Let’s organise for decent care work

Thapelo Moncho

10 months ago
10 months ago

Let’s organise for decent care work

I am a Community Health Worker in the Northern Cape, an activist, and a member of the South African Care Workers Forum.

I speak to you, my fellow Community Health Workers. This is not only my story, it is our story. The story of those who wake up every day to serve, to care, and to bring hope where it is needed most.

I entered this work in 2015 and participated in the Wellness Foundation Diapela programme, which was a debriefing and support platform for Community Health Workers. The programme opened my eyes and I realised quickly that our care reaches far beyond medicine, referrals, or home visits. Care is also about dignity, recognition, and justice. Then I was introduced to the South African Care Workers Forum. This is the space where we organise for what we all deserve: recognition, regulation, permanent employment for all of us, fair working conditions and adequate wages.

On one side, we care for the sick, the elderly, and the vulnerable. On the other, we must also protect ourselves as workers by insisting that our work matters and must be respected and valued. These are basic rights, not privileges. That is why organising through the South African Care Workers Forum is essential. Alone, any one of us can be ignored. Together, we are powerful.

That is why we must commit to building a care workers collective that cannot be pushed aside or silenced. And the struggle is about today and about the future. If we allow the system to devalue our work now, the next generation of care workers will inherit the same struggles. So my call to you, my comrades in care, is to unite. Let us organise. Our communities depend on our care. We must depend on one another to get recognition, respect, and rights.

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