Constance Glerah "Conny" Nxumalo (18 February 1967 – 22 August 2020) was a South African social worker and government official, sometimes referred to as "South Africa's Chief Social Worker".

Early life

Constance Glerah Nxumalo was born in Rolle,

Mpumalanga Mpumalanga () is a province of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It ...

province, the daughter of Anny, and the stepdaughter of Ezrom Makhubela. Her mother was a teacher; her stepfather was a school principal. She earned a degree in

social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...

University of Limpopo The University of Limpopo is a university in the Limpopo Province, South Africa. It was formed on 1 January 2005, by the merger of the University of the North and the Medical University of South Africa (MEDUNSA). These previous institutions for ...

in 1989. She later earned a master's degree in management at the

University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African Public university, public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( o ...

Career

Nxumalo worked as a social worker in

Gazankulu Gazankulu was a bantustan in South Africa, intended by the apartheid government to be a semi-independent homeland for the Tsonga people. It was located in both the Northern Transvaal, now Limpopo province and Eastern Transvaal, now Mpumalanga ...

after college. Her experience working in the Black-only state under

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

helped her contribute to the new government after 1994. She helped to write legislation on social services, especially those serving Black children, women, families, and seniors. She became director of the Mpumalanga Ministry of Social Development, and later national head of the Families and Social Crime Prevention Department. She contributed to national policies focused on the

foster care Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home (residential child care community, treatment center, etc.), or private home of a state-certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent" or with a family mem ...

system,

substance abuse Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods which are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder. Differing definitions of drug abuse are used in public health, ...

treatment, and

domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...

prevention. In 2013 she was appointed deputy director-general of welfare services in the Department of Social Development. She was sometimes referred to as "South Africa's Chief Social Worker." In 2016, she spoke at a United Nations symposium on violence against women, held in Pretoria. In early 2020, she was involved in helping South African nationals return to South Africa during travel restrictions and border closures due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

Personal life

Nxumalo had three daughters. Conny Nxumalo died in

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...

in August 2020, from

coronavirus Coronaviruses are a group of related RNA viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans and birds, they cause respiratory tract infections that can range from mild to lethal. Mild illnesses in humans include some cases of the com ...

. She was 53 years old. In addition to her government work, she was working on a doctorate in social work at the University of the Witwatersrand. Rory Truell, the secretary-general of the

International Federation of Social Workers The International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) is the worldwide body for professional social work. It comprises 141 professional social work associations representing over 3 million social workers. IFSW has formal consultative status with th ...

, sent a statement to her memorial service reading, in part, "Her championing of child protection and commitment to stop violence against women acted as a role model for governments around the globe. The lives of many people are better because of Conny Nxumalo, the profession of social work is stronger because of Conny Nxumalo."

References

External links

A 2015 video of Conny Nxumalo
speaking about the role of social workers, on YouTube. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nxumalo, Conny 1967 births 2020 deaths 21st-century South African women politicians 21st-century South African politicians People from Mpumalanga Social workers University of Limpopo alumni University of the Witwatersrand alumni 20th-century South African women politicians 20th-century South African politicians Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa