Sbusiso Malinga 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. Every Wednesday and Friday, Sbusiso Malinga would walk from his home in Alexandra Township to clean up the litter trap that sits across the Jukskei River and collects hundreds of polystyrene takeaway containers that have floated downstream over the previous days. The volume of waste that built up over only a few days was vast, making his work thankless, repetitive and unending. But as a passionate advocate for change in Alexandra, he kept going, unpaid, week in and week out. Sbusiso passed away from natural causes last week, on the 18th of July 2023, at 35 years old. In 2022 Paul Maluleke introduced Sbusiso to me as one of the most dedicated volunteers for the Alex Water Warriors. He was the first person that I formally profiled for The Actionists. We are publishing the profiles of Sbusiso and his colleague Paul to commemorate the important contribution that Sbusiso made, through the story of the Alex Water Warriors. As one of the founders of the Alex Water Warriors, Paul Maluleke has built a team of volunteers who get together to clean up the Jukskei River which starts at Ellis Park and joins the Crocodile River outside Lanseria, flowing through the township of Alexandra on the outskirts of Johannesburg. The cleanup project is born out of passion and necessity. The level of pollution from discarded plastic has reached such high levels that it affects the health and livelihoods of most people living in the community. As a passionate advocate for bringing tourism back to Alexandra, Paul knows the importance of cleaning up the river whilst also passing on new values to the next generation. Formed in 2017 the water warriors have grown in numbers and support. From an original team of 4 dedicated volunteers, they are now approximately 700, collecting around 1000 bags of rubbish per week through their ten teams working along different sections of the river. They recently received a recycling station from Coca-Cola Beverages SA, launched on Mandela Day, in partnership with COJ, ARMOUR and Adreach's Wastepreneurs to provide the warriors with space for weighing and sorting of recycling as well as a buyback centre to aid ongoing sustainability for them and the community. 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

Thulani Madondo 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. Sitting in Thulani Madondo’s bright office with the Kliptown Youth Program’s (KYP) 2025 strategic goals on the wall, it is easy to forget that the surrounds are one of the most impoverished and neglected areas in Gauteng. Madondo, 42, knows the circumstances of the 1402 children who benefit from the KYP’s programs all too well, as he was born only a few metres from the building’s front steps that he and a group of friends founded 17 years ago. He grew up in a single room shack with his mother and seven siblings. The modern building with a computer lab, numerous classrooms, a gender neutral bathroom, an indoor football pitch, and a large kitchen stands in stark contrast to the corrugated iron shacks and rubbish-strewn gravel paths surrounding it. “Our impact is really amazing,” he says with a beaming smile. “I lived here in this squatter camp, no electricity, no running water, everything communal. Today almost 99% of our team no longer live here in Kliptown. As we develop the organisation and empower the kids, we were also very fortunate to empower ourselves. “We have five of our alumni working full-time for the organisation now, with two of them in managerial positions. That is something to be extremely proud of,” Madondo says. “I always tell the kids: ‘the only thing you owe us is your success’.” Occupying a significant place in South Africa’s history, Kliptown became the first place where the historic Freedom Charter, that paved the way for South Africa’s democratic goals and ideals, was adopted in 1955. Despite the lofty aspirations of the Freedom Charter, residents of Kliptown were left behind and neglected for decades by the Apartheid regime and 30 years of democratic rule. The community lacks even the most basic of human needs such as schools, healthcare facilities, running water, electricity, and proper sanitation. Due to extreme poverty and little to no service delivery, the children of Kliptown are often the most vulnerable, with access to school uniforms, shoes, food and reading material inaccessible to many. Madondo and his friends saw these needs and came together almost two decades ago to do something about the grinding poverty and desperation that people in their community were faced with. Since then, KYP has developed and grown, catering to more children every year and providing more services to the entire community. These days children have access to tutoring, school fees and uniform support, a food program, online learning through computer labs with internet, a vocational program, performing arts, culture, and sport programs, a library, and psychosocial support, among other things. “All the work we do here, it is not for fame. It is to help people, especially children, to rise out of poverty. No one chose to be born in poverty, but how we respond to that and the challenges that come with poverty is the most important. There are so many opportunities for people, but it’s how they respond to them. That is what we are trying to do, to help people with the mindset to succeed in life,” Madondo says. But it is not just children who benefit from KYP and its many programs. Anyone from the community can come and use the computer labs to prepare for and apply for jobs, while there are dedicated staff on site to help people apply for social grants. “The best thing we can do as an organisation is to give full ownership of the centre to the community at large,” Madondo says, adding that residents of Kliptown were given job opportunities through a lottery system during the construction on the new premises. On a weekly basis, unemployed residents also get opportunities to earn some money by cleaning and helping maintain the site. Madondo says despite never going to university himself and giving up on his dream to become an accountant, he has championed more than R10-million as alumni of the program enrolled for tertiary education during the last 17 years. “Today some of our alumni are living lives way, way better than myself and I am okay with that,” he says. “That was always the dream. The more successful the children become, the better I become. I sleep very peacefully knowing very well how many people’s lives I’ve touched. And not myself, it’s a collective effort of course. I am constantly humbled, motivated, and inspired by our alumni.” 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

Sharne Jacobs 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. Sharne Jacobs is worried that the world will always stereotype skateboarders as a nuisance. It felt for a long time that the sport that changed her life would never be taken seriously in South Africa. That was until it was accepted into the Olympic Games and the public perception slowly started to shift. At the age of 13, Sharne would go to skate parks to diligently practice a skill that she enjoyed, and that gave her an escape from the rest of the world. She was the only girl at the park and, after a while, the intimidation that she felt from the boys became too much and forced her away. It wasn’t until her mid-twenties, that a friend invited her to try again and she rediscovered her passion for skateboarding. Even though thirteen years had passed, it still didn’t feel like a place for women and girls to thrive. Sharne realised the need for a safe space for girls to be able to learn together and committed herself to creating just that. But skateboarding is a curious discipline that, rather than being lauded as a highly skilled craft, is all too often dismissed as a playground for bored teenagers. The scrapes and slides of wood on concrete, the rattling of wheels, the ugly concrete arena, the tattoos, the wardrobe, and the graffiti that adorns the walls of many skate parks, all combine to give skating a bad reputation. But, there are a variety of valuable life skills that can be learned at the skate park. Skateboarding is essentially a solo endeavour, the mastery of which can only be achieved through diligent practice, commitment and risk-taking. It teaches the learner to get back up and try again, even when it hurts. Patience, persistence and confidence are needed to slowly perfect technical skills, combining them into a series of finely crafted tricks. It is also a highly social sport. The skate parks are home to many, a place for people to come together and learn, help, compete and share their experiences. It can be therapy for some, and a healthy outlet of energy for others. “People have come from broken homes and places where they are not exposed to good energy and learning. Skating teaches you life lessons, it can be wholesome.” These are all the aspects of skateboarding that Sharne loves, and all the positive experiences that she wants to pass on to other girls. So in 2015, she started Girl Skate South Africa, a safe space for girls to come and learn skateboarding whilst at the same time finding a community of like-minded people who want to practice a new skill, surrounded by support and encourangement. Up to 60 girls come to a session and they are now hosting lessons and events around the country. “I just want to see people get the same enjoyment as I have. And do their best. It has helped me with my confidence and grown me as a person. I was super shy and unapproachable before.” Sharne is also working to bring skating to other communities that could benefit from the experience of learning new skills. Together with Rare Bear and Beauty from Ashes she has built a small skate park at a community centre in the informal settlement of Kya Sands where poverty and unemployment have contributed heavily towards the disempowerment of the youth. The skate park provides them with a new focus and an empowering skill that also deepens a sense of hope that there is more out in the world for them. It may take a while for skateboarding to shake off its bad reputation but, in the meantime, Sharne is giving young girls hope, confidence, and a new set of skills. That doesn’t sound like too much of a nuisance. 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

