58 The Actionists About Partner With Us Contact Us FAQ ____________________ Thom Pierce Studios Menu Close Pinky Mashiane Defending domestic worker's rights Pinky Mashiane at home 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. < Previous Item Next Item >

59 The Actionists About Partner With Us Contact Us FAQ ____________________ Thom Pierce Studios Menu Close Vhahangwele Tsotetsi Sparking political interest in youth Vhahangwele Tsotetsi in the constitutional court of South Africa In 2029 Vhahangwele is going to run for president of South Africa. In the meantime, he wants to get the youth engaged in politics and turning up at the polling booths. With a degree in political sciences from the University of Johannesburg, he is in an excellent position to do so. His passion for uplifting young people comes through in every word he says and through his NGO, Project Youth South Africa, he is making it a reality. “As a young man, I grew up in a township called Orange Farm. I realised that there wasn’t anything for the youth there, even sports were diminishing. Now there are no facilities, there is nothing for young people to lean on. Instead, they are leaning on drugs, alcohol and gangsterism.” — Vhahangwele Tsotetsi It’s not just about getting the youth of South Africa to walk in and vote, it’s about getting them motivated and engaged enough to care about politics. Vhahangwele believes that this means dealing with all aspects of their lives that are stopping them from being politically engaged both now and in the future. This includes but is not limited to, issues to do with climate change, poverty and health. He is very aware that young people will distance themselves from the democratic process because they are just trying to survive in a world in which they don’t have the tools to navigate and thrive in. “I love this country. It has a lot of potential. I cannot allow it to be destroyed. Young people are the agents of change. I wake up every day and try to think of one big idea that will uplift young people and put them at the forefront of society” — Vhahangwele Tsotetsi Through events, community engagements and partnerships with the Youth Business Expo and Youth Coalition; Project Youth South Africa is on a mission. < Previous Item Next Item >

15 The Actionists About Partner With Us Contact Us FAQ ____________________ Thom Pierce Studios Menu Close Hlobisile Bathabile Yende Paving the way for women who farm Hlobisile Bathabile Yende on her farm in Gauteng 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’. < Previous Item Next Item >

4 The Actionists About Partner With Us Contact Us FAQ ____________________ Thom Pierce Studios Menu Close Colin Northmore Filling classrooms to tackle xenophobia Colin Northmore at his offices in Rosebank, Johannesburg Sacred Heart College is a school that sits between two very different socio-economic areas of Johannesburg. On the one side is Houghton, a quiet, affluent, middle-class suburb and on the other lies Yeoville, a bustling community that is home to many asylum seekers and refugees. In 2004, Colin Northmore created Three2Six, an educational programme that enabled undocumented refugee children to get the basic education and qualifications needed to legitimately enrol in high school. As the head teacher at Sacred Heart, Colin used his position and the school's facilities to build a bridging educational programme that would provide opportunities and stability to kids who had already experienced so much upheaval in their short lives. “Sacred Heart is on the border of two worlds, we can’t just serve one side of the street.” Colin grew up in a typical white, blue-collar family in Springs. His father was a fitter and turner in the mines and the family lived a regular apartheid-era life, shielded from the cruelty and with little racial interaction. After completing his degree in education from Wits, Colin served as an officer in the SADF before embarking on a career as an English teacher in government schools. It was from his father-in-law that Colin’s passion for social justice was ignited. As the secretary general of the South African Council of Churches, John Rees was persecuted by the Nationalist Government for his dedicated work with oppressed communities. There came a point where he had to stop keeping records of his work as the security forces would raid his offices in an attempt to trace the people he was helping. An event that would echo through Colin’s own work many years later. Sacred Heart College is a Marist Brother's school which, during apartheid, was one of the only schools to defy the government by becoming multi-cultural after the 1976 Soweto riots. By 2003 the school had started to lose its momentum as an institute on the frontline of social justice, so Colin decided to steer Sacred Heart in a new direction. He realised that there were refugee teachers who were unable to teach, and refugee children who were unable to learn; all living within walking distance of well-equipped classrooms that were sitting empty in the afternoons. “It all came together in my mind that the way Sacred Heart and I could make a contribution was in tackling xenophobia in our society by using the empty classes in the afternoons.” Three2Six focused on three things; providing education, food (because you cannot learn when you are hungry) and a school uniform that resembled those of the main school so that they were seen as fellow students and not outsiders. It didn’t come without its challenges, however. Towards the fifth year of the project, a law started to make its way through parliament that posed a real risk to the refugee communities. The law would enable police to raid the Three2Six offices in order to get information on refugees. So, like his father-in-law many years before, Colin was forced into the removal of physical records, putting everything on to an encrypted digital platform with a donor putting money aside to defend him if he was prosecuted. Three2Six was a great success over the years, seeing dozens of students come in with no documents and little education, and leaving to become integrated into the formal education system. It’s a testament to the quality of the programme and the values instilled in the students that many of them returned to volunteer their time to the next generation of learners. “I am proud and humbled to have originated the idea, but the teachers and funders were the real hands and the hearts of Three2Six.” Colin Northmore left Sacred Heart College in 2017 to run an online school called Evolve that focuses on unique and innovative learning experiences. The Three2Six project is still functioning and administered by Sacred Heart College but it is now hosted by a new school, Dominican Convent, where it offers a full curriculum, integrated with local students in the same classroom. Three2Six has continued to thrive since Colin left and has recently moved its entire operations to the Dominican Convent School. For a detailed understanding of the programme visit www.three2six.co.za . < Previous Item Next Item >

