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

Jacques Bona 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. Most Actionists would say that it isn’t in their nature to give up. Even after 5 years, Jacques swore that he would never stop campaigning for the Lehae Library to be opened to the public. It may sound trivial but Jacques knows how important a library can be. During matric, he didn’t have a safe space to study or access to information provided by books and a good wifi network, resources that can be a deciding factor in the education of many young people in South Africa. “It is up to the community of Lehae to push for change so I had to be an example. I can’t speak about activism without making a change myself. It has to start with me.” The Lehae Library building was completed in 2018, a grand structure, boldly rising above the small weathered homes that make up the township on the outskirts of Lenasia, Gauteng. But up until recently, the building was never opened to the public. For five years a high fence surrounded it and guards sat at the entrance not allowing anyone in. With the support of the youth program at the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, Jacques took it upon himself to get the library opened. Over the years he has marched, picketed and engaged in numerous community discussions. He has approached ministers and counsellors, relentlessly barraging them with questions about why this public building is still closed to the public. Although there are records of budgets and spending, issues were clearly still being covered up. “I wasn’t raised to give up. I am the type of person who, if I believe in something I stand by it and you will never convince me otherwise. I feel like I had nothing until the day that the library opened. The day it opened to the youth, the community of Lehae felt the victory. I could say “Yes, I did something”.” On the 25th of May 2023, the library doors were finally opened to the public with a ceremony that did not mention Jacques's hard work and his selfless passion for uplifting the lives of the young learners of Lahae. “From now on my job is to build an inclusive society where the community is fully involved and aware of what is going on with the library, I will be fighting for it to stay a safe space for all.” At 23 years old, Jacques is just finding his feet in the world of activism, still learning that it can be a rewarding yet thankless task. The mission to open a local library may seem small but the opportunities that he has opened up are immeasurable. 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

Leaving The Galleries 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. I have two work passions: making art and creating human rights campaigns. You would think that selling your photographic artwork through a major gallery at £1,000 a pop would feel like success, but for me it has mostly been a hollow and frustrating experience. Just writing the paragraph above makes me feel like an entitled ingrate, but the truth of the matter is that I became a photographer because I wanted to connect with people. I wanted to record what I found to be beautiful in the world and share it with others who were moved by it. I wanted to make an impact. The problem with selling through a mainstream gallery for a high price is that, although you can make a bit of money, you get little to no interaction with your clients, no feedback, no dialogue and little satisfaction. For the most part it was a soulless experience that made me feel disconnected, anxious and not in control of my own work, the opposite of why I became a photographer in the first place. 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 Mphuthi 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. So much Actionism is driven by personal experience and the need to make sure that nobody else suffers in the same way. No more so than for Thato Mphuthi, a powerful voice for the rights of people with disabilities. At 8 years old Thato was diagnosed with TB of the right hip. She had to rely on crutches to get around and took a long time to adjust to her new way of moving. Not only was she in pain and drastically restricted in her movement, but she also became alienated from her friends and fearful of being picked on. For a year her classroom was on the first floor and, only being able to cope with navigating the stairs once a day, she had to stay upstairs for the whole day, unable to join in at break time or enjoy lunch with her friends. In high school, the bullying got worse and she became more introverted. She wrote a poem called “Imizwayami” (My Feelings) for an assignment and performed it in front of her class. It was a raw expression of her experiences as a person with a disability. The performance prompted a change in attitude from many of her fellow students and lit a fire in Thato, proving that she had the ability to change people’s perceptions of her. After leaving school Thato slowly started to engage with activists. She was introduced to the One In Nine Campaign, working with survivors of GBV and the Young Urban Woman Movement and Activate. I am so grateful for the experience that came with having this condition because it changed my outlook on life and opened me up to different things ... I often say to my friends that this feels like a hug to my 8-year-old self who could not speak for themselves at the time. The work that I am doing, as much as I am passionate about it, is also my way of healing. In 2020 Thato started her own NPO, Enabled Enlightenment, as a way to educate children about issues relating to disability, encouraging them to live as good examples to others in their communities. Once she started to run workshops in schools, the program was broadened to include issues of consent, body autonomy, GBV, and sexual and reproductive health. Thato is wearing the Disability Pride T-Shirt designed by tebo x emeka which can be bought through the link in our online store. 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

Sandile Soxokashe 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 2013 the town of Bekkersdal was overrun by ten months of protests about the lack of service delivery in the area. Over time the demonstrations turned to riots, government buildings were burned, people were hurt and valuable infrastructure was destroyed. Sandile Soxokashe was a 15-year-old boy at the time, desperate for some way to change the community, he became actively involved in the protests. In hindsight, he sees it as a valuable lesson in his journey to becoming an activist, a steep learning curve teaching him how things shouldn’t be done and leaving the community in a poorer place than they were before. Government buildings that were destroyed have been demolished and the land has been left disused and vacant. Residents now need to travel long distances to access the government facilities in other suburbs. Ten years later Sandile has started his own initiative called Be The Future Foundation. The point of the organisation is to educate the local community in safe, legal and effective forms of protest. He is passionate about change, but he knows that it will not come about if communities make the same mistakes as they did in Bekkersdal. He sees how they destroyed their own community and wants to provide a better path. Be The Future Foundation is working together with the NPO Right To Protest to produce comprehensive workshops that educate the community whilst also training their own volunteers to become mediators between the community and the government. They are working on zero budget, but they are so passionate that the three directors and ten volunteers meet twice a week to produce the course that will lead them in their quest to give a new, more effective, louder and more peaceful voice to unheard communities. In addition to the training workshops for protesting, not rioting, Be The Future Foundation is also developing a series of workshops for schools to teach kids about their constitutional rights, in order to develop them into more active citizens. They believe that the lethargy that has befallen people in many parts of South Africa is a direct result of not knowing how to make a change and of having clarity of what that change should be. Sandile is not ashamed of being part of the 2013 riots. It shaped him into who he is today. And who he is today is a man who cares deeply about his community and wants them to be able to have agency and a voice, and push for effective and long-lasting 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

Pinky Mashiane 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. Whilst walking through a wealthy suburb of Pretoria, Pinky saw a gardener being shouted at and threatened by his employer. Without thinking twice she marched through the gate, announced that she was from the Department of Labour, and declared that she would have to report the employer for what she had just witnessed. She didn’t work for the Department of Labour, and she had no means to report the man for his abusive behaviour but he believed her story, and tried to bribe her to not report him. Pinky refused the money and insisted that he give it to the gardener, along with an apology. She took both their numbers so that she could check that the mistreatment never happened again. It was at this point that she realised that she had the power to change people’s lives for the better. Pinky Mashiane now works tirelessly for the rights of domestic workers around South Africa. On a regular workday, her phone will not stop ringing with requests for help from people who don’t know where else to turn. She started her professional life as a domestic worker but soon realised that she could not tolerate the conditions and treatment that were considered normal. She became one of the most vocal voices for the rights of domestic workers around the country. One of Pinky’s greatest achievements has been to get domestic workers included in COIDA (the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act). This came about through her work on the landmark case of Maria Mahlangu, a domestic worker who fell into a swimming pool and drowned. Pinky helps domestic workers and gardeners with a range of issues, including but not limited to; Inhumane Treatment - physical abuse, verbal abuse, sexual harassment. Exploitation - underpaying, overworking, and enforcing the minimum wage. Accidental Harm - dog attacks, injuries at work. Wrongful Termination - dismissal due to HIV status, wrongful accusations of theft, etc. Unfair Deductions - withholding money for breakages, accommodation, etc. All of this she does for almost no money, fiercely motivated by the fact that as long as her phone rings, there are people that need her. And it isn’t going to go quiet anytime soon. 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