Lucy Draper-Clarke 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. Lucy Draper-Clarke is the author of “The Compassionate Activist”, a book which delves into the theories and practices that form her philosophies on reflexivity as a way to transform societies. She believes that one of the most powerful forms of activism is the awareness of our interconnectedness. It is the theory that we have a responsibility to heal ourselves while attending to others. In doing so, we can turn towards suffering, become more compassionate and then engage skilfully in the world around us. Lucy is not trying to change the world swiftly - that would be too overwhelming a task. Instead, she is providing a guide for people to live in a more harmonious way with others, approaching situations with mindful awareness and ease. The activism that she promotes challenges us to ‘do no harm', while caring for the world and the people around us. The book itself is grounded in ancient wisdom traditions, particularly Buddhism, and leans towards the development of an environmental and social consciousness with a focus on community building and personal accountability. These personal shifts come with a benefit for everyone, and it is Lucy’s hope that the book will enable people to forge stronger relationships, allowing them to cope better with disagreements and to live more harmoniously alongside people with different world views. It’s an interesting take on activism. Looking at yourself first and understanding how your own inner calm can resonate outwards. Teach yourself to be more tolerant, patient and kind, and then project that into the world around you. Lucy is not only a writer but also a retreat facilitator, researcher, postgraduate supervisor and yoga instructor who has a PhD in Mindfulness and Teacher Education. Find out more about Lucy and her work at https://www.lucydraperclarke.com or visit our store to buy the book. In Lucy’s words… “The Compassionate Activist is for changemakers, meditators and activists, offering guidance to transform our wounded world from the inside out. What can we do in the midst of uncertainty and overwhelm? Attend to what is within us and around us, moment by moment. This book is for all who see activism as a relational practice built on an ethic of care. It calls for engagement inspired by love, not hate, and the mobilisation of communities through solidarity, not separation.” 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

Thato Thabang Mosoeu 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. Thato, also known as Thabang, is an activist for the sensitisation of the LGBTQIA+ community in Bloemfontein. She is passionate about providing a safe space for the community to talk about their experiences and, in turn, push for change by challenging local organisations to change how they interact with the LGBTQIA+ community. Through her experience working with various NGOs in the area, Thato realised the importance of going to the clinics and police stations to educate the people working there on how to treat the LGBTQIA+ community in a more sensitive and inclusive way. She also hosts support groups for the LGBTQIA+ community to talk about their experiences in order to gain a better understanding of what needs to be done. Thato was inspired by her own experience when a male police officer refused to refer to her as a woman. At the time, the police officer refused to listen to Thabang, simply telling her that she would always be a man. This 2018 encounter in the mall made her realise the important work that needed to be done to help create a safer and more accepting society for her community. 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

Siyabonga Ndlangamandla 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. There is a very clear division between the work that Siyabonga does for-profit and the work he does for the community. The two, however, are inseparable. As with most Actionists, there is a clear understanding that if he did not feed himself, then he could not help to feed anyone else. For-profit Siyabonga grows vegetables in a hydroponic garden. He feeds himself and sells the organic produce commercially through Food Lovers Market. For the community, Siyabonga runs a community garden that aims to provide the people of Bez Valley, Johannesburg with an ongoing source of fresh vegetables. In a community where there are often 20 people living in a single household, it is a generous and valuable venture. Not only that but through the garden, he aims to up-skill and enable people from the community to grow their own food at home. “We grew up having enough and it was always important to share. We cannot just be eating whilst someone else, next to you, goes without.” Siyabonga was raised on his grandfather’s farm where, as children, they had to work in the fields. Even though he hated it at the time, as he grew up he realised his passion for farming which came from his grandfather. At a young age, Siyabonga became passionate about food security and sustainability. It was ingrained in him to do something for others and, living in a poor area of Johannesburg, he saw the opportunity to help using the skills that he had. When I asked him what he needs in order to run his operations better he said nothing, but that he would like to donate time to teach at schools about food security. 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

