Friday 16 August 24: Head Prefect of 2014, Dr Raythaan Addinall delivered the Founders’ Day John McNaughton Address:
Good morning, Mr Scheepers, staff, guests, parents and family, and most importantly the Men of Wynberg Boys High School – the greatest school in the country. Firstly, I’d like to express my sincere appreciation, I feel so honoured and grateful to be standing here 10 years later giving this address. But in the words of King Henry VIII as he spoke to each of his 6 wives, I won’t keep you long. So, I will be very brief but compendious. I will speak about simple lessons I’ve learnt throughout my journey – lessons that some of you might have learnt already and some of you might benefit from now.
My journey started on arrival at Wynberg Boys’ from another traditional boys’ school. I won’t say the school’s name, but it rhymes with PACS. So, as you all can imagine I was embraced like a true Wynberg Man from day one – absolutely delightful. I think I was fifty minutes late for my first class at WBHS – it was Maths with Mr Whiston, and I found myself in the Fishbowl with Bevan Barnard hoping someone would take us to class but no one came. Entering class, I’ll never forget the whispers, everyone started whispering. “He’s the PACS boy”. “He’s the PACS boy” Like I was some sort of anomaly.
I managed to get through the first few days and then on the very first Friday I needed to observe my religion. Now I’m a proud Muslim, born and raised. I was walking to Jumuah/ Friday prayers at the Alf Morris Music Centre, with a few Muslim classmates. Now assembly and Jumuah happened concurrently. Suddenly Ibrahim Adams stops and says to me “Bru you know assembly is that way, hey?”. My response “Yeah, I’m actually Muslim. He was like “Don’t talk nonsense! Ouens this bra is Muslim!” I then had to prove my Muslimness by reading a few passages from the Holy Quran. I was so stunned and flabbergasted, that I started reciting random verses that I knew like “Masha Allah, Alhamdulilah, In Shaa Allah” and they were so taken aback but eventually they believed me.
So, as you can see from Week One it was an incredibly interesting journey navigating my way through WBHS.
However, this is where I learnt a lesson without really knowing it: You have to be adaptable.
Everyone knows Netflix, right? Netflix started as a DVD rental service by mail. As technology evolved and streaming became more popular, Netflix quickly adapted by transitioning its business model to focus on online streaming. Does anyone know how much Netflix is worth? $278.14 billion.
Conversely: Has anyone heard of Blackberry? The older teachers might know. BBM was free internet. It was revolutionary, the marketing behind the phone was the QWERTY keyboard which was never done before on a smartphone. BlackBerry was once the dominant player in the smartphone market. However, as the smartphone industry shifted towards touchscreens and app-driven ecosystems, BlackBerry struggled to keep up. The company clung to its physical keyboard design.
By the time BlackBerry attempted to pivot, it was too late. Companies like Apple and Samsung had already captured the market. As a result, BlackBerry’s market share dwindled, and the company eventually exited the smartphone business.
So, it’s about being adaptable. It’s the skill that turns obstacles into opportunities and setbacks into comebacks.
My first year at Wynberg continues. I signed up for a couple of sports (cricket and rugby), joined the Steelband, got involved in service and obviously continued trying to maintain academic excellence.
At the end of Grade 8 – I was sitting in this hall at the prize giving and Mr Eddy came up to present the Anthony Morris prize- awarded to the grade 8 pupil who has shown the most loyalty to the school by his participation in school activities. And he says this individual is involved in sport, service, and culture and he goes on to say that this boy has got a lovely dry sense of humour. He presented me with the award, and I was taken aback because I didn’t expect it. Then something happened. I went from being known by almost everyone as the PACS boy to being called…. Head boy.
Next lesson I learnt: Respect is not something that is freely given; it is something that must be earned every single day.
The years go by, and incredibly fast might I add, I know everyone says that, but it’s true. In 9, 10, and at the end of grade 10 I had the privilege of being involved in an exchange programme with Canberra Grammar in Australia. An absolutely incredible experience that opened my mind to this whole other world. Going to another country, it opened my mind to seeing a different country, different culture, different school. I remember the Grade 10 dance very vividly and let’s just say… I wasn’t always married.
Matric arrives and the final year of being at WBHS commences with me having the honour of leading the class of 2014. And what a year it was… phenomenal. 1st team cricket unbeaten in all day format, we won the Coca Cola T20 Regional Trophy. As a result, we earned the right to represent the Cobras Franchise at the inter provincial T20 tournament in Pretoria. 1st team rugby led by the deputy head boy Keagan Timm, still couldn’t beat Mr Van Winkel in arm wrestling but we ended top 10 in the country, we won multiple awards at Eisteddfods, and academically we excelled. Simple lessons stood out for me that year: Be tough but always be kind, and never lose humility. In the words of Rick Rigsby: Ego is the anaesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity; Make sure your desire to serve outweighs your need to be recognised.
