Our Work

Adults and children at a wooden playground with a blue slide in a rural community

What keeps us busy every day.

We work in communities with local and international partners and undertake projects towards youth and community development. We believe that not only are young people’s needs unique, communities also have needs that are specific to their context: their locality, culture, demographics, and situation.

The approach we adopt in our work is to build strong and strategic partnerships with local stakeholders, to develop empathy and a deep understanding of the individuals and communities we work with, and to see situations from a holistic perspective.

01 | Our primary focus

Youth Development

We undertake projects that focus on empowering youth with relevant skills, connecting them with opportunities, and improving their livelihoods.

Smiling school children in blue uniforms gathered in a crowd

Our vision is not only for the youth to be productive, engaged and self-actualized, it is also for them to escape the lure of various social ills including crime, drugs, and alcohol abuse.

02 | Areas of our work

Community development

We partner with the various local community stakeholders towards holistic, bottom-up, asset-based community development.

The following are some of the areas of our work.

Mural of Nelson Mandela smiling and raising a fist, with a quotation beside him

Arts & Culture

We engage with communities around sports, music, drama, culture, and heritage.

Computer room with desktop computers on desks and orange chairs

Skills
Training

We partner with skills development service providers for specific community projects.

Crayon drawing of four figures in different colours holding hands

Partnership Facilitation

We facilitate community engagement and partnership development.

Green tree growing from soil inside a cracked glass globe

Health & Wellbeing

We undertake projects in communities towards health and wellbeing.

03 | Ongoing work

In our communities

Alongside our longer-term projects, these activities happen regularly in the communities we work with.

People in green overalls sweeping and clearing a paved street

Street cleaning

Teams regularly clean and clear streets in local communities.

Bags of carrots and other food donations being packed on the ground

Food donations

Food donations are a recurring part of our support for local families.

04 | Track record

Projects by programme

The following are some of the projects that we have undertaken and facilitated.

Skills and Jobs

Connecting young people and community members with training, placements and work.

Internship Programme

Partnered with the Services Seta for the placement of 28 graduates through an Internship Programme in 2017/18.

Graduate Placement

Signed MoU with the Department of Home Affairs for the placement of qualified graduates.

Skills Development Centre

Facilitated the building of Skills Development Centre in Alice by Services Seta.

Computer Skills Training

Entered into an agreement and signed an MOU with the University of Fort Hare (towards skills training & hardware maintenance) and with Nkonkobe Municipality (to provide lab space, security, and desks) towards the Computer Skills Training Programme targeting youth and community members.

Vodacom donated twenty computers and an internet router.

Cooperatives Training

Partnered with Services Seta for the training of Cooperatives (100 people in total) in Raymond Mhlaba Municipality.

Youth Training

Arranged for the National Department of Rural Development and Land Affairs to take six young people from Nkonkobe Municipal Area on the National Rural Youth Services Corps Programme for training and development.

Information Technology Initiative

Partnered with Eastern Cape Information Technology Initiative and facilitated the establishment of Amathole District Film Forum.

Education and Childhood

Support for students, schools and early childhood centres.

Raymond Mhlaba Bursary Fund

Facilitated the contribution of R22.5 million by Services Seta towards the Raymond Mhlaba Bursary Fund.

The bursaries were disbursed to all the institutions of higher learning and TVET colleges in the Eastern Cape province for 2016. Over 700 students were awarded the bursaries.

Mobile Science Lab

Facilitated the Mobile Science Lab from COEGA for four schools in the local municipality.

eLearning Solutions for Local Schools

Facilitated the donation of eLearning solution to Imingcangathelo and Phandulwazi High Schools in Alice by Dimension Data.

Desks for Schools

Facilitated the donation of 150 two-seater desks (for 300 seatings) from SAFCOL for Xuba Junior Secondary School in Elliotdale and Masivuyiswe Higher Primary School in Alice.

Support for Local Schools

Engaged with the Eastern Cape Department of Rural Development & Agrarian Reform to adopt six schools in the local municipality and to hand over garden implements.

Masiphile Day Care Centre

Facilitated the donation of jungle gyms and toys to Masiphile Day Care Centre at Bergplaas Village in Alice by Vodacom.

Children’s Day

Engaged with the Department of Arts & Culture to fund the hosting of Universal Children’s Day in November 2012 which was attended by over 1000 children (9 – 12 years) from the local municipality.

Ohio State University Partnership

In November 2017, signed an MoU between Ohio State University – USA and Provincial Department of Rural Development & Agrarian Reform to implement a number of developmental programmes that include student exchange; research partnerships and collaboration; projects in extension, youth and rural development.

Community Wellbeing

Sport, disability support and interventions alongside local communities.

Development Through Football

Partnered with GIZ (formerly GTZ) to implement Youth Development Through Football Programme. This was for a period of six (6) months. The programme focused on Life Skills through Sport.

Twenty (20) Volunteer Coaches participated in the programme. The programme was implemented in fifteen (15) schools and included disabled young people from Alice surroundings, Middledrift and Fort Beaufort which drew over 1000 participants.

Nomzamo Home for the Disabled

Facilitated donation of 500 litres of paint from Plascon to Nomzamo Home for the Disabled in Peddie.

The Department of Correctional Services assisted by painting the centre.

Eastern Cape Department of Rural Development & Agrarian Reform donated mattresses, blankets, washing machine, boxes of soap, poultry structure and seedlings.

Old Mutual donated a microwave. This centre cares for children with severe intellectual disabilities.

Sivenathi Special Day Care Centre

Supported Sivenathi Special Day Care Centre, for disabled children, in Fort Beaufort – South Africa.

Various donations were received by the centre in the form of seven food parcels from the Department of Rural Development & Agrarian Reform, cleaning material from Majesty Supermarket in Alice, blankets and toiletries from Seventh Day Adventist Church in Alice, and nappies from a private donor. The Department of Fine Arts at the University of Fort Hare painted murals on the walls of the centre and the African Footprints of Hope donated a 2500 litre water tank and a washing machine.

Sivenathi Special Day Care Centre Donation

Facilitated the donation of goods worth R100,000.00 by the Office of the Premier in Eastern Cape for Sivenathi Special Day Care Centre in Fort Beaufort.

Xolobeni Community Intervention

Facilitated an intervention for the Xolobeni community for the Department of Human Settlements to build 500 homes.

Engaged with the Department of Rural Development to supply 100 homes in Xolobeni community with solar panels, sewing machines and ploughed fields for the community.

Heritage and Legacy

Honouring the life and legacy of Raymond Mhlaba.

Raymond Mhlaba Legacy Project

Facilitated funding from the National Lotteries Commission and National Heritage Council towards the Raymond Mhlaba Legacy Project.

Raymond Mhlaba Statue

Engaged with the Department of Arts & Culture to contribute towards the erection of Raymond Mhlaba Statue.

Honorary Doctorate Conferment

Facilitated the posthumous conferment of an honorary doctorate to Raymond Mhlaba by the University of Fort Hare in May 2017.

Have a project in mind?

We would like to hear from organisations that want to support youth and community development.

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