Otsile Nkadimeng 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 urgency with which Otsile Nkadimeng talks about global warming echoes his fears about the impending climate crisis. He needs to get his message out before it is too late but the problem is that most of the solutions that he offers are grounded in the knowledge that policy change takes time, way too much time. Otsile believes in the South African youth. He knows that they have the capacity to care about their future and about the future of their country. And he knows the importance of getting the youth involved. He is a clear example of how engaged, switched on and powerful the young people are in this country. They have the tools, the energy and they are starting to find their voice. His own journey into climate activism started five years ago when he heard a talk about climate change by Professor Coleen Vogel at a model United Nations conference for school students, hosted by Wits University. He was so affected by the powerful presentation that, after the event, he went straight home and joined Fridays for Future and Extinction Rebellion . In 2022 Otsile, together with his friend Pètra de Beer, started an initiative called the Sundial Movement , a collective of young people around the country who care about the climate and understand the impact that it will have on their own future. The movement connects high-school learners through instant messaging groups and appoints point people at different schools who are then responsible for mobilising other students to synchronise marches and protest action, all based around climate issues. “There is so much energy and potential in the youth. We need to be part of the process because this is our future.” They are also developing a climate training workshop called Talk in Twenty which teaches about the causes of the climate crisis whilst, at the same time, engaging with the real-world aspects of how it will affect everybody's lives. The aim is to reduce climate anxiety by walking people through all the issues and guiding them on how to take action. “We need to tie climate change to people's everyday issues, people are more concerned about what they are going to eat. We need to show people the impact on food, weather, and socioeconomic problems and how they are all interconnected. “ The solution, Otsile says, is the Just Energy Transition , a government initiative to move away from coal and towards cleaner sources of energy. But he is quick to point out that this is a slow process that is not accessible to most people. It is a high-level, policy-driven initiative that puts the power for change in the hands of the government. “Climate will never be a sexy issue, I have tried to make it that for a long time but it takes a lot of energy and a lot of effort.” As a bright young student, passionate about the future of the world, Otsile is in a good position to bridge the gap between the inaccessible government-level decisions and the growing masses of youth, on the ground, with the energy and determination to make a real change for the future. 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

Dudu Makhubo 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 a mentor to kids in the township of Thembilihle, Dudu feels passionately that her energy should be focused on the young boys in her community. “I think that society forgets about the boy child and the boy child is very important to the community. If you raise one boy right it means that you could be avoiding crime, rape, and all the other bad things that can be done by men. If you can educate a boy with the mindset that they can make a change to society then it makes a huge difference.” Through her voluntary work as a member of the community youth club, she believes that she has a platform to deal with toxic masculinity, drugs and alcohol abuse. This, says Dudu, is achieved through education. The youth club is basically a mentorship program for 15 kids in the Thembilihle community. It is overseen and supported by the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation. The kids are aged 15-25 and their mentors are 26-35. It is the mentors who decide how to empower the community through the younger members. In Thembilihle their focus is on education so they support their kids through an after-school Maths and Science program, encouraging them to attend the free classes and assisting them when they need help. They also take the kids to a variety of community events and show them how they can play a more active role in the community. “Whatever it is that we do it is about empowering their minds and changing the narrative that if you are from an informal settlement you cannot be educated.” Activism has always been in Dudu’s family. Her mother has been a very active member of the community since the youth movements of 1976, opening up her house as the meeting point for PAC meetings during the liberation struggle. She later became a vocal opponent to several attempts to forcibly remove people from Thembilihle. “We want to see a change in the community, our parents have done what they could but it’s up to us whether we continue from where they stopped or leave things as they are. As the youth we have the power to make things happen.” It seems that many young people in South Africa feel so disenfranchised that it renders them powerless to even conceive of being part of a positive change in the country. Even at such a young age Dudu already recognises that through education, even the smallest change that she can make in another person’s life can have the power to brighten their future and that of the community around them. 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

