14/08/2026
Thank you, Security, for this beautiful acknowledgment. 🥺🫶🏼
We certainly don’t do what we do for recognition or acknowledgment — we do it because we believe every patient deserves access to quality emergency care when they need it most.
That said, being recognised and appreciated by those who work alongside us means more than you know. Thank you for your kind words, your continued support, and for standing alongside UREMS in helping us help others. 🙏🏼💙
🌸 BCI SECURITY WOMAN OF THE MONTH 🌸
Celebrating Women of Strength, Purpose and Impact
Throughout Women’s Month, BCI Security is proudly honouring four remarkable women whose courage, leadership and dedication are making a meaningful difference in the safety and emergency response industries.
Like the protea, these women represent resilience the strength to overcome adversity, continue growing and create opportunities for those following behind them.
Today, we proudly introduce our second Woman of the Month:
Karien Naude
Founder and Leader of UREMS
Her journey in emergency medical services began in 2000. Starting at Basic Life Support level, she steadily progressed through Intermediate and Advanced Life Support before completing a National Diploma, Bachelor’s degree and Master’s degree in Emergency Medical Care.
Her career has taken her far beyond South Africa’s borders, including working in South Sudan and spending two years in Iraq. Every stage of this journey has shaped the experienced emergency care professional and compassionate leader she is today.
Leadership That Develops Others
One of the greatest lessons she learned after moving into management was that leadership is not about proving that you are the most experienced person in the room.
Early in her leadership journey, she sometimes became frustrated when people did not understand something that appeared obvious to her or when work was not completed to the standard she expected.
Through honest self-reflection, she realised that frustration and criticism would never help someone grow. People have different qualifications, experiences and levels of understanding. If she wanted them to improve, she needed to communicate respectfully, meet them where they were and teach them.
This lesson remains central to the way she leads UREMS today.
«“You don’t lead people by demanding that they be where you are. You lead them by helping them get there.”»
Turning Adversity into Strength
Her resilience began developing long before she entered emergency medical services.
As a child, she experienced significant hair loss and was often mocked or made to feel different. Although those experiences were painful, they taught her a lesson that remained with her throughout her life:
«“Other people’s perception of you does not have to determine how you see yourself.”»
Her faith became an important source of strength. She believes that God gave her a purpose and that this purpose is not measured by how other people see her, but by what she has been called to do.
Emergency medical services can be a male-dominated environment, but she never allowed her gender to define what she could or could not achieve. Her work in demanding international environments further proved that competence, adaptability and the ability to work effectively with people matter far more than assumptions based on gender.
For her, breaking barriers is no longer only about being the woman who gets through the door.
«“It is about holding that door open for the women coming behind you.”»
Responding to a Critical Community Need
One of her proudest achievements is establishing UREMS an organisation created to help address a specific and urgent gap within the community.
UREMS focuses primarily on critically ill and injured patients who are uninsured and may otherwise struggle to access advanced prehospital emergency care when they need it most.
Since receiving its operational licence on 4 April 2025, she has operated the organisation full-time without drawing a salary. Despite the personal sacrifices involved, she describes herself as deeply content because she knows exactly why she is doing this work.
UREMS is also strengthened by meaningful international collaboration. Medical students, doctors and paramedics from countries including Austria and Germany regularly work alongside her.
Through its collaboration with ASAMEx, UREMS has received valuable equipment, medical resources and assistance with certain vehicle operating costs. These partnerships bring together different experiences, knowledge and perspectives while keeping patient care at the centre of everything they do.
She also holds enormous respect for Gauteng Provincial Government Emergency Medical Services crews. Working alongside them has allowed her to witness their professionalism, dedication and the immense pressure under which they operate.
«“Making an impact is sometimes about identifying a gap, doing something practical to address it and creating a culture in which people from different backgrounds can work and learn together.”»
Compassion in the Middle of Chaos
Emergency medicine can be physically, clinically and emotionally demanding. Responders often walk into scenes of extreme chaos involving critically injured patients.
Her approach is grounded in a clear understanding of her responsibility: she cannot change what has already happened, but she can do everything possible to improve the situation.
She does not judge why a patient was injured or whether that person deserves assistance. Her responsibility is to provide ethical, compassionate and competent medical care.
«“We don’t cause the chaos we walk into. We arrive and try to bring some order to it.”»
Sometimes responders save a life. Sometimes they relieve suffering. At other times, their role is to ensure that a person’s final moments are treated with dignity and compassion.
Protecting patient dignity remains extremely important to her. Although emergency scenes may sometimes be documented for education, this should never compromise a patient’s privacy or dignity. Every patient is still a human being experiencing one of the most vulnerable moments of their life.
The Importance of Teamwork and Reflection
She believes strongly in reflection and debriefing after difficult incidents.
Not every emergency unfolds perfectly. When something does not go as planned, the team must ask what they can learn and how they can improve during the next response.
The international students and medical professionals working alongside her also contribute valuable knowledge and different perspectives. In return, she shares her experience of South Africa’s local prehospital environment.
Difficult cases particularly those involving children can have a lasting emotional effect on responders. This has reinforced her belief that emergency personnel need to speak about their experiences, support one another and avoid carrying every burden home alone.
Her Message to Future Responders
Her advice to young women and aspiring emergency responders is simple:
«“If you have a purpose in your heart, don’t wait for everything to be perfectly aligned before you start.”»
When UREMS began, she did not have every answer or all the necessary resources. Yet, through faith and determination, support continued to arrive, sometimes through financial contributions, equipment or time, and sometimes through simple words of encouragement.
She remains deeply grateful to every person who has believed in the vision and contributed to the organisation.
Her message is to begin wherever you are. Volunteer. Learn. Work hard. Find people who know more than you and be willing to learn from them. Reflect honestly when things go wrong, and use those experiences to grow.
Most importantly:
«“Don’t let somebody else’s opinion of what you can achieve become the ceiling of your life.”»
BCI Security proudly honors Karien Naude a woman whose faith, resilience, knowledge and compassion are bringing hope and advanced emergency care to people when they need it most.
Her journey reminds us that leadership is not about how high we rise on our own. It is about how many people we teach, support and lift along the way.
🌸 Like the protea, a strong woman does not allow difficult conditions to define her future. She rises with purpose, opens the way for others and brings hope where it is needed most. 🌸
