The Order of the Baobab in Bronze

Mpho Sebanyoni-Mothlasedi (1959 - ) Awarded for:

Her dedicated service to the community and her outstanding contribution to homebased care and health in South Africa.

Profile of Mpho Sebanyoni-Mothlasedi

Mpho Sebanyoni-Mothlasedi is a former nurse who resigned from her paid job to establish Sunrise Hospice Care in Temba, Hammanskraal, North West.

Despite apathy, cynicism and indifference from friends and others, Sebanyoni-Mothlasedi quietly and yet determinedly set about to implement an idea borne out of love and dedication to her profession and her people: to recruit volunteer care-givers to conduct home-based care for the terminally ill.

The Sunrise Hospice Care Centre also provides community services and support through voluntary HIV/AIDS counselling and testing, home-based care training and information, support-group meetings for the infected and affected, day care for people living with HIV/AIDS, respite care to relieve family care-givers, an orphan and vulnerable children programme and a grow-your-own medicinal herb garden programme.

From its initial humble origins, the Sunrise Hospice Care Centre has become a hub for other non-governmental organisations and tertiary institutions to use for, among other things, workshops, information and research and skills training to generate an income for people living with HIV/AIDS.

Mpho Sebanyoni-Mothlasedi is the true embodiment of the philosophy of Letsema, selflessly offering her time, knowledge and education to meet the challenges of her community.