Founder Profile: Mrs. Taffy Gould

What would you like the students to know about yourself?

I was born and grew up in Miami, Florida USA After high school, I went to Smith College (a university, in America), where I majored in French and spent my third year studying at The Sorbonne in Paris, graduating with honors. After Smith, I took a job as a computer programmer, and then later switched to teaching French and Math at The Everglades School for Girls, in Miami Following marriage and the birth of my two children (Greg Beber being the second), I worked for Public Television, later spending six months traveling around the world interviewing American women married to foreign men who lived in their husband's countries.

What is something that the student body wouldn't know about you?

I am part of a number of US Think Tanks, focusing on security, defense, foreign affairs, and education.

What do you like to do in your spare time?

I never have spare time! Though, I used to be a tennis player, and I used to read a lot Now I mostly only find time to read when I travel.

The Student Magazine recently wrote an article on physiological benefits of music, which you responded to, how has music played a role in your life?

Classical music plays a large part in my life, and I always recommend the book, 'This is Your Brain on Music' by Daniel Levitin (MD), whom I met and interviewed many years ago. Did you know the tempo of Baroque Music stimulates the brain, and setting a metronome to that tempo will assist with learning? To me, the composing of a pre-20th century symphony represents the greatest genius in the world.

You wrote a book ‘White Woman Witchdoctor'. Could you tell us a little bit about it?

As a radio talk-back host, I was invited as 'an opinion former' by the Government of South Africa, to see for myself what was going on there. This was in 1989. Most people took it as a free holiday, but I had already been to South Africa twice, so I wanted to pursue interviews I completed almost 100 in 35 weeks, culminating in my first book, 'South Africa: Land of Hope', which became a source book on the country. I later returned to Africa for a six-week book tour, and I planned to write another book on the women of varied South Africaan communities. It was during that trip that a woman I interviewed mentioned 'Rae Graham', the Vice Mayor of Johannesburg, who was a Witchdoctor. I made an appointment with her, and she recommended that we speak in her home. At that time, I was President of the Tribal Arts Society of the Lowe Art Museum at the University of Miami. So, when I entered her house and saw all the various African artifacts, I knew exactly what they were, and it created an immediate bond. I spent two hours with her, hearing her stories, and as we walked to my car, I told her that I thought her stories should be written down and that I would like to be the one to do it I ended up spending two months there, hearing her stories, and we decided to call the book, 'White Woman Witchdoctor'. It ended up #1 on the Sunday Times Best Seller List, in South Africa. As the subtitle 'Tales of the African Life of Rae Graham' indicates, the book is in Rae’s voice, not mine, and according to her daughter I was able to capture Rae perfectly as I recounted her tales.

What was your greatest experience from your time in Africa, and how did it impact your life?

My greatest experiences in South Africa were the meetings and interviews that I did while working on 'South Africa: Land of Hope'. The dedication of that book reads, “For all my South African Friends May they, one day, come to know one another.” I found that problems stemmed largely from the fact that people only read the newspapers from their own community, so they really didn’t know a lot about other groups' thoughts. While I was there, I learned that there were radicals on both the Far Left and the Far Right, and the vast majority of groups (Blacks, Whites, and Indians) wanted peace and collegiality. The original title of the book had a question mark at the end, but when Nelson Mandela was released from jail, I chose to remove it. One of the great thrills I have experienced in my life was when some South Africans, visiting in Florida, told their South African hosts that my book, 'South Africa: Land of Hope', changed South Africa. They said that before the book was written, no one knew what anyone else was saying. The book included narratives, interview questions and quotes from a dozen South African newspapers that I had been reading. I even hired a young South African, living in Miami, to teach me the Afrikaans language and made myself 2500 flash cards with words and phrases. So, when I was honoured by the Johannesburg City Council, I was able to provide my response in Afrikaans and I shocked the entire auditorium!

You have accomplished so much in your life. So, in honour of International Woman’s Day, what is one piece of advice that you would give to your younger self?

Never be afraid to be a pioneer. Learn to be a good listener. Make empathy a major part of your personality. Read about history (even historical novels). Explore new places. Be grateful for your talents and opportunities and give back to your wider community and the world.

Why did you decide to open a medical school?

I learned about the global shortage of doctors and the advantages of distance learning, so I decided that we could make a difference if we made it possible for people to study medicine remotely. It was pure coincidence that the Consul General for Samoa, in Sydney, heard what I had envisioned and contacted the PM of Samoa.

We were advised to submit our curriculum to the Samoan Medical Council, and if they accepted it, we would be welcomed there. I give the (now former) PM full credit for his vision and loyalty, as OUM grew to accept students from almost 60 different countries, whilst adding significantly to the number of doctors in Samoa.

What are some struggles you have overcome with OUM over the years?

The initial struggle was the fact that no one, especially doctors, thought that medicine could be taught this way. The challenges were the same as with any start-up educational institution, finding good faculty, good students, and of course, finding suitable clinical placements. I’ve always been grateful to our students, who have proved their competence, their worth and made those who took a chance with us, surprised but also eager to accept more mature and serious medical students.

Where do you see OUM in the future and what are some of your goals?

Knowing of the ongoing global shortage of doctors, I have always hoped to expand OUM to work with other governments to increase their medical forces. We are happy that we have been able to work with the National University, and their National Hospital, to create a programme that answered their needs.