A New Direction 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. In this terrifying world of AI generated images and ubiquitous content creators, many creatives need to find a new way to exist. The challenge is to make the work that you are passionate about, paid for by people that appreciate it; and to earn enough to keep the lights on, the kids fed and to carry on making the work. That is my personal definition of success. There are two parts of my work that I am passionate about: art and advocacy. I love selling my artwork to people who appreciate it, and I love making advocacy projects that change other people’s lives for the better. In the past I have made human rights projects that have significantly impacted class action court cases (The Price of Gold, 2016 ), and others that have given a valuable voice to people whose livelihoods were being threatened for someone else’s profit (Postcards From Xolobeni, 2017 ). These are the projects that change lives, these are the ones I feel compelled to make more of. 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

Clerah Sethole 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 before her presentation to the funding panel, Clerah Sethole had no idea what she was going to pitch. It was a chance reminder from Facebook, of a post that she had written a year beforehand, that sparked an idea. She wrote her speech in 30 minutes and, the next day pitched her idea for “Exclusively Inclusive” to a group of potential funders put together by the Trevor Noah Foundation as the culmination of a four-week changemakers workshop. She received her first instalment of financial backing for the initiative the very next day. Exclusively Inclusive aims to provide a curriculum for children with ADHD and dyslexia that allows them to be better catered for as part of larger classes. Their holistic approach identifies young learners who need help and then trains the teachers in alternative teaching methods that can be used alongside the more traditional methods that do not work for all of the students. Not only does Clerah want to provide valuable resources to help young learners who are struggling, but she also wants to educate communities about learning difficulties which are often undiagnosed or not catered for. She cultivates a fully inclusive environment through ongoing dialogue between the parents, children, teachers and community. Implemented in government schools, the programme also aims to provide support to parents who are frustrated and don’t know what to do. Through education, caregivers develop a deeper understanding of learning difficulties in general as well as the particular challenges their children face. They are encouraged to pass on this information to other parents. Using a mix of training workshops and curriculum literature Clerah hopes to be able to roll out the programme to schools all around the community of Mohlakeng in Gauteng. Digging a little deeper into her own motivation, Clerah identifies her need to help others as a consequence of her childhood, growing up as an only child around domestic violence and crime. Most of her friends had siblings to talk to who helped them navigate the complicated world. Clerah didn’t have that inbuilt support system, so she understands how it feels to not know where to turn when life is tough. “I love working with children and it breaks my heart to see a child struggling with something that they really want to learn. I want to see every child enjoy going to school and having someone who understands them.” A young child experiencing learning difficulties often feels confused, misunderstood, anxious and excluded. Falling behind in class, with no hope of catching up, could cause even the most strong-willed child to give up. For someone in this position, practical assistance and compassion may not only help them pass, but it could also restore their faith in themselves. 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

Kekeletso Khena 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. Kekeletso Khena is deliberate about everything that she does. Every interaction and every gesture seems to be rooted in this question: “Is this a responsible and positive action for the people around me?” Kekeletso is a co-owner of the the Scalp Clinic & Spa in Randfontein where she mentors and trains other women who want to one day run their own business. Her focus is to encourage and upskill them and then to support them in the early stages of their new venture. From the spar, she also sells her own range of beauty products that use locally sourced ingredients, uplifting local communities by encouraging them to grow and sell the products that she needs. Through every step of the process, she is thinking about the people who are affected and how she can add value to their lives whilst also creating a high-end, saleable product. But this is not why I am here to talk with Kekeletso. I am here to talk about her petition to hold professional workers legally accountable for reporting incidents of statutory rape. In August 2023 she noticed a surge of posts on social media about young girls getting pregnant in South Africa. There was outrage over the story of a 10-year-old in KZN followed by heated discussions and passionate comments, but it felt to her like nothing was actually being done to address the issue. “We are a country of outrage. We see something and are outraged for five minutes and nothing gets done about it.” As a childhood rape survivor herself, Kekeletso decided that she could not sit on the sidelines and watch. She needed to raise her voice, create awareness and challenge the state to do something about it. She recognised that teenage pregnancy is usually made the problem of the girl and that they would often be blamed for allowing the crime to happen. Kekeletso passionately believes that this attitude needs to change and that, instead, we need to deal with the adults who are sexualising, abusing and raping children. It is also of major concern for her that the health professionals who are the most likely to identify when a child has been raped are under no legal obligation to do anything about it. If anything, the stigma and complexity of the issue make it easier for them to turn a blind eye. As the first step in her campaign, Kekeletso has taken to Change.org to start a petition. Not because she thinks that a petition will, on its own, bring about the change that she wants to see, but because it will make her campaign more official, raise awareness and build a strong following. “It has allowed what I care about to not be about me. I have about 7000 people who agree with what I am saying. When I call the Minister of Health I can do so as a concerned group, but if I go as myself it has no impact. It helps to give power and a voice to an issue.” Kekeletso wants the Department of Health to make pregnancies of a minor a notifiable incident. She believes that it should be the obligation of every healthcare professional, from the doctor to the doula, to report and that they should be held legally accountable for doing so. The online petition provides the foundation for Kekeletso to push for a safer society for every girl. It is all part of her mission to look after everyone around her, a value that her father instilled in her from an early age. “I come from the school of thought that says we are for each other. I am born to be of service which means we need to show up fully every day.“ 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

