Willem Snyman by Thom Pierce Add paragraph text. Click “Edit Text” to update the font, size and more. To change and reuse text themes, go to Site Styles. The banks of the river that flows past Tembisa Mall are covered in styrofoam containers that have been hauled out of catchment nets by Willem Snyman’s team of river cleaners. Last week they took out 250 tonnes of plastic, an operation that cost them R10,000 from their small budget. The traps are cleaned manually so the money is used for wages of a group of men from Tswelopele. Willem, who is an artist, passionately believes that clean water is vital to the survival of South Africa and that we can still fix the issues by educating people upstream and to get involved with the cleanup process. He cleans the waterways using nets made buoyant with the very styrofoam they are catching. At the same time, he is developing a system of floating gardens in boats that are also made from netting and styrofoam. They are filled with local varietals of aquatic plants, home to microorganisms that are able break down contaminants in the water. The river is now devoid of life, so it can no longer break down foreign organisms without help. “If one can stop it in the worst place, then there is hope.” Several years ago his home was burnt down after he objected to a development project. He had evidence that it was arson, but had to drop the charges when the neighbour filed for bankruptcy. Willem moved to a new home close to the Hennops River. But, soon after, pollution started floating down the river, and it was killing the local wildlife. In an attempt to save the animals' natural habitat and the local communities' water sources, he organised cleanups. This operation has expanded to Kaalfontein and Tembisa. Over the last five years, Willem has been working with no funding but for his own passion. One of the biggest problems now is what to do with all of the styrofoam that is pulled out of the river amounting to 250 tonnes. He wants to find someone with a pyrolyser who can turn the styrofoam into biofuel. The long-term solution is to stop further pollution of the river. But in the meantime, it takes people like Willem Snyman, working diligently to keep the water clean, for the rest of us to carry on as normal. Next Item Previous Item Log In About Projects All Projects UDWOSA #PayTheGrants Join Us Blog Print Store Donate CART CART Log In MENU Home All Projects Join Us Blog Print Store Donate

Prudence Mabasa by Thom Pierce Add paragraph text. Click “Edit Text” to update the font, size and more. To change and reuse text themes, go to Site Styles. It’s fair to say that Prudence Mabasa lives her life in service. From the day that she started to work, she has focused her efforts on helping other people. “I am passionate about victims, I need to be in a place where I can help” For three years Prudence volunteered at the Brakpan police station in the victim-friendly room. This is a space that is legally required for victims of sexual violence to feel safe and heard in the initial period after the crime is committed. In reality, it does not function unless there is a volunteer present. Prudence took it upon herself to be that person. At the same time, she was also volunteering as a community chaplain, a similar role, but one where she would be on call to visit those in the immediate aftermath of a crime or incident at home or at the scene of the crime. “My faith is my drive but it is not a parameter to who I help” Prudence’s world was thrown upside down after she was raped in 2020. Having cared for others for years she suddenly found herself the victim. A new level of understanding and determination grew out of her own horrific experience. She understood the emptiness, numbness helplessness and anger on a whole different level. It was also through her own experience that she understood the secondary trauma of reporting the incident and the fight for justice that then ensues. She could understand why so many people drop their cases after the effort it took just to get her rape kit tested, having initially been told that it was lost. Prudence now believes that engaging the youth is the solution. She is passionate about creating programs that deal with the behaviours and life circumstances that lead young men to turn to violence. She feels that the youth have been heavily let down by the government and that the lack of opportunities, jobs and education has pushed many of them towards a life of gangsterism and crime. “A true legend lives out their legacy while they are still here and teaches others to do the same. What better way to love than to serve without expectation of reward.” As well as a community chaplain Prudence is a youth minister, ACDP media liaison and community development coordinator. She may take on many roles but they all lead to a full life led in the service of others. Next Item Previous Item Log In About Projects All Projects UDWOSA #PayTheGrants Join Us Blog Print Store Donate CART CART Log In MENU Home All Projects Join Us Blog Print Store Donate

