Download PDFFAJ Profile of Sinalo Peyi
By Sinalo Peyi
Sinalo Peyi is a 26-year-old activist residing in Bathurst in the Eastern Cape and was born and raised in the small location. Peyi went to Qhayiya Primary School and Velile Senior Secondary School in Bathurst where she joined the Congress Of South Africa students as a secretary fighting for the rights of the students and putting an end in corporal punishment.
In 2019 she went to study at Midlands College in Grahamstown where the students dropped out due to lack of financial services, so the activist brought students together and they organised a strike and shutdown of students to voice out the concerns students had as they were homeless in a very dangerous town due to crime.
The student uprising shaped the activist to be more hands-on to activism in the community. In the year 2021, the activist joined a woman’s movement called Isikhalo and gathered all genders to fight inequality and is currently trying to register a new movement called Rise Gender Equality which would aim to fight against the attack of all genders including the LGBTQ+ community caused by lack of knowledge on how people with different sexuality must be seen in the community.
Activist Profile of Puleng Molaba
By Noluthando Xaba
Puleng Molaba is 36 years old and is a member of the Metsimaholo Community Advice Office and was born in QwaQwa, Free State. She is an Admin officer and Site Supervisor in her organisation and has always loved helping people from a young age and became an activist to grow as a person and had a desire to change or create positive change in her community.
She is empowering women through education and economic opportunity supporting women’s rights and gender equality and providing safe spaces and resources for women fleeing domestic violence or celebrating and amplifying women’s achievements and voices. The challenges that she faces are limited resources and personal safety, dealing with criticism. As a woman activist, she goes through discrimination and is talked over by male activists and dismissed in public. In addition, her ex-boss criticised her at some point during awareness.
She was criticised for telling the police that they not doing their work. What keeps her inspired is making a difference in her community, empowering women also to develop new skills. For self-development she takes care of herself, socialising with new and old activists, and always knows what is going on around her. She educates herself by reading more books and newspapers, and doing training and workshops she uses her mentor Ntate Kgodumo to guide and support her.\
FAJ Activist of Yonela Gebengu
By Yonela Gebengu
I’m Yonela Gebengu from Mthatha, Eastern Cape. After college, I was part of an NGO in Cape Town, where I developed a passion for community development and empowering young leaders. Currently, I’m part of the Khanya College team, in Johannesburg and I’m committed to sharing the skills I’ve gained back to my community. My goal is to commit myself to an After School Farm, where I can utilise all the skills I’ve gained to educate and empower young minds in arts, agriculture, indigenous games, and leadership skills, to uplift and inspire the next generation.
Activist Profile of Poppy Makhubo
By Poppy Makhubo
Poppy Makhubo is a passionate social activist and placemaker dedicated to empowering youth and women, promoting literacy, and fostering arts and culture within under-resourced communities. As the co-founder and Creative Hub Manager at HABITAT61 CREATIVE HUB NPO, she has curated a space for local artists and young people to collaborate, learn, and showcase their work. Poppy is currently working on initiatives such as the LiL Boss Art Programme, the iLearn/iWork Creative Writing Project, and the NALU DABA LITERATURE FESTIVAL, which highlight her commitment to guiding the next generation of activists, improving literacy, and fostering creative expression among the youth. Her multifaceted approach to activism reflects her deep commitment to social justice and community development, driving positive change and creating opportunities for growth and resilience in her community.
This article was submitted as part of the Imbila Yesu publication produced daily for the duration of the Winter School in 2024 (14-20 July 2024). It appeared in Edition 3, released on 17 July 2024. You may republish this article, so long as you credit the author and Karibu! Online (www.Karibu.org.za), and do not change the text. Please include a link back to the original article.
