Mario Antunes

Mozambican

Aged 29. Single.

Mario and his family had left Mozambique to live in Portugal, and that is where he got his secondary education. He worked there in an office after leaving school but, following the death of his father, relatives in Beira told him about the new Medical School and encouraged him to return to Mozambique. He was one of the first students to enrol. His funding is provided by a scholarship and topped up by small amounts earned as a tutor.

Inevitably, with a brand new course, there were difficulties with the curriculum, and the co-operation of the students in ironing out problems was essential. Mario and a couple of colleagues joined a small advisory group to work with the Faculty and in addition, in their fourth year, five or six of them provided tutorials for those in the first and second years.

He has been a leading member of the Family Health Project. All students are allocated five families in the ‘village’ who they visit weekly to provide support for any particular health problems that they may have.

Mario would like to become a surgeon and work in both the hospital and the Medical School in Beira. He graduated in 2007 and is currently working in the Central Hospital.

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