Baba Biblos Lebona by Thom Pierce Add paragraph text. Click “Edit Text” to update the font, size and more. To change and reuse text themes, go to Site Styles. It took three cable thefts at the local Eskom substation and multiple days without electricity for Baba Biblos Lebona to decide that enough was enough. Taking the livelihoods of thousands of households into his own hands he decided to protect the substation himself, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with a little help from his friends. This was back in September 2022. Eskom had told them that they did not have the money to keep on fixing the cables and so any subsequent blackouts from cable thefts could go on for weeks if not months. Baba created a WhatsApp group and invited others to join him in camping out next to the substation, taking it in shifts to guard the facility in small groups. Unarmed, they rely on their presence and their relationships with councillors and the local community to protect them. Ten months later and there are now 35 members of the Boitshepiville Commanders Task Team. Their name is a combination of the three townships that are served by the substation; Sharpville, Tshepiso and Boipatong. The team is a mix of men and women from around the different communities, all passionate about keeping the lights and heating on when there isn't load shedding. It is a completely voluntary role which they are doing to protect their families and their community. A converted kraal makes for temporary shelter so that they have a base looking onto the area that they are protecting, and they greet each other with their slogan, “Commanders Morning”, no matter what time of day it is. To help pay for their costs; transport, food and data they go door to door in the three communities asking for R20 donations and explaining what they are doing. Some people have helped, others have slammed the door in their faces. Even the local businesses, including a Shoprite supermarket, are not willing to help, even though they benefit from the protection that is being provided by Baba and his commanders. Still, they keep working, motivated by the belief that if they don’t do it, nobody else will. Boitshepiville Commanders Task Team will be celebrating their one-year anniversary in September and their hope is that they might be able to attract donors willing to help them with transport, food and a container to replace the temporary shelter that they have built. Baba Biblos Lebona was nominated as an Actionist by Tebogo Rapakgadi. Next Item Previous Item Log In About Projects All Projects UDWOSA #PayTheGrants Join Us Blog Print Store Donate CART CART Log In MENU Home All Projects Join Us Blog Print Store Donate

Linda Twala by Thom Pierce Add paragraph text. Click “Edit Text” to update the font, size and more. To change and reuse text themes, go to Site Styles. Linda Twala is the opposite of what he calls a “what’s in it for me” person. When you walk into his house it’s clearly a place of work. People are milling around outside, sorting through donated items and big bowls of onions and potatoes sit on the floor inside. Upstairs is his living space which is crammed full of photographs, newspaper cuttings, awards and memorabilia; a museum of artefacts documenting a lifetime of dedicated work in the community. Linda is the grandson of John Hey Ka Nxele, one of the first residents of Alexandra, a township in Johannesburg that is now home to over one million people in a single square mile. Many of its residents have no work, little food and inadequate accommodation. Linda has lived in Alexandra all of his life. In the 1960s a woman by the name of Rosie Tshabalala would often come by the house, asking for food. Inspired by his own mother’s generosity, he decided to help her. She was so grateful to him that she would wave her stick and say “one day I want you to be the person who buries me”. In 1967 she passed away and Linda honoured her request by organising for her to be taken from the government mortuary and given a dignified burial at the church across the road from his house. This, he says, is how it all began. “From that time I continued to help the destitute…I was born to serve, not to destruct” Over the last 55 years, more and more people have come to Linda for help. He is unable to say no, it is deeply instilled in him to help people. He is passionate about Alexandra and passionate about the people that live there. His work has covered everything from feeding schemes to building houses and planting thousands of trees; providing support to single mothers, people with disabilities and over five thousand senior citizens. It’s not that there is any grand plan, he just tries to help everyone that comes to him asking for support. And with that has earned himself legendary status, which explains the photographs with Madiba, the relationship with Oprah Winfrey and the Mahatma Gandhi award. This year Linda wants to raise enough money to pay for 600 young children from Alexandra to have a helicopter ride, to inspire them to achieve more, and to let them know that they can be pilots, doctors and lawyers. Next Item Previous Item Log In About Projects All Projects UDWOSA #PayTheGrants Join Us Blog Print Store Donate CART CART Log In MENU Home All Projects Join Us Blog Print Store Donate

Faeeza Lok by Thom Pierce Add paragraph text. Click “Edit Text” to update the font, size and more. To change and reuse text themes, go to Site Styles. Actionism often starts with one person and the unique story that drives an unrelenting desire to see a change in the world around them. Faeeza Lok was born in South Africa but grew up in Hong Kong. As a mixed-race kid in a country that exhibited very little diversity, she was left feeling like she didn’t belong. When she moved back to South Africa at the age of 15 she found her home, the place where it all made sense. A country where everyone is struggling to belong in a vibrant melting pot of complex identities. “It’s my identity that birthed my activism.” At the age of 25 Faeeza decided to start the Voice of The People Movement. The idea was to solve local problems through design thinking, a human-centred process by which innovative solutions are found by consulting with the affected people to understand their needs, feelings and behaviours. Working in the township of Thembisa, Faeeza went to schools, parks and out onto the streets to find volunteers interested in joining her on the journey, training them up with the skills needed to be part of the movement. These included workshops on practising empathy, resilient mindsets and unlearning unconscious bias. They then embarked on a week-long door-to-door campaign, engaging the community in order to really understand their needs. From this research, they put together an ongoing series of outreach activities focusing on cleanups, skills training and community upliftment around Thembisa. Voice of the People paved the way for her next bold move. Faeeza is now the volunteer coordinator for RISE Mzansi, South Africa’s newest political party, where she is taking her ideas of empowerment and change to a whole new level. Activism often starts with one person but there comes a point when they need to find a team of like-minded people with whom they can walk patiently forward, laying the groundwork for sustained change. Faeeza Lok may have started alone but now she’s found her people and she’s ready for change. Next Item Previous Item Log In About Projects All Projects UDWOSA #PayTheGrants Join Us Blog Print Store Donate CART CART Log In MENU Home All Projects Join Us Blog Print Store Donate

