Sometimes life’s most profound purposes emerge from our deepest struggles. For Barbara Campbell-Ker, Chairperson of Stepping Stone Hospice’s board, a cancer diagnosis that threatened to end her story at 37 instead became the opening chapter of a remarkable journey spanning nearly four decades of hospice service.

In 1986, Barbara faced every person’s worst nightmare. The cancer was serious, the prognosis uncertain. Her husband, recognizing the gravity of the situation, made her promise something that would inadvertently change countless lives: she wouldn’t work for two years while she recovered.
“They didn’t know if I was going to live or not,” Barbara recalls of those frightening early days.

But what followed was nothing short of miraculous. Her recovery was complete, and with it came a restlessness—a need to channel her renewed lease on life into something meaningful.
The answer came when she contacted Wits Hospice, simply asking if they needed help with books or accounts. That phone call would transform not just her life, but the entire landscape of hospice care in South Africa.

What began as volunteer work three times a week quickly blossomed into something much larger. Barbara’s passion for hospice care grew alongside her involvement. Within two years, she had transitioned from volunteer to staff member, then to head of administration and finance, and eventually to CEO—all while pursuing her studies in Business Management.

“Doors began to open”. Her work extended far beyond South Africa’s borders when she was invited to speak about PEPFAR in the United States. Closer to home, she played a pivotal role in establishing Soweto Hospice, ensuring that quality palliative care reached underserved communities. Barbara’s leadership in the hospice movement was formally recognized when she was elected Chairperson of the regional hospices, a position she held for multiple terms. Her influence helped shape hospice care across the region, always guided by her fundamental belief that “nobody has to die alone and nobody has to die suffering.”

Years later, when Barbara received a message from our CEO Tersia, she was ready for her next chapter. “I was there right from the start”. At 76, she has witnessed every milestone in Stepping Stone’s development and remains actively involved in our ambitious plans for a new building in Raceview.
Her approach to life is both practical and inspiring: “Life is what you make of it, you either fold your arms or die or you could focus on whatever channels you’re passionate about.” Barbara has chosen passion, remaining deeply engaged not only in hospice work but also as an elder in her church, where she runs two home fellowships.

For Barbara, hospice work represents something profoundly human. “My greatest passion is people,” she explains, “and I adore the work that hospice does because it fills such an amazing gap.”
Her message to the community is both educational and deeply personal: “A hospice is not a place for people to die, but rather to improve the quality of life when quantity is limited.”

Throughout her remarkable journey, Barbara consistently acknowledges the crucial role of her husband James’s support. “If he wasn’t supportive, I wouldn’t be able to achieve any of the things that I have achieved,” she said. Their partnership enabled her to pursue her calling while maintaining her roles as mother to two children and grandmother to two grandchildren.

Tersia Burger, Stepping Stone Hospice founder and CEO, said: “Barbara embodies everything we stand for at Stepping Stone. Her journey from patient to pioneer shows us that our greatest strength often comes from our deepest struggles. She doesn’t just lead our board, she leads by example, showing us daily what compassionate care truly means.”