Changing the lives of others

“It gives me a deep sense of fulfilment to make a difference in the lives of people and to see their transformation after I’ve helped them,” said Nomkhosi Xulu (48), a social worker who lives in Meyersdal.

Nomkhosi Xulu

Social worker at heart

Nomkhosi works at the People Opposing Women Abuse (POWA) office in Vosloorus.

POWA is a feminist NPO that provides advocacy, skills-development opportunities, counselling, legal advice, sheltering and court support services to gender-based violence (GBV) survivors.

Her job involves providing counselling to GBV survivors via telephone, Facebook, email and face-to-face.
She also runs therapeutic support groups for survivors where they share their thoughts, feelings and experiences and support and learn from each other.

Additionally, Nomkhosi carries out presentations, runs workshops and hands out pamphlets on various aspects of GBV at clinics and numerous organisations within communities.

This and that

Originally from Trust Feed, near Pietermaritzburg, in KwaZulu-Natal, Nomkhosi did some financial courses after finishing school and then worked as an admin clerk before becoming a financial planner.

“It was while doing financial planning that I saw how some of my rich clients were depressed and some even committed suicide,” Nomkhosi explained.

“I had always placed much value on money and I couldn’t understand how people with so much money, who could afford the best of everything could be depressed. I then became curious about people’s inner world. I did some research and found that social work was a profession that enabled me to better understand it.”

In 2010, Nomkhosi registered for her social work degree at Unisa and completed her qualification in 2015. “I enjoyed the course and learnt a lot, like the importance of respecting people in their own, unique way and respecting people’s potential to solve their problems.”

While Nomkhosi could be earning more as a financial planner, she’s happier as a social worker. “No monetary value can be placed on the sense of satisfaction I get from promoting the well-being of others,” she said.

“I love the opportunity social work gives me to help people and work with communities at a grassroots level.”

Nomkhosi also enjoys learning about the criminal justice system, but she said that it can be frustrating because it doesn’t take GBV seriously.

To better address GBV, she believes that the criminal justice system needs to be improved and that more work needs to be done with families because attitudes and behaviours that fuel GBV start within the home environment.

Contact POWA

If you or someone you know is experiencing physical, emotional, verbal, sexual or financial abuse, you can contact a counsellor by phoning POWA on 011 642 4345/6 or send an email to counselling@powa.co.za

*The article and image were republished here with the kind permission of Comaro Chronicle.

*Teaser image sourced from powa.co.za.