70 The Actionists About Partner With Us Contact Us FAQ ____________________ Thom Pierce Studios Menu Close Phetole Raseropo A new wave of subsitence farmers Phetole Raseropo at Evergrow in Soweto In 2019 Phetole and his friend from university, Andile Gcaza, started Evergrow. Initially, it was intended to be a company that manufactured hydroponic farming equipment, but it soon developed into a successful business selling seedlings to farmers. Whilst getting the business going, Phetole worked in the Department of Agriculture consulting with farmers about their crop choices, advising them on how and when to get the best yields. This helped him understand which crops were the most marketable and the level of food insecurity in South Africa. In the Soweto suburb of Tladi, there are a number of derelict school buildings which have been taken over by subsistence farmers to grow vegetables. Half of the land occupied by Evergrow is dedicated to their seedling operation. But the rest is used for their outreach projects. Giving back to the community is important to Phetole, he grew up in the area and he knows the struggles that many people have to put healthy food on the table. “When I think that food actually comes easy on my table…why can’t I make it simple, and also efficient? Access to food is a human right.” As part of their activism, Evergrow invites people from the local community to farm small plots of land around their seedling operation. They give them seedlings to get them started and advise on how and when to plant. They are clear that once the farmers start to sell their produce, they must pay for the next batch of seedlings. They don’t do this to generate more business, the amount of profit from this would be minuscule, but because they want to encourage people to not rely on handouts. Between the plots and the commercial operation, they have developed a community garden as both an educational space and a cost-effective vegetable market. They want to clearly demonstrate that a sustainable, small garden is achievable in Soweto and what better way to do so than by doing it themselves? As we have seen time and time again, Actionism doesn’t have to be completely altruistic. It can be a small, generous gesture that exists alongside your successful business. < Previous Item Next Item >

