last year and says the journey was all worth it.
“I love my job; it’s tiring and requires a lot, but it’s truly worth it when I come in contact with a patient,” she concluded, happy and fulfilled.