MEET THE 2018 INTEGRITY IDOLS SA FINALISTS!
The finalists in South Africa’s first Integrity Idol initiative have been announced.
They are a doctor, a police captain, a nurse, two EMS responders, and an educator, drawn from across the country.
South Africans were asked to nominate those civil servants working in the healthcare, education, and safety and security sectors, and whose work ethic was to do the right thing even when no one is watching.
Teachers, doctors, nurses, community care workers, social workers, policemen and -women, and more were all eligible for the first edition of this programme, which aims to generate debate around the idea of integrity, build a network of honest government officials who can push for positive change and inspire a new generation to be more effective public servants.
The voting stage opens on 4 May.
THE FINALISTS
Mirja Delport (left in picture) is a doctor at the Oudtshoorn District Hospital, Western Cape. “I grew up with an experience of the challenges within public healthcare. For me, integrity is not letting one of my patients slip through the cracks in what is a difficult and overburdened environment.”
Deon Easu and Jocelin Flank (second from left) were nominated as a team. They are fire fighters and EMS responders from Johannesburg, Gauteng. Together with colleagues they initiated the South African Fire Youth Development Academy to train young people to become fully-fledged fighters.
Captain Vinny Pillay (centre) from Umhlali Police Station, KwaZulu-Natal, says his work as a police officer is a lifelong calling to continue safeguarding communities in South Africa.
Natascha Meisler (second from right) is an educator at PT Sanders Combined School in Trompsburg, Free State, and an advocate for students with learning disabilities. “I have been bullied for advocating for the needs of my students but continue to serve with Integrity. Our learners keep myself and my colleagues going.”
Elizabeth Mkhondo (right) is a nurse at Stanza Bopape Clinic, Mamelodi East in Tshwane, Gauteng, working in the centre’s TB Unit. “As a nurse, integrity for me has always been about making a real difference in my community in very difficult resource circumstances. It is about extending care to all my patients.”
We congratulate them all!
Such a cool idea!