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NOKWANA Dlamini is the official social worker for a Trauma Unit (Turning Point) in Durban. She spoke to Fever’s Purnal Poonusamy about the work she does.
- Tell us a bit about yourself.
- My name is Nokwanda Dlamini and I am 29-years old. I am from Umkhambathini, near Pietermaritzburg, and I have two children.
PP: What do you do at the ATU?
ND: I am the social worker at the Trauma Unit, I got my qualifications from UNISA and I graduated in 2014.
PP: Can you tell us a bit of your history in this occupation?
ND: I started here as a part time social worker, as a volunteer social worker, in February 2015, then I became permanent in April 2015. I’ve only been at the Trauma Unit in my career.
PP: How do you feel about your job?
ND: It is a very stressful job, emotional and draining. I love my job very much, I love working with people from different places and cultures. Having that one person, even if it is one person, that says “thank you very much for what you have done for me” is itself really rewarding. It is an NPO, we don’t have much financial support, so the people that do come back and say thank you, [are important]. Some contact and say that their life is much better than it was.
PP: What are your plans for the future?
ND: I want to go back to study part-time for self-development. I have started short courses and obtained CBD points.
PP: What are some of the memorable moments you would like to share?
ND: Meeting a lot of people, and working with different kinds of people.
PP: Do have a message you would like to pass on to the community
ND: We would really appreciate support at the ATU, we really need assistance. I also encourage them to come forward and speak out about issues we deal with.
