An interview with Bongi Ngema-Zuma

Bongi Ngema-Zuma is the founder of the Bongi Ngema-Zuma Foundation, which deals with all kinds of non-communicable diseases (including diabetes).

Here’s more of the inspiring conversation we had with Madam Ngema-Zuma:

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Why did you start the Bongi Ngema-Zuma Foundation?


The reason I started the BNZ Foundation was because it’s always been my ambition to do something like that – I never came across anybody who told me about diabetes. At school we are taught about TB and oral care but no one ever told us about diabetes. But when you speak about it you find that each and every family is affected by diabetes in some way. And if every family knows someone with diabetes, it means that whole family is at risk. There’s a chance that you might be diabetic. TB and heart disease and kidney failure and diabetes are just as important to inform people about as HIV/AIDS. But the children are not being educated.

So awareness is your goal, do you specifically want people to get tested or change their diet?

Our goal is awareness about all non-communicable diseases – not just diabetes.  As a whole, they all centre around nutrition, physical activity, healthy lifestyle. If you do that, you’re not only preventing yourself from having diabetes, but also heart disease, high blood pressure, all that. You’re addressing a lot of issues by just changing your lifestyle. So what we want to say is: live healthy. Be physically active. Play sports, walk around the block, it makes a difference. But do something – you can’t just sit and do nothing.

And when you do that you’re addressing all of that. We’re not only looking at diabetes, we’re looking at it holistically, it’s part of a range of diseases that can be prevented. So once you have diabetes, we are saying, it’s not a death sentence. It’s something you can manage, it’s something you can take control of. There are people who have it, who are not compliant. And then you must know what the risks are. We want more people who don’t look sick to come out and say, ‘I have diabetes, and I’m living a healthy life.’

What do you think the biggest challenge is for people living with diabetes?

I think it’s a mixture of things. What people have come back and said is that people are hungry for information. They quickly receive your message when you reach out to them. There is a huge need for diabetes support. There is a lot that people do not know, so it’s a topic that everyone is eager to discuss.

Find out more about the Bongi Ngema-Zuma Foundation at www.bnzfoundation.org.za or on Facebook: www.facebook.com/BNZFoundation