Awarded for service above all
Service Above All is not only Rotary International's motto, but also the slogan by which Nellah Bambo lives.
POLOKWANE – Service Above All is not only Rotary International’s motto, but also the slogan by which Nellah Bambo lives.
Bambo (59) says she lives to love her family and the 150 learners at the Siloe School for the Blind.
The Rotary Club Polokwane recently honoured Bambo with a Paul Harris Award for her selfless contribution to the community.
Bambo spoke to Review at the Pietersburg Provincial Hospital, where she was supporting a friend whose child was sick.
She said she was born and raised in Pretoria and completed her nurses’ training at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in 1984. She started her nursing career at the Groothoek Hospital, now Dr Machupe Mphahlele Memorial Hospital near Mokopane.
“I worked there until 1995 when I moved on to work at the Siloe School for the Blind. There I am in charge of primary health care for the learners with special needs,” she said.
She said her husband, Mxolisi, joined the Rotary Club Polokwane and she joined the Rotary Anns. Later, after she served a term as president of the Anns, she became a Rotarian too.
She credited her husband for setting a good example for their two sons and granddaughter.
“My husband’s name means ‘a person who forgives’ and that is exactly what he is. He never holds grudges and always tries to help others.”
Bambo said the Paul Harris Award was a great honour and she hoped to live up to the high standards of other Paul Harris Fellows.
“I did not know that I would win this award. Who am I to win this honour? I was very emotional when I received the award,” she said.
She explained that she found fulfilment in her work, because she did more than provide health care at the school.
“I love nursing. It is my passion in life. If I did not have a passion for this work, I would have stopped a long time ago.
“I am able to do so much at Siloe. Not only can I take care of the learners’ health and emotional needs, I also have the opportunity to support their parents and look after the elderly in our community,” she said.
Bambo said she was also actively involved in spiritual healing ministries.
When she is not taking care of others, Bambo likes to read inspirational books and garden.
She said she planned to retire next year, but would still work as a volunteer at Siloe.
