In 2020, AL South Africa highlighted the work of Unathi Filita, who works as a Social Worker for the provincial Department of Social Development in Uitenhage in the Eastern Cape and was among SA’s Icons that year. Filita specializes in the monitoring and evaluation of NGOs and CBOs that receive grant funding from the department, ensuring that the organizations fulfil their mandates and complete annual project plans supplied to the department. Filita monitors organizations working with victims of sexual violence and substance abuse, sex workers, the elderly, vulnerable children and early childhood development.
In 2020, Filita organized the services he supplies to the communities in his catchment area under one umbrella in order to make it easier for the organizations to access the basket of services. This has also minimized the duplication of services.
He has also taken the initiative to tackle youth unemployment in his region, a priority that does not fall under his job description but one that Filita has taken upon himself to assist with. In particular, he has collaborated with nonprofit social enterprise Harambee in securing employment for more than 100 young men and women at the local Volkswagen plant outside Uitenhage. Many of these youths are the only breadwinners in child-headed households. “I am that kind of a person who is a hard worker, willing to go the extra mile in ensuring service delivery to vulnerable communities,” Filita says. Lockdown measures have taken a destructive toll on the local economy in the area and moved Filita to secure extended work contracts for these youths, ensuring they will remain employed until the third quarter of 2021. He is also in negotiation with Volkswagen to secure permanent employment for some of these graduates.
Filita has also had the opportunity to expand the scope of his professional career, being invited to guest lecture a community skills module at Nelson Mandela University in Gqeberha on the back of his win. He is also a mentor to 7 newly-graduated Social Workers. Filita’s efforts have been recognised officially by the province with Eastern Cape social development MEC Siphokazi Lusithi calling his actions inspiring for his colleagues “and society in general”. “The work of a social worker is driven by a deep sense of compassion for those vulnerable in society and Unathi has shown that social workers driven by this sense of compassion still exist,” Lusithi told local media.