Love Our City Klean 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. Sometimes being an Actionist isn’t born out of one single brilliant idea. Sometimes it comes from a passion to see change and the dedication to finding a space for yourself in a world that feels like it is determined to work against you. Zwelihle and Metsi Magwaza are open about the bumpy road that they have ridden in their mission to clean up Joburg, whilst also finding a cost-effective and sustainable output for the waste that is collected. It all started when they were living in Marshaltown. They would walk to the Johannesburg Art Gallery and pass by Joubert Park which, at the time, was full of litter. Instead of looking the other way, they decided to do something about it, so they invited their artist friends to help them clean up the park. Over time they had to formalise their cleanup project in order to work with the City and other organisations - they called it Love Our City Klean (LOCK). Since 2016 they have been trying out different ideas to see what works, fully embracing failure as a way of learning and moving forward, never losing sight of the big picture, to clean up the city that they love. Much of the struggle has been in dealing with big corporations that do not benefit financially from the recycling of their products. Several initiatives that LOCK have trialled had to be abandoned as they were seen as not being economically viable, despite providing a more responsible and sustainable environmental footprint. But the ideas keep on coming, and the enthusiasm never wanes. Zwelihle and Metsi have helped to create a community swap shop at Victoria Yards where local residents of Bertrams and Bez Valley are encouraged to collect, sort and clean recyclable items and drop them off in exchange for points which can be used to buy food, clothing and books. In 2021 PIKITUP offered them a space in their Bez Valley garden site. Already established as a recycling drop-off centre, it provides an undercover space to sort and sell items that have more value than standard bulk recycling items such as paper and plastic. From this venue, they want to create a space where artists can come to be inspired, and they are passionate about building a bespoke service for artists who require specific items for collage, sculpture and other disciplines. This is a labour of love for Zwelihle and Metsi, but they cannot do it without help and they understand the power of finding the right partners; responsible business owners who are also passionate about the environment, and the city of Johannesburg. You can find them on Instagram: @weloveourcityklean and Facebook: @loveourcityklean. 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

Sun Mabengeza 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. Sun’s passion for permaculture comes from his love for the earth, growing food and sharing it with his neighbours. But mostly his passion is for teaching others that you can grow your own food with very little physical work, if you have the space and know what you are doing. He claims that he can teach you everything you need to know in one hour. It has always been in Sun’s blood to move around, to not get too attached to one place or specific items. He moves fluidly between Port Elizabeth, Polokwane and Johannesburg. This nomadic lifestyle complements his philosophy of shared spaces and the freedom to grow food wherever it can be produced. The journey into permaculture started in 2006 when Sun formed a guerrilla gardening crew called the Ambush Garden Collective. They would create wild gardens in dump sites and other forbidden spaces as an awareness campaign, highlighting the importance of greening spaces and living sustainably. As a member of the Bez Valley Agriculture Cooperative, Sun now runs a Permaculture garden called NDAWO ENTLE EZELE Uthando NaturalGrowing Heritage Site and Living Plants Museum. Here he grows a number of different edible wild plants, which he sells to the public from a small shop on site. But his real passion is education. From the garden, he hosts events, festivals and school visits with the intention of demonstrating how easy it is to live in a more sustainable, environmentally conscious manner. The gardens are a zero-waste environmental learning space that also provides the possibility for homeless people and job seekers to learn, grow, eat and create their own small businesses. 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