Thokozani Ndaba by Thom Pierce Add paragraph text. Click “Edit Text” to update the font, size and more. To change and reuse text themes, go to Site Styles. Thokozani Ndaba found the theatre at a very young age. During apartheid, theatre performances were often used as a cover for community meetings so that people could come together to discuss the liberation struggle. “At the time, it was illegal for more than five people to gather together, except at formal events, so we were forced to get creative.” Growing up in a township outside Pietermaritzburg, a love for theatre quickly materialised and set the foundations for a lifetime of passionate activism, using theatre techniques as facilitation tools for dialogue and change. “As a young person who faced challenges at a young age I used the Theatre as a shield, I knew that it was imperative for me to bring drama and theatre to my work as a tool for healing and growth.” Thokozani went on to gain a master's degree from New York University focusing on implementing theatre in communities and has travelled extensively using drama for transformation and education. In 2017 Thokozani founded the Ntethelelo Foundation in the informal settlement of Setswetla, neighbouring Alexandra Township. The foundation was initially designed as a place for young girls in the community to talk about their lives in a non-judgemental, safe space. Every Monday to Saturday during the school term and holidays, young men and women from the community now come together to attend classes at the Ntethelelo Foundation that deal with issues ranging from GBV to HIV, toxic masculinity and gender norms. “In isiZulu we say ‘Zibanjwa Zisemaphuphu’ meaning it’s better to catch them while they are young, especially when it comes to self-development education. It is much harder to change the mindset of an adult that is already set in its way.” Using theatre techniques as a communication tool they facilitate discussions and conduct workshops alongside reading clubs and yoga programs. They also develop performances that can be taken into the local communities to raise awareness of gender-based violence. The foundation aims to create change-makers who can be an example to the community. “We strongly believe that self-love and self-respect build individuals and communities.” Since 2021 Ntethelelo Foundation has had its own dedicated space working out of repurposed containers with 3 flushing toilets, a shower and a kitchen, a counselling room and a library. Next Item Previous Item Log In About Projects All Projects UDWOSA #PayTheGrants Join Us Blog Print Store Donate CART CART Log In MENU Home All Projects Join Us Blog Print Store Donate

Nathi Mazibuko by Thom Pierce Add paragraph text. Click “Edit Text” to update the font, size and more. To change and reuse text themes, go to Site Styles. The night-time fires that Nathi Mazibuko built during his shifts as a security guard were simply meant to ward off the piercing cold on winter nights, yet they drew others towards him, inadvertently sparking his journey as an Actionist. Working in downtown Johannesburg was a lonely experience until he invited others to sit with him around his fire. Over time, he formed relationships with street kids and sex workers, learning about their life experiences first-hand. From these relationships grew his passion to make a difference in people’s lives, ultimately planning to open an orphanage and drug rehabilitation centre in the future. Although his resources were limited, his ambitions weren’t. Armed with nothing but the encouragement of a friend, he decided to start. Nathi borrowed money from some friends, cooked a meal of rice and beef stew and took it to a nearby park to offer the homeless people who lived there a decent meal. This is how the Flames of Hope Foundation was started. “I was very happy, it was like a dream come true. Because it had always been in my heart that, one day, if I could get enough money, I want to do this.” The informal feeding scheme turned into a weekly event, cooking and serving food in the park, using his own money to fund the initiative. Soon he was offered a space at the Twilight Children’s Home in Hillbrow, Johannesburg where he now runs a feeding scheme every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 3 p.m. Up to 500 people turn up for every meal. The children are served first and then the adults. After the meal, the children are invited to join an after-school programme which provides extra lessons to around 100 kids, six days a week, in partnership with Innovation of Excellence. For the first two years, Nathi paid for everything from his own salary but Flames of Hope now has financial support and food donations from various sponsors including The Angel Network SA, One Moment Foundation, Pauli's Food Company and Gift Of The Givers. “I’ve realised that if you do this community work and expect someone to say ‘thank you’, you will get disappointed. You do it for the sake of helping.” For both the feeding scheme and the after-school programme Nathi relies on the help of volunteers from the local community. His passion and enthusiasm for change is what keeps them coming back, day after day. His dedication is astonishing. Nathi still works a 12-hour night shift as a security guard from 6pm to 6am. He then runs the foundation during the day, leaving very little time for sleep. Next Item Previous Item Log In About Projects All Projects UDWOSA #PayTheGrants Join Us Blog Print Store Donate CART CART Log In MENU Home All Projects Join Us Blog Print Store Donate

