“To make the right choices in life, you have to get in touch with your soul. To do this, you need to experience solitude, which most people are afraid of, because in the silence you hear the truth and know the solutions.” Deepak Chopra
Fiona Brophy has recently been appointed as the new social worker at Sunfield Home. She is 57 years old, born in Cape Town, but grew up in country towns like Grabouw, Villiersdorp and Ceres. She studied Social Work at UCT and much later went to Stellenbosch University to complete a Master’s Degree. She loves her work and the people she has worked with.
Fiona has had a very long and interesting career, working in various fields including Child Welfare, Domestic Violence, Shelters for Abused Women, Palliative Care, Community Development and Counselling with Farm Workers, Youth Development and Addiction Treatment.
She is divorced and has two sons, 24 and 26 years old who have both travelled and are studying at Stellenbosch. She is very close to her mother and sister who live in Somerset West and Wellington respectively .
She considers the position at Sunfield Home a gift, as she was told about it by Sister Cherryl on her birthday in March. Cherryl and Fiona had been colleagues at Drakenstein Hospice back in 2008. During 2009 she worked as a volunteer at Sunfield Home and retained fond memories of this time. She had also been hoping for a position closer to Wellington as she moved here in May 2020.
Fiona stands impressed and inspired by the warmth, professional approach and ideas of the staff and management at Sunfield Home. She is looking forward to joining the management team who complement each other and develop additional services that can enhance the emotional care of the residents and their families.
“I would like to listen to understand, learn from and see what is expressed by the residents, staff, families and management regarding the challenging areas and needs and be appropriately responsive regarding the services I deliver. I am a practical and versatile person and have a strengths-based, empowerment type approach. I help people to see and use the abilities, gifts and capacities they have.”
Fiona believes that society desperately needs the light-filled, loving presence of people with intellectual disabilities, as they are people with open hearts, who are truthful and in touch with their whole inner child. She believes the world is changing in a positive way and hope that more people will be able to connect with them through our common humanity rather than fearing our differences.
Since she has had plenty of her own challenges in life, she would like to think that she has benefitted from life experience… probably our greatest teacher. She is motivated by the conviction that our true human nature is good, tender, creative, resilient and loving and that fear and it’s consequences are learned. She wants to see and guide others to become aware of and experience their beautiful essence and inner power.
“We are so much more than we think we are or have been told we are.”
Fiona reads a lot, love studying new things, loves nature, the sea, enjoy writing, long walks, travelling and spending time alone and in silence. She isn’t big on social get-togethers. She craves deeper one on one conversations, always encouraging people to see their own value.
We believe that at Sunfield Home she will find these connections. Welcome Fiona!
