Social worker from Secunda wants to focus on youth development

Tshegofatso Gaebuelwe began working as a social worker at Famsa in Secunda in April.

She first studied towards a degree in B.Com Accounting at Rhodes University in the Eastern Cape, but she quickly realised this was not for her as she did not like working with numbers.

She enrolled on a student volunteer programme and worked with different organisations that offered tutoring classes and mentoring classes.

“I then realised that I enjoy working with people,” said Gaebuelwe.

“I began applying to different universities to study to become a social worker.”

She was accepted at a few universities and decided to study at the University of the Western Cape in Bellville.

After she finished her studies, she battled to find a job as she did not have a driver’s license and most jobs required her to have one, but with the Covid-19 pandemic, it was difficult to apply for one.

She went for driving lessons and received her driver’s license in December.

Before settling in Secunda, Gaebuelwe first made a turn in Vereeniging where she volunteered as a social worker at a Drugs and Alcohol Help Centre.

While she was volunteering, she was also searching for a stable job and when the opportunity came to work at Famsa Highveld in Secunda, she grabbed it with both hands.

About living in Secunda, she said places are the same, it just depends on how a person adapts to their circumstances.

She described herself as an indoor person and said she enjoys reading and writing poetry books.

She has already published six poetry books.

Gaebuelwe writes about social issues such as teenage pregnancies, abuse, gender socialisation and HIV Aids to mention a few.

“I grew up in an environment where all these things were very visible,” said Gaebuelwe.

One of her interests and also one of the things she wants to focus on in her job as a social worker is youth development.

“If issues in a child’s life are not addressed at an early age, it only progresses to bigger issues as they grow older.”

Gaebuelwe’s first published poetry book is called Oshyn of Blessings and her latest poetry book which was re-published this year is called Dear Boy Child.

The Gauteng Department of Education annually runs a young writers’ competition and four of Gaebuelwe’s books were reviewed, approved and recommended for use in secondary school libraries.

Gaebuelwe also began a book publishing business in 2017 and she focused on helping aspiring authors with editorial and publishing processes.

She learned great life lessons in the past few years with all the encounters she had as a poet, author, business owner and social worker.

One of the best lessons for Gaebuelwe is that no matter how far you’ve gone on the wrong road, you can still turn back.

She is proud to be a social worker.

“As a writer, I use poetry to address social issues, as a social worker, I get into action and I get to make a difference in the lives of those people dealing with these issues one person at a time,” said Gaebuelwe.