Celebrating Bolanle Akinpelu: Author, Advocate, and Tresacare Care Worker Ambassador
- Elizabeth Beh
- 3 hours ago
- 5 min read
There is a line in Bolanle Akinpelu's new book, Behind Closed Doors, that stops you in your tracks:
"Behind closed doors, tears fall – but they water the seeds of empathy, humanity and connection."
It's the kind of sentence that only someone who has truly lived it could write. And Bolanle has lived it.
We are enormously proud to celebrate Bolanle – care worker, author, and Tresacare Care Worker Ambassador – as she launches her debut book, Behind Closed Doors: A Journey of a Care Worker, at Oxford Library.
Bolanle has spent more than 14 years in care: working in the community as a healthcare assistant, in hospitals as an auxiliary nurse, and in home care as a support worker. Guided by a deep personal calling and encouraged by her stepmother, she moved from Nigeria to the UK to continue that journey of care.
But the reality she encountered was far harsher than she could ever have imagined.
In her book, Bolanle writes candidly about the exploitation many international care workers face – arriving in a system they do not yet understand, often unaware of their rights, and vulnerable to abuse. She describes living under constant threats from her employer: threats to cancel her visa, report her, and send her back to Nigeria.
In one particularly devastating story, Bolanle shares how she had to be hospitalised after her employer refused to cover mileage – forcing her to walk until she collapsed from exhaustion.
Bolanle is not alone. Many international care workers report similar stories, and continue to grapple with the tough reality of displacement (losing their visa sponsor after coming to the UK – through no fault of their own) and abuse.
What makes Bolanle’s story so powerful is not only what she endured, but what she has chosen to do with it.Through honesty, courage, and compassion, she transforms painful experience into a fierce call for dignity, protection, and justice for care workers everywhere.
From Displaced Worker to Published Author
Bolanle first came to Tresacare over a year ago as a displaced care worker. Not through any failing of her own – but because her employer had lost the ability to sponsor international care workers in the UK. In an instant, a woman of extraordinary dedication and skill found herself without work, without security, and facing a system that had taken everything she had given and offered little in return.
What happened next is a testament to who Bolanle is.
Over the fifteen months since, she faced wave after wave of challenge. There have been moments of real darkness and despair. But every single time, Bolanle got up again. Stronger. Wiser. More empathetic. Strengthened, as she would say herself, by God.
And, thankfully for us all, she wrote it all down.
Behind Closed Doors: A Book Born from Experience
Behind Closed Doors is not just a personal story – it is a window into the hidden world of care work that most of us never see. It is honest, courageous, and full of hard-won wisdom.
Bolanle writes:
"Behind closed doors, I grew stronger. I developed resilience, emotional intelligence, and compassion that could not be taught in any classroom. These experiences shaped me not only as a care worker, but as a person."
She speaks plainly about what care work demands and what it gives back:
"Caring is not just a profession, but a calling. Care is not just work; it is love in action."
And she does not shy away from the structural realities that too many care workers face every day:
"It is important to say this clearly: carers need care too. Too often, we are the ones caring for everyone else while no one cares for us. We pour from our cups until they are empty, expected to continue without pause, without asking – who is supporting the carer?"
You cannot pour from an empty cup. And yet our care system routinely asks care workers to do exactly that.
This book names that truth. It demands that we do better.
A Voice the Sector Needs
The issues Bolanle describes are not isolated to her experience. Across the UK, international care workers are navigating visa uncertainty, employer exploitation, poverty wages, and a profound lack of recognition for the work they do – work that holds families, communities, and our entire health and social care system together.
As Bolanle writes:
"For many carers, the emotional toll is compounded by long hours, staff shortages, and limited recognition. There are times when carers feel invisible, unheard and undervalued. Yet they continue to show up. They continue to care."
Behind closed doors, our care workers are doing some of the most important work in this country. They deserve to be seen. They deserve to be supported. And they deserve advocates who will speak up for them – in living rooms, in boardrooms, and in Parliament.
Bolanle is one of those advocates. And Behind Closed Doors is her gift to all of them.
We are genuinely humbled to know that Tresacare is part of Bolanle's story – not as a footnote, but as a source of support during one of the hardest chapters of her life. In her book, Bolanle writes:
"Another significant influence in my journey is Elizabeth Beh, CEO of Tresacare. Her leadership, professionalism and unwavering commitment to quality care left a lasting impression on me."
We're sharing this because it is a reminder of why our work matters. When a care worker who came to us displaced and unsupported goes on to write a book, advocate for her community, and name the people who walked alongside her – that is the whole point. That is what Tresacare exists to do.
Tresacare Care Worker Ambassador
At Tresacare, our mission has always been to support, empower, and champion international care workers. Bolanle embodies that mission completely – not just in what she has endured, but in how she has chosen to use her experience. She speaks. She advocates. She shows other care workers that their stories matter, that their struggles are seen, and that they are not alone.
On the occasion of Bolanle's book launch, we are honoured to formally present her with a Tresacare Care Worker Ambassador Certificate – in recognition of her courage, her resilience, and her unwavering dedication to the care worker community.
💙 Bolanle, you have represented this community with dignity, with heart, and with love. We are proud and privileged to have you alongside us! 💙
What You Can Do
Bolanle's book is part of a new movement empowering care workers. Here is how you can be part of the change:
Read the book. Behind Closed Doors is available now on Amazon. Get your copy here.
Talk about it. Share this post and recommend the book. Start the conversation about what care workers in the UK truly experience.
Write to your MP. Ask them what they are doing to protect and support international care workers. Policy change starts with constituent pressure.
Value care work. The next time you or someone you love receives care, remember the person behind closed doors. See them. Thank them. Advocate for them.
As Bolanle writes:
"To anyone considering a career in care, my message is this: care work is challenging, but it is also deeply fulfilling. When approached with passion, integrity and support, it can transform both the giver and the receiver."
Comments