16 The Actionists About Partner With Us Contact Us FAQ ____________________ Thom Pierce Studios Menu Close Natania Botha Environmental awareness through art Natania Botha in her home studio outside Pretoria, Gauteng Six years ago, Natania Botha was walking along a beach on The Bluff, whilst on a trip to Durban. She noticed the environmental centre that was lying vacant and the beach that was covered in plastic litter. The sight of such neglect impacted her so profoundly that she resigned from her job as a marketing executive and dedicated her time to cleaning the beach. Over the coming months, she managed to pull together funding to get the environmental education centre reopened and mobilised two thousand people over a four-day period to clean up the entire beach. This was the first step in her journey as an environmental Actionist. “If I’m going to leave this for someone else to do, then it’s not going to happen. If you have the ability to do something then you have a responsibility to do it.” At the age of sixteen, Natania's father left suddenly and she was forced to support herself and her mother by leaving school and getting a job at Woolworths in Brits. Her first task was to wash one of the store mannequins. It was from this simple experience, at a formative time in her life, that Natania developed a strong emotional connection to mannequins, their form and power as a symbol of life. It was not until many years later that this fascination developed into an artistic endeavour to express humanity's responsibility towards the planet through a bold series of sculptures titled Reflections of Resilience. For the last six months, Natania has disconnected herself from the outside world to tirelessly work in her home studio to create 40 mannequins adorned with mosaics, created from ceramic items collected from around the world. She has sourced thousands of tiles to diligently compose a series of human portraits that stand as a “body of work” to invite humanity to delve into their own experience and explore the connections that envelop them with the natural world. “This collection is entirely dedicated to the river of life. The pattern is free flow. You become an empty vessel where the art reveals itself going through your hands.” Natania wants the work to stand as a conversation starter, to encourage the public to take the topic of climate change more seriously. The message of the work is that we should, as South Africans, be talking about climate change at home and around the braai. We have evidence of extreme weather but most of us feel like it doesn’t immediately impact us, so we don’t engage with it. “I want to get a strong message out there to world leaders that they need to consider the communities that are the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, usually the poorest communities.“ Up close, you can see that each piece has been painstakingly assembled; combining colour, shape and pattern to create a unique, anonymous figure. Experienced together, the 40 pieces are an eye-catching statement, and have a power transcending their individuality. Natania’s dream as an artist is to make art worthy of museums and to use her artistic voice to advocate for a harmonious coexistence with Mother Nature. Through her collection of beautiful figures, she has taken her first steps towards doing just that. < Previous Item Next Item >

55 The Actionists About Partner With Us Contact Us FAQ ____________________ Thom Pierce Studios Menu Close Alfred Mahlole Fighting for justice & infrastructure Alfred Mahlole at the people’s parliament in Thembelihle At 11 years old Alfred found out that the man who was raising him was not his father. He needed a birth certificate for school and he was told that he only had a clinic card because his mother had abandoned him. This started him on a heartbreaking, decade-long journey from statelessness to owning an ID book and being recognised as a South African citizen. This same journey took him to the doors of local councilors, NGOs and finally up in front of a judge who told him that he was a ghost in this country and that he did not exist according to the law. From this experience, he learned everything that he needed to know about activism. He learned to fight for what he needed and he learned that he was going to have to do everything himself if he was going to make any changes in his, or anyone else’s life. “My background was broken, the concrete was cracked. I had this thing in my mind that I do not want to see what happened to me happen to someone else. I know when there is no help what it feels like.” In 2010 Alfred joined the Thembelihle Crisis Committee (TCC), a group of volunteers living in Thembelihle informal settlement who get together to campaign for positive changes in their community. At the time there was no formal infrastructure for electricity, and the township was using an illegal system of informal wiring that was regularly electrocuting people and killing children. Within 5 years the TCC managed to get a legal electricity infrastructure installed, which was opened by none other than then-President Jacob Zuma. This was an empowering moment for Alfred, giving him the confidence to know that with enough hard work, anything can happen. Working with the TCC helped him to realise that he could make a change and so he started to volunteer with the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation as a youth club leader. His role is to mentor young people in the community, encouraging them to be more engaged members of society through educational programs and taking them to community events where they can get involved in social, environmental and political issues. “I want to see happiness in people. We have suffered a lot. When I see people smiling, and happy, I get inspired and I feel connected to them. I’m addicted to being around people and coming up with solutions on how we can make a change, how we can solve a challenge that affects everyone.” Alfred was nominated as an Actionist by the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation. < Previous Item Next Item >

19 The Actionists About Partner With Us Contact Us FAQ ____________________ Thom Pierce Studios Menu Close Jesse Naidoo & Tammy Greyling Recycling for the community Jesse Naidoo and Tammy Greyling in Pretoria 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. < Previous Item Next Item >