Arnold Sibanda 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 inspiration to create the Black Male Positivity Project came from a painful loss for Arnold Sibanda. Just before the birth of his son, Arnold’s father passed away. A principled man with strong values, who had Arnold’s best intentions at heart, his father was his role model and his greatest supporter. When he passed, Arnold realised that he needed a support system to navigate his own new journey of fatherhood, to bring up his son in a way that would make his father proud. It was from this that the Black Male Positivity Project was born. Through the project, Arnold runs a collection of programmes that serve to inspire, empower and support Black men and boys in their journey to become more positive members of society. He wants to redress the tired stereotypes and provide the tools needed to provide a more favourable example of what it means to be a Black man in South Africa. “With the increasing reporting of Black men being the victims or perpetrators of violence, we want to spotlight the positive achievements and roles of Black men in their communities. If young men continually see themselves represented in the media in a negative way, it does not give them a lot to look up to. Neither does it help to change the trajectory of their lives.” The idea is to celebrate Black men who are positive role models in society, in order to create a space for discussion and learning through honest reflection. And to facilitate healing through the unlearning of cultural or patriarchal practices that do not serve the best interests of modern life in a 21st-century society. Arnold believes that by engaging with the stories of Black men that break the prevailing narrative, whether it be through in-person discussion or through literature, he can help to change the future for young men who are trying to navigate a world that they have not been properly equipped to deal with. “In our recent support group meeting I realised that most brothers are parenting through generational trauma, and are not aware of it. It is through the understanding of issues such as the impact of the migrant labour system on Black fatherhood, that we can develop appropriate support systems for modern, young Black men.” The values of family commitment, leadership and support are achieved through several different programmes which have been developed to provide men and boys of all ages with a range of tools to facilitate growth. For the younger generations, Arnold has identified the need for opportunities and skills development that facilitate engagement with positive stories. To do this the project provides an ongoing mentorship programme which pairs young boys with positive male role models in their communities, an after-school homework programme and a school-based literacy initiative. For the adults, they host a variety of support groups that deal with issues such as sexual health, new fatherhood and paternity rights. They also have a curated online bookshop that focuses on relatable stories by Black, African, male authors. Together with the NPO Heartlines, they host an annual Father’s Day bike ride which brings a wide community of men together, to connect, celebrate and support each other on a long-term basis. Through the project, Arnold wants to support fathers to raise boys who are emotionally balanced, confident communicators, who can articulate their fears in a healthy way. Young men who can pursue their dreams safely in the knowledge that they have support. You can probably tell that Arnold is also passionate about books. He gets that from his dad. 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

Jesse Naidoo & Tammy Greyling 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. Clothes To Good started by accident. In 2011 Jesse Naidoo’s golf club was running a promotion that promised a pair of golf shoes to anyone who paid their club fees early. Jesse took the offer and gifted his pair of shoes to Lucky Madiba, his club caddy of 10 years. As a result of accepting the gift, Lucky lost his job due to an altercation with the caddy master who wanted the new pair. Jesse decided to help Lucky and his wife to start a used clothes reselling business. They appealed to parents from Crawford Pretoria International School for donations to support recycling and enterprise development. They received over 4.7 tonnes of clothing. Realising that this was too much for Lucky to deal with, Jesse took on three more people who sorted through and resold the clothing donations that steadily built over a short period of time. Twelve years later and Clothes To Good is a much bigger operation. They employ 35 people, support 108 micro-businesses and have high-level partnerships with H&M and Levi’s; and an ongoing collaboration with Tommy Hilfiger to produce ‘Nim Nims’; weighted blankets for people living with autism, anxiety and ADHD. They recycle between 15 and 20 tonnes of used clothes that are sorted into three recycling categories; Items for Reuse - selling good quality clothes to micro-businesses at a heavily discounted price for the purpose of resale. Items for Up-cycling - using material from used clothes to make weighted blankets, recondition wheelchairs, toys and other sustainability projects. Items for Down-cycling - breaking down fibres to provide materials to the bedding, building and motoring industries in order to reduce their environmental footprint, and divert clothes and shoes from landfills. It is through a collaboration with Tammy Greyling, who came on board as a health professional (Occupational Therapist) with broad experience working with people with disabilities, that Clothes to Good branched into new projects that focused on people with disabilities and early childhood development. In fact, these projects are so important to them that they will proudly tell you that 56 out of 108 micro-businesses that they support are run by mothers of children with disabilities. They also work with 148 early childhood development centres and helped seven people with disabilities get employment in H&M’s distribution centre, to which they provide ongoing support through their team of disability inclusion specialists, as part of the OnRoute Life-skills and Supported Employment Programme. “Clothes are just the vehicle to do other things.” — Tammy Greyling And it doesn’t stop there. There is so much more to this company than we can cover here. But what you need to know is where the motivation comes from. Jesse and Tammy are both passionate about people. Their ultimate goal is to bring out the light in the people they serve, to provide a way for people to find their purpose, their passion and the hope that tomorrow will be better than today. An innate love for people and the planet oozes out of them, and they have created a way to turn that love into a sustainable, life-changing organisation. 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

