Ntleko honoured for lifetime of compassionate service

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.