Coral Vinsen by Thom Pierce Add paragraph text. Click “Edit Text” to update the font, size and more. To change and reuse text themes, go to Site Styles. At the age of 92, Coral Vinsen has recently completed the Faith Leaders Gender Transformation Programme, passing with distinction. As a long-time activist, she will use the knowledge she has gained to fight the scourge of Gender-Based Violence. This is just another step in her 64-year-long journey as an advocate for the rights of every person in South Africa. In 1956 when a major Polio outbreak occurred, Coral trained in the relatively new study of virology. Thereafter, she was put in charge of the first Virology Laboratory in Durban. When she married John Vinsen a year later, she had to resign as the SA state did not employ married women. As there was then no qualified staff to staff the lab, it was closed down and she was not able to work as a virologist again for another 23 years when a new lab was opened in 1980. Wishing to be part of building a nonracial society Coral and her husband joined the progressive party at its inception in 1959. When she was elected the Chair of the Women's group, Coral invited women from other racial groups to address her members. It was in meeting people of other races that she started to fully understand what was happening in the country. “Working with people beyond the white community makes a big difference. People need to reach out, not in a charity way, but in an equal way to treat other people with dignity. Having friends from other race groups has made a major difference in my life.” She was one of the founding members and treasurer of the Durban Detainees Support Committee (DESCOM) which met every Monday from its formation in 1981 until it was banned in 1988. At the time, the government had implemented legislation that meant they could detain people for up to 90 days and subsequently 180 days without trial. The committee held the government accountable for the way that people were treated whilst being detained, to expose if people were being tortured and to support and protect them once they were released from detention. At the dawn of democracy in 1991, Coral, together with a group of Durban anti-Apartheid activists, formed the Durban chapter of Amnesty International. They all wanted to make a tangible change within South Africa but needed the backing and structure of an external organisation that could train them and provide them with the tools they needed to be most effective in upholding human rights. Coral is one of the longest-serving members of Amnesty International in South Africa. 32 years after founding it, she is a co-chair of the Durban chapter, the only surviving adult chapter in South Africa. Over the decades, Coral's work has spanned many different disciplines, most notably in her passion for the promotion and support of art and human rights activism, something that was born out of the necessity to communicate at a time when books, films and news were being banned or heavily censored. These days food security is one of her most effective forms of activism, teaching people to grow their own food with the aim of promoting self-sustainable, responsible practices to combat the growing threat of hunger. “Activism takes many forms. There are little things that happen all the time. I teach people to grow vegetables organically, that’s also part of my human rights activism. There are lots of different aspects of the work that you can do that link to human rights.“ From anti-torture campaigns to teaching other people to grow their own healthy food, Coral is clear about the fact that Actionism can be many things, none necessarily more important than the other, but all contributing to making a better world for all regardless of race, gender, or faith. This story was created in partnership with Amnesty International South Africa. Next Item Previous Item Log In About Projects All Projects UDWOSA #PayTheGrants Join Us Blog Print Store Donate CART CART Log In MENU Home All Projects Join Us Blog Print Store Donate