Irfaan Mangera 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. Irfaan doesn’t want to talk about change, he wants to see it happen. The biggest motivator for him is to visit communities and see the young people that he has worked with being empowered as activists. “In a hopeless situation where the country is currently, it’s these pockets of hope that I think really are what we must amplify and find ways to support.” Irfaan has already had a lifetime of experience as an Actionist. Growing up in Lenasia he started volunteering at the age of 13, distributing food hampers to vulnerable people in the neighbouring township of Thembelihle. At 16 he was elected to the executive of Crescents Cricket Club using it as a vehicle to encourage young people off the streets and unite the diverse community. In matric, he started to volunteer with the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation. This provided him with the insight, confidence and critical thinking that led him to join the Fees Must Fall protests in his first year at university. From this point Irfaan joined almost every organisation that he could, leaning into the camaraderie of the community that he had found at university, and the shared passion to create change. “Had I not had the prior experiences in the community to witness and feel inequality and poverty that was rampant here I don't think I would have made the connection to say ‘I have a duty towards the people of this country to do something about it’ … and you met at university level a bunch of people from all over who felt the same.” Irfaan is now the youth activism program manager at the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation. The program is designed to build organised youth groups in communities, mobilising young people towards actual grassroots impact, and building a network of young people across the country who can engage with each other on what is happening in the country and how it can be solved. So far they have started 30 clubs in Gauteng in just over 3 years. Young people aged from 12-25 make up the club, whilst those from 25-35 play a mentorship role. Irfaan works with them to develop core leadership and membership, building democracy into a grassroots program. He then coordinates with the leaders, supporting them in dealing with the issues that they have identified. These have included, but are not limited to, GBV, climate change and sanitation. The youth program is also involved in building the National Youth Coalition of civil society organisations. A platform for young people to engage and create change at a national level. “We don’t believe we are speaking on behalf of youth. We want to engage young people and amplify their voices, their struggles and their issues. Which is why the model is about going into a community to support what is there and not dictate what they must be doing.” At 26 years old Irfaan knows that the youth have the power to create important changes in their own communities, a message that is worth passing on to future generations. 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

Keke Malakele 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 a story that many people will recognise. Stuck inside the house during the COVID-19 lockdown, the whole family grappling to adapt to a new normal, and the kids being forced to embrace new ways of learning so that school can continue. Keke Malakele was no different. With three kids and limited resources, she was forced to find a way to keep them from falling behind. Noticing that other children in her block of flats did not have the support and equipment that they needed, she reached out. When regulations permitted, Keke invited small groups of children into her home to study online, supervising them in Maths and English. She took on a total of 20 children from her block, keeping them moving forward whilst the world stood still. It was this kind gesture that ignited a passion in Keke for bringing modern educational techniques to the most in-need members of society. Keke is a 35-year-old tech-savvy innovator who is fascinated by the intersection between technology and education. Although she has a full-time job as an IT support analyst at Baker McKenzie, a large law firm in Sandton, she spends the majority of her time outside work running her not-for-profit company “United Siyafunda” (United We Learn), teaching kids robotics and coding. “I am inspired by life itself. I believe that the beauty of life doesn’t depend on how happy you are, it depends on how happy others can be because of you.” It was during the pandemic that Keke realised that coding and robotics could provide valuable, marketable skills to the youth in a nation that has dramatically fallen behind in its quality of education to low-income areas. She dreamed of providing a way for South Africa to keep up with the rest of the world. “This is the time for South Africa. This is the time for us to bring innovative solutions to solve African problems. We have the youth but we need to upskill them because they are the solution.” The skills that can be learned through these courses are vital to staying relevant in a world that is developing so fast towards a technological future; creative development, engineering, computational thinking and problem-solving. But one of the biggest challenges is access to equipment. A robotics set can set you back upwards of R13 000. Because of access to equipment and teachers, it is often only the kids who go to the best schools that will learn these important new skills. Many others have the capacity for this new way of thinking, but few of them have the opportunity to find that they can do it. “The limitation for human beings is not knowing. The difference between those who have answers and those who don't is information. From that day, I wanted to share knowledge.” Keke devised a model to fund the venture that puts access to information for the poorest communities right at the centre. United Siyafunda delivers coding and robotics training to eight schools in total. Two of them are private schools and six of them are government schools. The private schools pay R200 per person. This fee covers the operational costs so that the public schools can get the services for free. The programme provides an innovative environment where kids are encouraged to come up with real-life solutions to societal problems using coding and robotics. Over a short time, they have achieved a great deal, notably 1st place in the UNISA African Innovation Expo in 2022. Today, United Siyafunda offers three different programmes; A teacher training programme to upskill teachers and help them adapt to the proposed coding and robotics curriculum. A kid's programme of coding and robotics clubs for five to 15-year-olds in various locations from Soweto to Thembisa. A youth programme that upskills young people to train and become coding and robotics coaches, deploying them in schools as coaches and facilitators. ”We want to become the key enablers in all of our communities, breaking the divide for those that don't have access. We want to be the solution in this country.” From its very beginning, United Siyafunda has focused on job creation at every level. Through her passion and vision for a technology-rich future, it is clear that Keke Malakele sees a bright future for all South Africans. 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