(Cape Town) – City of Cape Town traffic officer Nolusindiso Piyose said “doing the right thing” kept her motivated during the three-month search to reunite a homeless child with his family.

GOOD NEWS: City of Cape Town Traffic officer Nolusindiso Piyose receiving her commendation badge from mayoral committee member for safety, JP Smith: News24.

“I am humbled. It’s been a long journey, but I didn’t give up hope – I knew I needed to find him; I knew I needed to do the right thing,” Piyose told News24 on Tuesday afternoon August 1 after receiving a commendation badge from the City of Cape Town for “outstanding work”. She has been working as an officer for six years.

“I am a kind person; I was simply doing my job,” she said.

Piyose, 33, first met the 17-year-old homeless teen while on duty in Camps Bay in December. At the time, Piyose had just returned to work after being hijacked in front of a Khayelitsha hospital.