Vuyokazi Langbooi is a social worker in the township of Ibhayi in the Eastern Cape. Over the 7 years she has worked with the community, she has exemplified multiple facets of selflessness, conviction and commitment not only to her work but the upliftment of her community. Following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the emergency lockdown regulations and protocols which followed had considerable implications for unsheltered and displaced people in her district. Vuyokazi led the team that provided shelter, food, health and other social services for a dignified life. This work began as an unfunded mandate within the Department of Social Development, but in the face of the immense need, Vuokazi took the initiative to approach various NGOs, government departments and other social partners to donate blankets, food parcels, water and other goods and services to support the relief effort. In the first few months of the Daku homeless shelter being established, Vuyokazi would spend her weekends meeting with and listening to the needs of residents. In the difficult months that followed, she was able to convene dialogues with residents to facilitate community healing and counselling. Through these safe spaces, she was able to get unsheltered children enrolled into local schools, support foreign nationals who needed it registered for asylum with the Department of Home Affairs, and locate and reintegrate many of the residents with their families and social support networks. ‘Integrity is about going above and beyond the call of duty. Respecting the people you work with and most of all it is about servanthood.’