Next lesson: You have to be consistent – Aristotle said: “We are what we repeatedly do. Therefore, Excellence ought to be a habit, not an act. You cannot work hard only in the first term and then that work ethic dissipates. If you want to be strong and fit, you have to train consistently. For example, Aden da Costa, the Head Prefect, probably comes from a genetic pool of Thor or Hulk, but he still must train, right? He must train to be consistent. If you want to be a top academic achiever or top musician or the best player on your sports team you have to be consistent. It needs to be habitual. You cannot rely on being motivated – motivation is so fickle. You have to be disciplined. I was not motivated in matric. Who in their right mind wants to get out of their warm cosy bed at 5 am every day to do work? But I had to because if I didn’t do it, no one else was going to do it for me. I had to win, that’s exactly what it is. So, you must be disciplined.
Next lesson: Have courage: it takes courage to be successful. It’s far easier not to be successful. It’s far easier to do things only when you feel like doing it. It’s far easier to not wake up earlier to study for that test or go the gym. It’s far easier to overlook indiscretions from your peers. It takes courage to do the right thing. It takes courage to win.
My Next journey began when I opted to study medicine. Now there aren’t any medical professionals in my family. Interesting fact: my parents tried to steer me away from the medical field – I think my mom said once but you’ll have to be treating the gangsters. I chose to study medicine for the sole purpose of serving others. The lesson I learnt was that there is no greater feeling than serving others. Now, this doesn’t have to be in the medical field- it could be like a really good teacher having a transformative influence over their students, a mentor guiding someone to reach their potential, a coach instilling confidence and discipline in their team, or a volunteer at a charity organisation bringing hope and support to those in need.
Last year I was working at Eerste River Hospital in the Emergency Centre. A patient came in unconscious after having been beaten with some blunt object to the head. Casualty Friday night special. From a distance, he had this abnormal respiration pattern known as Cheyne Stokes breathing which is this deep breathing pattern with progressively increased rate followed by periods of apnea which is temporary cessation of breathing. Bring him to the Resus area…. IV lines……, he had a pulse so did not need to commence CPR, but bruises and swelling over his head. His pupils were dilated so I was worried, his ECG showed signs of raised pressure in his head. I intubated him as there was no way to protect his airway on ventilation. I discussed with neurosurgery at who advised on other measures to take. I needed a win. So many losses. The doctor gave advice, I tried everything, I intubated him, and he was on the ventilator and sort of stable. So obviously in the Emergency unit, nothing stops, everything just keeps on going. I see more patients but in between and while I am busy, I turn around to see if he is still okay, I prayed, I checked, and booked the transport, eventually he went across to Tygerberg, and he had his surgery. 2 weeks later I receive a picture from a colleague of him smiling and thanking me for saving his life. That was the best feeling.
However, I would not have experienced this if I had not learnt this final lesson. I’m going to close with this very personal story of mine which I think will bring this lesson in to focus. Wisdom often comes from the most unexpected places and more often than not, it’s born from failure. When you find yourself at your lowest, remember that hitting rock bottom can be a solid ground to start anew. It’s from that foundation that you can rebuild, stronger and wiser.
December 2018 just finished my 4th year of studying. Brother comes to me, and he says come let’s go to Dubai. I’m like bru I’m broke. Anyway somehow, I end up there, and it was an absolutely incredible experience. I was amazed at what they’ve done with a desert, the amazing architecture, the amazing people, very friendly and the weather was ridiculous but still it was an incredible experience. We come back and life is just good.
A couple of days later the 6th of January 2019 a day before the start of my 5th year of medical school, everything changed. The family arrives at our house on a Sunday morning. They were supposed to have lunch with my grandparents but according to them, no one was home. Which we found strange as my grandparents were in their 80s and my grandfather had severe arthritis and couldn’t lift his arms. We decided to go to the house and eventually gained access via a locksmith as everything was closed, I found my grandparents’ bodies in their house, cold and lifeless. They were strangled to death by their gardener and his friend. That…… was rock bottom…. A few days went by, and I sat down with my parents and told them I couldn’t go on, I couldn’t continue medicine and that I wanted to quit, I know things are going to remind me of them. I just can’t. And as clearly as I am speaking to you today my father gave me the final lesson.
“Son You cannot give up. No matter what you do you don’t give up. You are so close to finishing, no matter how rough it gets, you have to keep going”. If it wasn’t for my faith in God, and support from my parents and family, I would not be here as a medical doctor addressing you today.
In closing, I ask you to consider each of these lessons every day. Are you adaptable, are you earning respect and not demanding it, are you kind, are you making sure your desire to serve outweighs your need to be recognised? Are you consistent and disciplined? Do you have courage? Are you serving others?
By doing this for yourselves you will be honouring all those that have come before you, all those that have lost their lives so that we can be here today… and have the honour of saying SUPERA MORAS!
May you all be blessed, thank you for having me!