Hlobisile Bathabile Yende 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. Farming has always been for people who don’t look like Hlobisile, but she has decided to change the stereotype and bring a whole new cohort of young, black women with her on the journey. Not content with running a successful farm, a degree in criminology and psychology, and a newly written children's book in publication, Hlobisile has opened up her life and home to help other women farmers realise their dreams. In the third year of studying farming, every student has to do practical training on a working farm. The problem is that there are very few farms that want to open themselves up to training students and even fewer that are willing to take on women students. The perceived risks are too high and the benefits too low. Hlobisile sees this and, since 2014, she has taken on two full-time students a year, with no financing from the government, to train them in every aspect of farm life, right up to the high-end management of the farm. And, in order to create a safe space for them, she lets them live on the farm, as part of the family. “I wanted them to do it with ease because it is a passion of mine. They couldn’t afford daily transport and being on the farm full time made it easier and safer. This is us paying it forward” Of course, it is a reciprocal relationship, she gets another two workers on the farm, but she pays them as proper workers whilst also training them. She also knows that she is learning from them. She provides practical experience and they pass on the latest advances in the technical information that they are learning at university. “We try to be human and be kind to them, when you involve and value them they will also look after you.“ The most important thing for Hlobisile is that she is setting up these young women for success. She takes them along to networking events and introduces them to people who could further their careers. She is giving them a foot in the door and onto the first rung of a ladder that, as women in farming, and black women at that, they have historically found it very hard to access. Hlobisile comes from a family of farmers, she was raised on a farm by her father who was raised on a farm by his father. She is intensely passionate about it, something that she clearly gets from her dad who taught her respect, discipline and the craft of farming. And now she wants to pass it on to future generations through her book “Lethu The Farmer” written about her four-year-old son’s experience learning about farming, and the excitement and responsibility of growing his own food. At 28 years old and 1.6 metres tall, with long red nails, Hlobisile is not your average farmer. In a profession often seen as poorly paid dirty work, she stands as an example that managing a successful farm can be a career for a young black woman. Not content with that, she is now studying for her master's in criminology with the dream of one day being known as ‘Dr Farmer’. 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

Simon Mphela 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. “Talk to someone.” With this simple message, Simon Mphela and his team are trying to save lives. They want you to know that they are available to listen and point you in the right direction if you need help. In 2020, Simon’s close friend and neighbour took his own life. This was not the first time that he had experienced the death, by suicide, of someone close to him, but it was then that he realised that he could not sit around and do nothing. He wanted to do whatever he could, in whatever capacity he had, to offer help to anyone who needed it. A graphic designer by trade, Simon decided to use his creative skills to design a series of T-shirts and a bold information pamphlet aimed at raising awareness about suicide and mental health issues. He sent digital copies out to everyone he knew, printed the pamphlets and started to distribute them around the community. This simple act of outreach brought him to the attention of others in the community and motivated Simon to start a suicide prevention movement, which he later registered as an NPO called SMAF (Save Men and Flowers). He then recruited a team of dedicated, selfless individuals from around Kagiso township to join him. SMAF runs a simple but effective programme utilising two weekly social media campaigns and an ongoing public engagement initiative using fashion as a means of activism and connection. The Monday campaign is called “O grand jo?” (are you fine?), and it encourages people to check in on each other more often and to show love, care and support. “The weekend is a hectic time. We all think we are happy and excited and doing well. Monday is back to reality. All your anxieties come back. We specifically choose Monday to say ‘Are you okay?’” Every Thursday they run the “Anti Suicide Campaign” which focuses on mental health awareness and education. Through Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram they provide well-researched mental health tips, suicide prevention and referrals. This may not be anything new, but their real Actionism happens in the space between these messages. All five volunteers have a range of SMAF-branded T-shirts which they commit to wearing whenever they are in public. These carry simple messages; “Depression Is Real”, “We Don’t Hide, We Confide” and “Choose To Live”, together with the telephone numbers for SADAG (South African Depression and Anxiety Group) and the suicide crisis hotline. Together with their two cars, branded “Anti-Suicide Campaign”, you would be forgiven for thinking that this is simply a promotional exercise, but the objective is not to advertise their NPO. The objective is to offer a first point of contact to anyone who needs help with depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts. To be available, on an ongoing basis, for anyone to approach. To talk, listen and if necessary, pass on the contact details that they need to get help from professionals. And, this gentle invite to talk, is incredibly effective. Every day strangers will approach them, take photographs of the car or make a comment about the T-shirts. This often turns into a longer conversation which invariably offers a valuable space for help, advice and referral, if needed. “Just by listening you have helped people. We cannot diagnose, we can suggest to people that if they feel like they need help here is someone to talk to.” Two other members of the team are Minene Baloi, a fitness instructor, and Ernest Mocumi, a musician. Both of them use their work as an opportunity to talk to people about mental health and, by wearing the T-shirts, they start conversations more easily - and without having to probe. The T-shirt is, in essence, a sign that says ‘I am open to talk about mental health if you need to’. “For me it was easy, I’m a fitness trainer. People come to me with issues and with physical wellness; it's so connected to the mind. There is no way to take away the physical part of things. I don't have to go anywhere, I bring the message to my place of expertise. I get to do what I love but now on a greater scale.” Simple ideas can often have the most impact. A social media post and a selection of T-shirts may not seem like much, but to be on hand to help anyone in the community who needs you is a generous gesture that can change a life. SMAF is increasing its reach with a growing radio presence and a series of mental health workshops at local churches. They are looking to broaden their impact by offering their services to schools, workplaces, gyms and government departments around the country. 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

