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UKZN academic Dr Kurt Daniels was part of an international team of educators who went to Sierra Leone University in West Africa to help set up a physiotherapy programme there.
Daniels was invited to join the team of experts recruited by World Physiotherapy in collaboration with Maastricht University in The Netherlands to teach and upskill qualified physiotherapists and final-year BSc Physiotherapy students.
It is a great honour for UKZN and the Discipline, reflecting very favourably the expertise and standing of Daniels in his chosen area of teaching.
‘Each facilitator of the team was selected to teach in their specific skill set. For me, it was cardio-respiratory,’ he said. ‘I was extremely excited to be offered the opportunity to share my skill set with physiotherapists in Sierra Leone. I am passionate about my profession and Africa – it was the perfect opportunity for me to showcase these passions.’
The appointment came as a surprise to Daniels. ‘I was recommended by a colleague and then contacted by the Deputy President of the South African Society of Physiotherapy, Dr Natalie Benjamin Damons of Wits University, who asked if I would be interested in joining the team.’
He said the intervention was held in the form of a “bootcamp” – five days of intense training and hands-on skills coaching. ‘As of now, the team of facilitators have agreed to continue working with the physiotherapists in Sierra Leone by providing online lectures and booster talks,’ said Daniels.
‘It is imperative that the vision of World Physiotherapy is upheld and implemented to empower new physiotherapy nations and provide them with a skill set that is comparable on a global scale.’
World Physiotherapy is a global body boasting 121 physiotherapy member organisations.
Words: Nombuso Dlamini
Photographs: Supplied
