When Silumko “Sox” Mkhutyukelwa, 34, leaves his home for work every morning, his first task is to pray and ask for protection from God.
The father of a four-month-old daughter, who believes that saving people’s lives is a calling, has been a paramedic for the past 15 years in South Durban.
Mkhutyukelwa, a paramedic from ALS Paramedics Medical Services, said responding to an emergency call during the festive season pleases him, and it is a blessing to him.
“It brings such pleasure that people are out there enjoying holidays knowing that they are in good hands. We compromise our own family time for the community, for the love of the job; it is a privilege,” he said.
Staying with his wife, a helper and his daughter in Manor Gardens in Durban, Mkhutyukelwa often feels he is a blessing to the community.
“I feel like Superman — I feel like a superhero that everyone is out there, and I am out there guarding them. I am like their guardian angel, so it is a blessing for me.”
However, working during the festive season is the busiest time of the year, usually because of alcohol. Mkhutyukelwa and his colleagues regularly attend to assault cases, sometimes rape incidents, but it is mostly road accidents because of drinking and driving.
“You know, during the festive season, many people indulge in alcohol. We encounter almost everything because it is a normal day in the office. We see serious accidents. Almost everything, even rape incidents, because some of the women get so careless and start drinking with strangers,” he said.
Mkhutyukelwa always wanted to be a paramedic, a passionate medical practitioner from a medical home.
His mother is a dentist; he grew up inspired by his elder sister, who was initially a firefighter before she went back to school, upgraded her course and became a paramedic.
“I was still young at that time. I always wanted to be a firefighter, but then she [elder sister] went back to school. I feel like she is my role model. It is something that is in the family. I could have easily changed, but I was already passionate about this job. Either way, I love saving people.”
At the end of the day, one must do what he has to do. Whether I am fine or not, I still have to go out there and save the people and pray for my family
— Silumko 'Sox' Mkhutyukelwa, parademic
He added that he is a blood donor and that saving people is within his “genes”.
He said the best thing he does to keep going and help people is to pray and ask for strength from God.
“Even when I leave my house in the morning, I pray to God to give me strength and the wisdom to save these people. Every morning [I] do that short prayer and tell God to protect me as I go to work and protect my family as I leave them.”
His wife is also in the medical field, working as a nurse at King Edward Hospital.
He said paramedics’ safety on the road is not guaranteed. “We respond at high speed. A typical example, just this month, we nearly lost two of our colleagues. They were at the scene, standing by on an accident scene, and a motorist in a Fortuner came from nowhere and almost bumped into them. Luckily, they are alive.”
He added that their job was perilous, but they risked their lives to save others. “At the end of the day, one must do what he has to do. Whether I am fine or not, I still have to go out there and save the people and pray for my family.”
He said he prays to God to accept what he cannot change.
“I was born to do this, so either way, I must do it. It is my passion, I am not in this for the money and all those things. That is why I am working for one of the biggest companies in KwaZulu-Natal and in South Africa — because of my hard work.”
TimesLIVE
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.