Wilderness Botswana – Emergency Medical Technician Bios

Internal use only.

Introducing Rescue One’s emergency medical technicians based in our Botswana concessions. A valuable addition to our Wilderness24 system, supported and guided by Park.Doctor and their Park Medic programme.

Our Wilderness medics will work closely with local medical regulatory associations and relevant tourism bodies to ensure best practice and alignment to local industry requirements alongside our internal standards.

Dr Simon King, CEO of Park.Doctor (the medical team behind Wilderness24), acknowledged the Park Medic programme and Wilderness’ efforts in placing medics in our wildlife areas, saying, “Wilderness continues to lead the way. Whilst the idea of using medics in wild places has been discussed and used by various industries, nobody has to date tried to crystallise a role for a medic in a wild environment, and then attach the competencies required to fill this role. Medical training programmes always assume an urban context of use and this leaves a gap. What Wilderness and its medical partners have done is to devise a specific framework for the utilisation of medics, which has specifically designed the structure of this role in the context of conservation tourism. This is a first in the industry, and is laying a solid foundation for bringing professional level health competency into the all-important interface of human activity in wild places”.

Meet the Medics:

  • Marshell Phiri is an Emergency Medical Technician for Wilderness Vumbura in the Okavango Delta. He lives in Ramonaka, a village in the Kgatleng district, and graduated in 2014 from Boitekanelo College as an Emergency Medical Care Technician. His qualifications include advanced HIV testing and counselling. Marshell gained a wealth of experience working as a Research Assistant for the University of Pennsylvania on a Malaria project, as a Phlebotomist with CT Diagnostic Lab and an Emergency Medical Care Technician Officer at Kasane Airport and at Maun Private Hospital. Marshell is proud to be part of the Park Medics team, providing medical services in cases of illness and emergencies to people in remote areas, where assistance was previously not offered. Marshell says, “I would like to see Park Medics recognised as a global profession because there is a need for health and safety services to be available to people based in remote wilderness areas”.
  • Thabiso Mokgosi is an Emergency Medical Technician for Wilderness Mombo in the Okavango Delta. She comes from Molepolole village near Gaborone, and completed her Emergency Medical Care studies in 2019 at Boitekanelo College. Thabiso values healthcare, integrity and working with people. Passionate about saving lives, her goal is to become a versatile medic equipped to work in different environments. She embraces the challenges of being far from family with limited access to resources and facilities, by recognising the importance of her role and using her skills to think outside of the box. Thabiso says her ambition is to manage her own Emergency Medical Service company that will provide pre-hospital care and training on first aid and wildlife behaviour.
  • Boemo Budingwa is an Emergency Medical Technician in Botswana’s Linyanti Reserve. He is from Marapong Village in the Central District and graduated in 2020 from Boitekanelo College as an Emergency Medical Care Technician. With three years’ experience in the field, his motto is that saving lives comes first. He notes that working in the bush creates new and interesting challenges daily. He values his skills which he uses to help people who are faced with a lack of health services and wildlife exposure. He is glad that he can help keep people safe and give them a sense of security in this remote environment. Boemo says, “My life goal is to be counted as one of the best healthcare professionals in the world, and also to obtain a Trauma Specialist qualification to further enhance my skills and ability to save lives”.
  • Gosego (Gifty) Ratsie is an Emergency Medical Technician for Wilderness Jao in the Okavango Delta. He comes from the southern part of Botswana, and completed his Emergency Medical Care studies in 2014 at Boitekanelo College. After graduating he gained trauma and emergency medical experience at Princess Marina Hospital, the Civil Aviation Authority of Botswana and Emergency Medical Services in Botswana and Eswatini. Gifty is an assertive and compassionate individual who enjoys caring for others. His life motto is to talk less and listen more. In his current role, his main responsibility is to respond to medical emergencies and provide care and assistance to not only save lives but prevent injuries.
  • Thuto Masiele is a Relief Emergency Medical Technician currently working between Wilderness camps in the Okavango Delta. He lives in Molepolole Village near Gaborone, and graduated in 2014 from Boitekanelo College as an Emergency Medical Care Technician. Thuto’s extensive emergency medical experience includes working for the Ministry of Health at Boseja Clinic in Maun, Bokamoso Private Hospital, Okavango Air Rescue and Sir Ketumile Masire Teaching Hospital. Recognising the importance of providing medical assistance to people in remote areas, Thuto says, “I enjoy working in the Okavango Delta where people and wildlife coexist. I am passionate about my role where I can use my knowledge and skills to assist people in need whilst inspiring future generations of medics.”
Read: Wilderness Welcomes Medics to our Concessions in Botswana