How Nhlanhla Thabatha is transforming lives through social work, LGBTQIA+ advocacy — and time

Nhlanhla Fiona Thabatha always knew she wanted to be a social worker. Born and raised in Duduza, Ekurhuleni, Thabatha fondly remembers sharing her professional ambitions with her mother from a young age.

“I grew up without a father figure, and my mom says I would always tell her that I wanted to be a social worker to help kids who, like me, grew up without their fathers around,” she said.

Thabatha began her journey by volunteering at a local drop-in centre in Duduza. In 2011, she received a scholarship to study social work, marking the start of her professional career.

Now, at 38 years old, she serves as an auxiliary social worker at the Heidelberg Emmasdal Child and Youth Care Centre, where she assists girls with severe conduct disorders. Thabatha is passionate about fostering positive change and community well-being.

“I work with girls from the age of 13 to 18, and it is girls with severe emotional behavioural problems that come here through a court order. The work that I do is not office based 100% of the time. We are in the office for paper work but we go outside to render programmes to schools around Heidelberg and Ratanda,” she said. 

One of Thabatha’s most rewarding experiences was helping a child who was struggling with their sexuality. 

“I work in a school of industry, and there is one for boys and one for girls. I was able to assist the other institution where they had a child who wanted to understand their sexuality and they were referred to me. I would say that [was] one of my success stories, because after the talk with the child, the institution never experienced any bad behaviour from the child, or any wrongdoings from the child,” she said. 

Thabatha’s approach involves relating to children and giving them a voice.

“I ask them what they want, and then we discuss if they think what they want versus what we want for them is good. I make them look at the outcomes of things they want to achieve and what will be better for them in the long run,” she said. 

A labour of love 

Thabatha’s field of work comes with its own challenges, and she frequently reminds herself that Rome was not built in a day and that the work she is doing can take a lengthy period of time.

“I think what prevents one from falling into a pit of despair is when out of 10 children, maybe one or two don’t turn out to be what you’re hoping for, at least you turn back to the eight and you can say, if I’ve managed to change them, there’s still hope, so let me not just give up on them and let me give them some time,” she said. 

“That is what gives me hope, if Rome wasn’t built in a day and I’m building the Roman Empire, it will take me some weeks or some months for me to see I’m laying a structure here. It is a long-term thing and it needs patience and love, you need to have a love for working with children and I love them.”

Her colleague Zethu Makaula says the way Thabatha treats the children in her care is akin to how a mother treats her children.

“The children see her beyond her profession, they see her as a mother,” she said.

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