Your health is your wealth: Are you nurturing your most valuable asset?

Creating and nurturing wealth is one of many things that our clients do best, but it is generally accepted that the first wealth is health. Bankmed's business is about the health and wellness of our members, our clients, employees and common stakeholders, and it is incumbent on us to occasionally raise questions that interrogate our current behaviour and provide tools that enable us to do the right things. As basic as this is, the limited extent to which we optimise available tools and benefits requires our efforts to be reinforced. So, the question is, what are you doing? More specifically, are you nurturing your most valuable asset?

Let me use the broader question above, "What are you doing?" to digress with a purpose. Reflecting on and celebrating Nelson Mandela's life during the month of July is still fresh in our minds and I would like to impose some profound leadership attributes about leaders of Mandela's calibre. I have it on good authority that it was around 1988, when this question from Oliver Tambo (while in exile at the time), found its way, as intended, to Nelson Mandela who was then in prison (I promise to stay above politics, but one can be forgiven for clutching at leadership lessons from the fathers of our free South Africa). Just to give more context: Mandela (affectionately referred to as Madiba), while in prison, was progressively and carefully cultivating the ground for negotiations that had become very urgent. Imprisonment and being exiled separated these comrades, and there was occasional (I would like to believe) misunderstanding, by some, of the efforts led by Madiba to prepare for negotiations. Tambo courageously enquired of his comrade on this specific occasion, "What are you doing, Madiba?" Madiba responded, "I am trying to get the government to talk to you."

We are all beneficiaries of the sacrifices made by extraordinary leaders like Nelson Mandela and Oliver Tambo, who held each other accountable, and triumphed against far greater challenges. We must remember this to stay committed in favour of the South Africa we want to see. I can imagine Mandela and Tambo now sitting together in heaven, and asking of us, "What are you doing, South Africa?".

Allow me to continue imagining (and I concede that I am biased towards things that give me joy and hope) that even though Tambo and Mandela became leaders whose primary area of focus was politics and the impact that this has on the daily lives of the citizens of their country of birth, they would indeed find greater joy from a number of achievements that we as a country should celebrate.

Banyana Banyana, the South African women's national soccer team, under the guidance of Desiree Ellis, were crowned Women's Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) champions for the first time in July 2022. What a way to conclude Mandela month and usher us into Women's month 2022! Let the younger ones amongst us (and others who lose track of the history behind the different public holidays) be reminded that South Africa commemorates Women's Month in August as a tribute to the more than 20 000 women who marched to the Union Buildings on 9 August 1956 in protest against the extension of Pass Laws to women. The Government of South Africa declared August women's month and 9 August is celebrated annually as Women's Day.

As I write this article, the Commonwealth Games are underway in Birmingham, and South Africans, who include exceptionally talented women, are making us proud. Our amazing female swimmers just recently walked away with both first and third place in the same event - the medals are rolling in!

Closer to home, 58.6% of Bankmed principal members are female. Women make up 63% of the Scheme Office team, and with a wife and two daughters, I am very happy under the illusion that I am in charge, because I know that I am actually in even safer, more caring hands. If you suspect that I am devoting part of this article to celebrating women, you are spot on. I have had the privilege of leading with, and being led by, some of the most capable women in my journey so far. I therefore proudly pay homage to women and the critical role that they play in all spheres of our lives.

Back to the question: "What are you doing?"; the question tends to be intimidating, and calls on one to reflect and account. It is easier to account on matters that are within your control and taking care of yourself is well within your control. It is a well-known phenomenon that those strong, capable, determined women in our lives tend to put everyone else's needs and wellbeing ahead of their own. This Women's month our reminder is to those selfless female members to look after themselves by optimising the benefits to which they have access, to lead good quality, healthy lives as they continue to lead our families, teams and organisations. To this end, the Bankmed Wellness Screening Toolkit, amongst other initiatives, seeks to empower Bankmed members with information and tools to nurture their most valuable asset. The call to action is to embrace wellness and the fact that knowledge about your health is power. It enables you to do the right things, towards nurturing your wealth.

So, as we are about to transition to a new season, what are you doing? Are you nurturing your most valuable asset? I really hope you are. And just as you are so selflessly there for others, Bankmed is here for you.

Here's to your good health!

Teddy Mosomothane
Bankmed: CEO and Principal Officer