Luyanda Mazwi 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. In a small church in the Johannesburg suburb of Brixton, a rowdy crowd is singing along to Doo-Be-Doo by Freshly Ground, which is being performed by a small, enthusiastic choir. It is the last performance of a night of music and poetry that has been organised by Luyanda Mazwi, an astrophysics master's student from the University of Johannesburg. He has planned and funded the whole night for one purpose, to ask if anyone has a 3D printer that he can borrow. Whilst still an undergraduate student, Luyanda and a friend decided to build a community farm in a village in Limpopo. They wanted to provide an alternative to the lack of food security in the area, to see if they could encourage the community to get involved. They didn’t think about it too hard, they just went and did it, and they made lots of mistakes. But it started a journey for Luyanda that centred around using his time, energy and education to help others. Over the years, the idea of creating a small community farm has grown into a dream to overhaul the supply chain of fresh food, from organic community gardens to street vendors. As a first step, Luyanda has designed a portable, electricity-free cooling system, made out of recycled plastic, that could provide street vendors with a cheap and efficient way to keep their fruit and vegetables from spoiling if they do not sell them all in one day. It is a simple, water-cooled system, that could be developed and constructed at a minimal cost using materials that are readily available and already being collected by waste pickers around the city. His prototypes are promising, but the precision needed for the cooling system makes it difficult to produce by hand, hence the 3D printer. Using down-cycled plastic bottles, Luyanda wants to 3D print the prototype and develop it into a product that can be easily reproduced. Together with small community gardens, the “fridge” could allow for a more productive supply chain that includes many other members of the community. The intention is not to make money, he wants to develop the product and then release the IP so that anyone can build could build and sell the fridges. This is a big idea that could change the lives of street vendors and could be the starting point for job creation and a more inclusive supply chain. But for now, Luyanda just needs a 3D printer. If you can help Luyanda to get access to a 3D printer which can print over 260 degrees Celsius and is not PTFE lined please let us know in the comments or get in touch. 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

Refiloe Molefe 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. Fifi is a food security activist who has worked tirelessly on her mission to alleviate poverty and make sure that no one in her community goes to bed hungry. In June 2022, Fifi’s inner-city garden of 15 years was forced to close to make way for a multi-purpose centre. She was not deterred. From her new garden in Soweto, she feeds around 250 people a week, mostly from the local schools and old people’s homes. She encourages people to come to her and learn how to be self-sufficient. Find out more about Fifi and her work on instagram: @fifi_farmacy 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

Jess Robus 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 is not often that you meet someone who is so clearly walking their own path through life, and exuding generosity and compassion with almost every step. Especially if they are only 17. Within the first five minutes of my whirlwind of a conversation with Jess Robus, she had taken me through the provenance of some of her favourite Afrikaans words, all told with the delight of someone who clearly enjoys the idiosyncratic development of language. She also told me of her recent diagnosis with autism which in her own words “made a lot of things make sense”. At 12, Jess wrote a children's book called “Arnold The Not Dinosaur”. It is a story about panic attacks, identity, self-acceptance and being unique, that may well help children to grow up feeling less alone. A “Few Slivers of Light” is a collection of poems that Jess wrote between the ages of 11 and 14. It is a journey from despair to hope in three parts; The Darkness, The Dawn and The Day. “As scary as it can be to put some things out, I knew I could help others and I wanted to do that. I felt a responsibility to help people feel validated in their struggles.” She isn’t concerned about selling a lot of books. Her goal is to communicate a message of understanding and unity. “I was inspired by a musician called Dodi, who wrote about panic attacks and depression. It was so wonderful to hear something so poetic and candid about these things. I saw mental health issues in my friends’ lives and the extreme toll that it took on themselves and their families. I wanted to tell teenagers that they weren’t alone and that their struggles were shared.” Jess is busy studying for her Matric but in her spare time, she does motivational talks at schools around Gauteng aimed at children, high school students, neurodiverse learners and parents. “The first school talk I ever did was at Kingsmead. A girl came and gave me a hug and said ‘I have never felt more seen’. I realised that by helping just one person, everything I wanted to do with the book, I had done.” Both of Jess’s books can be purchased through select bookstores, online retailers or directly from her website www.jessrobus.com . 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