Drama For Life 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 the world of academia, Drama For Life is unique. It exists as a post-graduate programme that provides a space to increase the efficacy of performance-based messaging. Through arts intervention and drama therapy work they tackle public health, mental health, governance and environmental issues. But, alongside this academic course, Drama For Life also runs a series of outreach projects, a theatre company and a programme to promote mental health awareness in schools. Petro Janse Van Vuuren runs the academic programme and Hamish Neill is the director of projects. Together, their approach is focused on making important information more accessible and engaging, continuing the work started by programme founder and fellow Actionist, Warren Nebe. Whilst the academic programme is advertised as a post-graduate degree, the objective is to bring together experts and change-makers from around Africa, and beyond. They understand and embrace the power of expertise that originates from varied levels of education or educational backgrounds and, critically, years of hands-on experience. They offer a range of short, project-based bridging courses and recognise prior undocumented learning, experience and impact that equates to an undergraduate degree. “This is someone who has been doing this for 20 years, to not allow them in because they didn’t have the papers, well that wasn’t their choice…Our education programme is part of our activism. It’s not just about getting in post-grad students and ticking boxes.“ - Hamish Neill Drama For Life started in the early 2000s as a response to the fatigue that had set in around the dissemination of HIV information. There was a sense that important messaging was being lost in the oversaturated world of heavily funded HIV campaigns and that little was actually changing. It evolved into a space for the long-term effectiveness and standards of performance-based activism, and healing, to grow by focusing on facilitating discussions, critical reflection and development through applied theatre practices. They recognise that their role is to bring the right people together and provide the tools and space for them to learn from each other. “Our entire teaching programme relies on facilitating the collective information in the room.” - Petro Janse Van Vuuren It is not often that you come across an entire university department so passionate about creating change, and, rarer still, one that understands their role so clearly as a facilitator of others’ expertise. 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

Gideon Swart 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. From a small cafe on the corner of a nondescript road in the suburbs of Pretoria, Gideon Swart has created a space for kindness, love and community to thrive, and it all started with a coffee truck and a mission to connect with people. As I leave the Wild Cactus Café after the interview, Samuel, the car guard from next door, greets us. “Are you hungry?” asks Gideon. “Come inside and have something to eat.” This is the generosity that he seems to extend to everyone he meets. By his own admission, it is not the greatest way to run a profitable business but Gideon isn’t driven by money. Yes, he needs to keep the lights on and the rent paid but his motivation is in changing the people around him and creating a space where that change to happen. “We started the coffee shop as a beacon of hope, where everyone belongs, from the CEO to the homeless guy.” In 2019 Gideon and his wife, Olivia, gave up their jobs as pastors and opened a coffee truck which, over the years, has grown into a formal café. From the very beginning, they committed to feeding the homeless people who would pass by, offering them coffee and a chocolate croissant, no questions asked. Over time, Gideon got to know the regulars, engaging with them and finding ways to help them off the streets and, if necessary, into rehab. His actions became an example to all of his customers and, before long, a culture of generosity started to emerge within the coffee shop. It became normal for customers to pay for the food and drinks of others who may not have the means. From this arose a pay-it-forward system where customers can add extra coffees to their bill which the baristas then use, at their discretion, to give out when someone is in need. Starting in 2014 Gideon has committed himself to raising awareness of human trafficking, using the café as a base for his Actionism. After learning about the true scale of the issue, and how it operates in close proximity to where he lives, he discovered the NPO Brave To Love which provides medical, psychological and emotional support to victims of sex trafficking. In collaboration with Brave To Love, he has been working on ways to raise awareness of the issues. The coffee shop was designated as a donation centre and customers were asked to drop off blankets, toys and bedding to help with the various programmes of rehabilitation. Gideon is also raising awareness through running. On the 30th of September, he will be competing in the gruelling 75km Maxi Race in the Cape Winelands. Throughout his training, he has been making a noise on social media and through radio interviews. At the race itself, he will be raising money and drawing attention to South Africa's sex trafficking issues. If you are not one of the 2000 ultra runners heading to the Cape for the Maxi Race and you want to know more, pop in for a coffee at the Wild Cactus Café. If you do, before you leave, don’t forget to buy someone else a coffee and a chocolate croissant. 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