33 The Actionists About Partner With Us Contact Us FAQ ____________________ Thom Pierce Studios Menu Close Thokozani Ndaba Drama for healing & social change Thokozani Ndaba at home in Johannesburg 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. < Previous Item Next Item >

6 The Actionists About Partner With Us Contact Us FAQ ____________________ Thom Pierce Studios Menu Close Jarryd Watson Uplifting through inclusive dance Jarryd Watson in his dance studio, South Coast, KZN In this fast-paced, status-focused, modern world, the arts are often undervalued as a means to bring purpose, dignity and joy into people’s lives. fFrom an early age Jarryd Watson learned the importance of self-expression in his own life and, what started as a one-year leap of faith, developed into a life calling through which he discovered the incredible impact that the arts can have in the lives of others. Jarryd grew up in Treasure Beach, Wentworth, a particularly troubled part of KwaZulu-Natal. Looking out over the Indian Ocean from the cliff tops of the Bluff it is easy to forget that the community has struggled for decades with extreme poverty, gangsterism and a drug epidemic. At 20 years old, after completing his education, Jarryd was approached to take over the Wentworth Arts and Culture Organisation (WACO) by its founders Colin Fourie and Gail Snyman. They had been following his progress through performance school, studying arts, dance, film and television. His talent and affinity for the community made him the obvious candidate to take on the mantle of responsibility. At such a young age it was a big decision to make. He already understood the importance of a place for the youth of Wentworth to learn self-expression and creativity, but he was also aware that he would be putting his own dreams on hold to do so. Jarryd committed to taking on the role for a year, pressing pause on his own journey as a performer to give himself up to a short period of service to his community. That was 16 years ago. “I saw a great need for the positive social impact it was creating in these kids' lives and I made a huge sacrifice to do it. I have mixed emotions about it but holistically it has been for the benefit of others and that has always been a good feeling, even if I am not benefitting financially.” When Jarryd took over the project, the focus was on providing a space for the youth of Wentworth to learn different disciplines, in an affordable and accessible way. The school has grown over the last 16 years and, through his sheer dedication and determination, they have managed to take dancers from Wentworth to international dance competitions around the world, receiving recognition for their talent as performers in the UK and USA. But the work has gone far beyond simply teaching kids to dance. With such a programme comes the responsibility towards everyone who walks through the doors of WACO. The primary goal is to improve the lives of those who attend. Keeping them safe and in school, as well as making them feel supported in every aspect of their lives, is of great importance. As the work can range from organising bursaries to finding safe housing, and everything in between, the responsibility goes way beyond a simple dance project. “It’s about benefitting others and giving them the opportunity to grow in life. It’s not just about dance steps. So many kids have been through this project and succeeded in life.” For the last eight years, the main focus of Jarryd’s work has been to expand the youth dance project into a more inclusive programme that benefits other groups in the community. He has created exercise classes for the elderly and has developed a project that provides a space for people with disabilities to learn how to dance and grow as performers. “Dance can impact the marginalised, it's such a powerful force to impact people positively.” The “special needs disabled training and development programme” started with just six people and has grown over the years to include 48 community members, including people in wheelchairs, amputees and people with visual impairments. Although the challenges in this new direction are many, the impact has been huge, providing people with disabilities a valuable opportunity to have access to the arts, where they can develop their skills and hopefully find employment. But all of this incredible work has not come without personal sacrifice for Jarryd and, although much of the work involves his passion for dance, there are so many other challenges that come with running an organisation like WACO. “I don't realise the impact that I am creating because I am so focused on fundraising and getting performances ready. I do it for many reasons. I am passionate about the arts. It’s not what I do, it's who I am and I love to uplift others.” One of the major challenges has been to find the equipment needed to run the inclusivity programme. A specialist wheelchair for dancing would provide the stability, speed and movement needed to teach safely and effectively. They costs around R50,000 and Jarryd needs three of them. < Previous Item Next Item >