Ntleko honoured for lifetime of compassionate service

When Sister Abegail Ntleko was only four years old, she lost her mother and, because her father was too sickly to take care of 12 children by himself, neighbours rallied around the family to help.

The warmth and support she received at the time turned Ntleko, now 91, into a compassionate person who grew up to also help those in need. She started an orphanage, and worked tirelessly to ensure easy access to health care for rural communities in KwaZulu-Natal.

Then when the stigma against HIV-positive people was at its highest in SA, Ntleko was at the forefront of fighting the shame associated with the virus and helping those who were affected.

It was this selflessness and desire to help others that saw the University of Johannesburg confer an honorary doctorate on Ntleko for her commitment to transforming lives and communities, and her decades of service in rural health care. 

“It is humbling and I feel honoured,” Ntleko said after the ceremony on Monday.

“It is uplifting and I am going to encourage people to never give up in life,” she said.

Ntleko was among two global trailblazers recognised at the ceremony for their contributions to society, sustainability, and innovation. Barbara Masekela, poet, anti-apartheid stalwart and Nelson Mandela’s former chief of staff, was also honoured at the event.

Ntleko, the youngest of 12 children, was born and raised in Harding, KwaZulu-Natal.

She only started school at the age of 14 and later qualified as a nurse. Working in poor, rural communities, Ntleko came across many societal problems and health issues, such as leprosy and typhoid, that forced her to tackle them head-on.

She also pioneered mobile clinics, hospitals, and orphanages while developing holistic programmes that integrated education, therapy, and agriculture to support children affected by HIV and trauma.

Ntleko said her journey of fighting HIV was not easy as she had to educate people who believed the virus “only affected gay people or that it is a punishment from God”.  

She recalled being able to “wipe out” polio and measles among children in rural areas by immunising them and also educating and training sangomas and traditional healers on HIV/Aids.

“I wish I was young, I would go back to work again,” she said. “I would never stop talking about the importance of people looking after themselves. And I am teaching my communities about the spirit of ubuntu.”

Ntleko assisted child-headed families who were affected by the disease.

The first orphanage she started had 88 children from child-headed homes.

“I would say to the relatives, 'find someone who can look after the [children’s] homes, I am taking them to the orphanage so that they can be educated. We don't expect a 12-year-old to pay for transport to school and to buy onions.”

Ntleko sustained her initiatives after she received the Dalai Lama’s Unsung Hero of Compassion Award in 2009.

“Everybody was willing to support. I am in an area where there are a lot of farmers. I used to attend the farmers’ association meetings. If a worker dies and leaves their children, who is going to look after them? I used to absorb them from the farm and take the children to the home,” she said. 

Due to her age,  Ntleko has now handed her orphanages over to the community. 

With the recent withdrawal of USAID from SA, which was instrumental in helping the fight against HIV, Ntleko is worried that the fight against HIV/Aids will slow down. 

“If America is stopping the assistance to SA, we are going to go back to square one,” she said. “I don’t think our government would be able to provide ARVs in a way that they were providing it. The government won't have enough money to provide, because they were struggling back then.”

Ntleko concluded by encouraging young people to “love themselves and stop sleeping around”.   

SowetanLIVE