The Dr Aadil Moerat Medical Bursary Trust was founded in honour of anti-apartheid activist and general practitioner, Dr Aadil Moerat, who died tragically in 1998. His commitment and approach to community health earned him the title of “people’s doctor”.
Dr. Moerat graduated from the University of Cape Town and established his own practice in Gugulethu. He believed everyone should have access to health care,regardless of their financial situation, whenever and wherever they need it. The Bursary Trust was registered in 2020 to honour his legacy through supporting financially needy health sciences students who share his commitment to serving the community.
The Trust offers partial bursaries to Western Cape students for one academic year.
AADIL MOERAT MEDICAL BURSARY FUND
precursor to the Dr Aadil Moerat Medical Bursary Trust
The bursary committee with the second bursary recipient Gaironesa Solomon.
The Trust was first established as a Bursary Fund in 1998 in memory of the late Aadil Moerat, a general practitioner who tragically lost his life while working in Gugulethu, Cape Town, on 21 January 1998. Dr Moerat, the son of Mr & Mrs MN Moerat, was an ex-student of South Peninsula High School. The bursary fund committee intended the Bursary Award to be a lasting tribute to a young man who epitomised the spirit of the school motto: Non ministrari, sed ministrare (Not to be served, but to serve).
It was the donations from the Gugulethu community towards the funeral expenses that planted the seed of the idea to set up a bursary fund. Hundreds of people, including three busloads of community members and patients from Gugulethu, attended the funeral of “The People’s Doctor” as Aadil was described in the news reports of the day. As his patients filed passed his bier to pay their last respects, they sympathised with his mother, Mrs Gadija (Aunty Makia) Moerat and pressed what appeared to be little bits of paper into her hand. In her grief she accepted these “notes” and stored them in the pockets of the dress she was wearing.
Later that evening, as the family sat down to break their fast (Aadil died during the last ten days of the month of Ramadan), his mother remembered the bits of paper and emptied out her pockets. To everyone’s surprise, wrapped within the little paper envelopes were small amounts of cash – the community’s contributions to the funeral expenses.
The family did not need the financial assistance and Mr Moerat kept it as he pondered how to use it. He strongly felt the need to use this money for good. In discussions with Brian Isaacs whom he continued to visit long after his retirement from South Peninsula High School, they resolved to use this money to start a bursary fund. Mr Moerat somehow wanted to replace the doctor the community had lost and the son he so dearly loved.
PILOT MEETING
(taken from the Minutes)
The Fund was the initiative of Mr Mogamat Noor Moerat, Mr Brian Isaacs, Ms Carin Matz and Ms Patricia Coates and initial proposals at the first meeting in June 1998 were:
- A bursary would be awarded for tertiary study at any one of the three Western Cape universities, UCT, UWC and Stellenbosch in any field of medicine.
- The person to whom a bursary is awarded
- Should be intending to be involved in community work
- Should have proven merit and motivation
- Should need financial assistance
- The bursary would be open to all who qualify in terms of the above conditions and would be publicised through the various university brochures
- The bursary would be awarded for a period of one year
- The amount awarded annually would be determined by the capital raised. As much as 80% of the interest would be used each year for bursary/bursaries.
- Trustees would be appointed. This would include at least one member nominated by the Moerat family.
- A selection committee would be appointed to assess applications which would include an interview of the short-listed candidates
- Initial fundraising committee: Mr. MN Moerat, Ms C Matz, Ms P Coates, Mr BB Isaacs
- The signatories for the bank account would be Mr. BB Isaacs, Mr MN Moerat, Ms C Matz
SUBSEQUENT DEVELOPMENTS
Subsequent to this meeting a bank account was opened as a Club/Association of the School. The account, with FNB, Plumstead, was called “South Peninsula Aadil Moerat Medical Bursary Fund”. There was mention made of linking the Bursary Fund to the PTSA accounts for auditing but this was never done.
In the minutes of 11 March 2002, the Committee made mention of appointing a Board of Trustees for the Fund. A committee member, Ashree Christians was tasked with looking into setting up a Trust but this idea did not materialise.
In the minutes of 16 September 2008, it was proposed that Mr. Dehran Swart and Mr Zeid Baker be invited to join the committee and Mr Swart attended his first meeting on 12 August 2009. Mr. Swart became a signatory to the bank account when Mr. Moerat passed away in December 2009.
At a special meeting of the committee on 28 May 2012, held to appoint a new signatory to the bank accounts as the Treasurer and signatory Ms. C Matz would be resigning, the Committee agreed that Mr. Zeid Baker (then deputy principal at SP) would replace Ms Matz.
The signatories to the bank accounts were Mr. BB Isaacs, Mr. Z Baker and Mr. D Swart.
FUNDING
Funding for the Bursary Fund were mainly in the form of donations from private individuals, the bulk of the money having been raised by Mr MN Moerat. At the time, there were still one or two individuals who made monthly scheduled payments into the account.
BENEFICIARIES (2001 – 2016)
| YEAR | QUALIFICATION | INSTITUTION |
| 2001 | Stellenbosch University | |
| 2002 | MBChB | University of Cape Town |
| 2003 & 4 | MBChB | Stellenbosch University |
| 2005 & 6 | MBChB | Stellenbosch University |
| 2007 | MBChB (changed course) | Stellenbosch University |
| 2007 & 8 | BSc Audiology | University of Cape Town |
| 2008 | MBChB | University of Cape Town |
| 2009 | MBChB | Stellenbosch University |
| 2009 | MBChB | Stellenbosch University |
| 2010 | MBChB | University of Cape Town |
| 2010 | BPharm | University of Western Cape |
| 2010 | BSc OT | University of Cape Town |
| 2011 | MBChB | Stellenbosch University |
| 2011 | BSc OT | University of Western Cape |
| 2012 | BSc Medical Technology | Cape Peninsula University of Technology |
| 2012 | BSc OT | University of Western Cape |
| 2013 | Record unknown | |
| 2014 | Amy Booth | |
| 2014 | Aamina Allie | |
| 2015 | MBChB | Stellenbosch University |
| 2016 | MBChB | Stellenbosch University |
The Dr Aadil Moerat Bursary
Since 2022, three bursaries per year were budgeted, with one awarded to the top SP matriculant registered to study in the health sciences at one of the four universities in the Western Cape. The deserving student was chosen by the staff based on the award criteria – voluntary community work, financial need and academic record. The other two bursaries were awarded on application from undergraduate student studying in the health sciences.
In 2016, the Committee resolved that N. Moerat and D Swart should investigate the possibility of setting up a Charitable Trust to administer the Bursary Fund as most of the original members had resigned or retired. With the passing of the years the links with South Peninsula High School had become tenuous and soon there would be no institutional memory left as to why the Fund was started.
On 28 November 2017, at a meeting between Mr. Z Baker, Ms N Moerat and Mr D Swart (Mr Isaacs sent apologies) it was resolved that the Association be dissolved and a charitable Trust be established to take forward the objectives of the Aadil Moerat Medical Bursary Fund.
A charitable fund would be based on the values of, among others:
- Transparency
- Accountability
- Good, ethical governance
It would be a vehicle through which the Fund could build a profile, formalise its processes, market itself, raise funds, encourage succession planning and in so doing build a legacy based on the values of South Peninsula High School: “not to be served, but to serve”.
Compiled by Nohra Moerat
12 November 2018