Njabulo Zulu by Thom Pierce Add paragraph text. Click “Edit Text” to update the font, size and more. To change and reuse text themes, go to Site Styles. Njabulo Zulu was bullied at primary school. The dark complexion of her skin and the texture of her hair made her prey for the other kids who were looking for an easy target. One day three boys came to class, two of them held her down while the other grabbed her hair, to “check if it was real”. Little did they know that their cruelty would light a fire in her that changed the conversation around bullying for hundreds of school kids in the township of Soshanguve. At 10 years old Njabulo decided that she wanted to deliver an anti-bullying message to her whole school through a presentation at morning assembly. Her message was simple, “Don’t be a bully, be a buddy”, and her short but direct speech immediately changed the way that other kids saw her. Seven years later, Njabulo has delivered countless motivational speeches at schools around Soshanguve and beyond. Over the years, she has broadened her message to include teenage pregnancy, substance abuse and social media addiction, but her matter-of-fact approach remains the same. After the first speech, kids started to approach her, in person and over social media to tell her about their problems and ask her for advice. She has always been keen to help and she felt a responsibility towards every one of them, so she answered their messages; listening, giving support and advice. Through a close relationship with her mum and a growing network of professional contacts, she manages her responsibility to the people who contact her, referring them to professionals when needed. “I’m so in love with helping people, talking to people, giving advice and solutions. I love counselling people.” Over the years the number of people who approach Njabulo has risen dramatically. She estimates that through Facebook she now receives around 70 messages a week from people asking for help. And it’s not just kids. Adults get in touch with her to unload about their marriages and life problems, and parents contact her to ask for advice about connecting with their children, something that Njabulo feels unqualified to deal with, but responsible to support. “My faith that I have in being able to change just one person's life - that gives me hope to do my work. ” Njabulo is not an attention-seeking teenager, she is softly spoken and thoughtful. But she does recognise that she has a gift for motivating people. Through a self-produced TV show called “Trusted Talks”, she has taken her talents to the next level. In its third season, and broadcast on Soweto TV, the talk show deals with mental health and the daily challenges faced by teenagers. This year Njabulo is also running a campaign to promote the equal treatment of the deaf community. To do this she is learning Sign Language and hosting a public performance that will showcase the talents of deaf people in the community. You may be wondering if all of this is leading to a life of professional counselling. Quite possibly yes, but Njabulo has varied interests and will pursue multiple dreams: Whilst studying psychology and Sign Language at university, she also wants to train to be a food analyst and pastry chef. Next Item Previous Item Log In About Projects All Projects UDWOSA #PayTheGrants Join Us Blog Print Store Donate CART CART Log In MENU Home All Projects Join Us Blog Print Store Donate

Christinah Mdau by Thom Pierce Add paragraph text. Click “Edit Text” to update the font, size and more. To change and reuse text themes, go to Site Styles. As we sit in the “community centre”; a rudimentary tin-roofed, open-sided structure, Christinah tells me that the local mine won’t be blasting today because they know that I am there and that for the time being, I am safe. However, If I had arrived two months prior it would have been too dangerous, I could have been intimidated, beaten or escorted away by the supporters of the mine. Even so, a police vehicle circles us, looking at me as we speak, and a large group of men stand close by but don’t engage. It has been 13 years since at least 850 homes in Mmaditlhokwa Village in Marikana were relocated so that Tharisa Minerals mining company could exploit the land underneath them. Individuals and families were promised permanent housing, water, electricity and sewerage, but to this day they are still in the shacks built for them as temporary housing back in 2010. The mine is yet again encroaching on their homes and the blasting that happens almost daily provides a shower of rocks and dust, accompanied by a piercingly loud siren warning them to get inside, or better still move under the “community centre” for protection. The school is now under threat as the area that is being mined has moved closer to its walls. This is no way for anyone to live. There are people in the community who support the mine, they hope that the opportunities will out way the risk. Although they were promised jobs, a few short 2 to 3-month contract jobs are all that have materialised. There is strength in numbers, and so Christinah and a local group of concerned residents got together to form an organisation that they have called DEHRVA (Defenders for Environment and Human Rights Violations in Africa). Its sole purpose is to deal with the immediate threat to their livelihoods. DEHRVA believes that the human rights of the community have been violated by the mine and the National Government. Through their various programs, guided by section 24 of the South African Constitution, they hope to remedy the situation by involving those who they consider to be responsible for redressing the impacts that the community has faced. This includes both government and private entities. What they want are the promises to be kept that were made to them all those years ago. They want a safe life for themselves and their families, away from the air and noise pollution of the mine, away from the rocks falling on the roofs of their houses, and away from the daily intimidation and imposition of blasting. But it is more complicated than that. The longer they live in one area, the more connected they are to the land, and the more family members have been buried and rituals have been established. They are not asking for the world, just their basic constitutional rights. As I sit under the shelter, surrounded by these seven determined Actionists, I can see that they are not scared, that they will not be intimidated. As I sit with them I am not scared either. But when I leave on my own, I hurry to get home. Next Item Previous Item Log In About Projects All Projects UDWOSA #PayTheGrants Join Us Blog Print Store Donate CART CART Log In MENU Home All Projects Join Us Blog Print Store Donate