Boitumelo Maila
Health and Safety/Women in Uniform
Nominee's Province:
Mpumalanga
Project Name/Description:
Nurse – Mpumalanga Department of Health
Included in the beauty of Mpumalanga is Boitumelo Maila, a nurse known for her golden heart and the effortless ability to connect with people. Maila is a registered comprehensive nurse, writer, social entrepreneur and anti-GBV activist. As a member of the End GBV movement, she uses her relatable and warm personality to discuss uncomfortable issues around violence.
Moreover, Maila advocates for mental health and actively stands against the spread of HIV/AIDS, teenage pregnancy as well as substance abuse. To intensify her fight against these social ills, she collaborates with various organisations such as the South African Depression and Anxiety Group, the Nelson Mandela Foundation, the Mpumalanga College of Nursing and the Democratic Organisation of Nurses, to name a few.
Maila has been recognised by different awards platforms for the impact of her work as a nurse and activist. Among others, Inside Education named her as one of South Africa’s 100 inspirational young people. She was also honoured by the Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa in Mpumalanga as the best caring nurse, an award that declared her the best nurse in the province for 2019/20. As a result, she represented the Mpumalanga nursing fraternity at the national nursing awards held in Gauteng.
Again, Maila has appeared in nominations for Santam Women of the Future and Fabulous Women awards.
