Download PDFOrganisational Profile: Sakhubuntu Youth Development (SYD)
By Asanda Dladla
Sakh’ubuntu Youth Development (SYD) is a community based organisation (CBO) operating in Sobantu, ward 35, Pietermaritzburg. SYD is an educational initiative using popular education as a tool. It was founded in 2014 by a group of community activists from the community of Sobantu.
“Our work is to coordinate, create spaces for youth to create, discuss and debate while promoting critical thinking to be the lifestyle,” says the organisation. It wants to build skills and confidence to help youth in their daily lives. SYD aims to increase youth participation in community issues, and their power of making decisions concerning their lives and livelihood.
The programme of this organisation includes environmental consciousness and ecological sustainability. It focuses on solidarity and the circular economy by coordinating and creating spaces for community small-scale farmers. It also supports crops and animal farming within community spaces and establishes community spaces for food outlets. SYD also conducts environmental awareness campaigns to promote sustainability.
The organisation aims to achieve ecological sustainability, bring change to community social-economic relations, and increase youth participation in community economic activities. It seeks to create spaces for youth communities to think, plan, and reflect through intergenerational dialogue and discussions between youth and adults.
SYD also aims to amplify youth voices and participation while fostering group-based research work. The organisation promotes political economy democracy or participatory democracy to ensure inclusive decision-making processes.
Currently, the organisation is focused on Ubumbano Nomnotho Ozungezayo, which emphasises solidarity and the circular economy. This includes creating and co-creating spaces for small-scale farmers in the community, generating economic opportunities, developing skills and jobs, fostering partnerships and collaborations, and connecting people. A focus is also placed on increasing youth and women participation in economic and social activities.
To increase youth participation, the organisation facilitates discussions and debates on community issues, including an event scheduled for 25 July 2025, where ordinary community members will engage in dialogue.
Rena Le Lona
By Amanda Nhlapo
Rena le Lona, which means “we are with you”, was established in 2006 as an arts centre for orphans and vulnerable children. We are an emotional healing centre that seeks to help children realise their potential and live fulfilled lives. The medium of emotional healing is through all forms of arts, life skills and value-based education.
Rena le Lona provides support for children through an after-school programme, each child receives assistance with homework, has access to counselling, gets emotional support, participate in a wide range art classes. The centre gives out food parcels to beneficiaries since it is categorised as Home Community Care by the department of Social Development.
There are care workers who do home visits to assess the home situation and ascertain whether the child or family of a child has any challenges and needs assistance.
The centre is facing issues of funding and that makes the children not to attend the centre because we cannot cater for them as the centre. We are also short of arts equipment which affects the daily program and it also affects the centre to reach its goals of healing the children through the arts.
Other programmes include varsity students volunteer their time to come teach children English, maths, and computer literacy, but funding is our biggest challenge. There is also the ‘Ingelosi’ (the angel) – people who supported a child financially by depositing money on a monthly basis or annually and that was used for need such as food clothing and other accessories, We don’t have such people anymore and we need them so we won’t depend on funding too much and we can give support to the kids easily with such help .
Rena le Lona hosted an event on child protection week on 04 June 2025 to raise awareness.
Support Centre for Land Change
By Zamuxolo Matha and Thulani Bitterhout
The Support Centre for Land Change is dedicated to empowering and advocating for marginalised communities in the South Cape region, encompassing the Eastern Cape and Western Cape. Our work primarily focuses on supporting fisher folk, food producers, residents of informal settlements, and women facing systemic injustices related to land access, livelihood security, and social equity.
Current Campaigns and Activities
- Legal Support for Women Dismissed from Beneficiary Farm
We are currently working with 28 women who have been unfairly dismissed from a beneficiary farm. Our team is collecting relevant information and data concerning their cases to facilitate proper legal referrals. We aim to leverage the support of the Legal Resources Centre (LRC) and other legal entities to seek justice and ensure fair treatment for these women.
- Advocacy for Land Access for Food Producers
A key area of our work involves advocating for equitable land access for small-scale food producers across our regions. We recognise that secure land rights are fundamental to sustainable livelihoods, food security, and community resilience. Our efforts include community engagement, policy advocacy, and mobilisation to challenge existing barriers to land access.
- Solidarity Campaign Against Fracking
In alignment with our broader environmental and social justice goals, we are organising a solidarity campaign to unite struggles against fracking in the Eastern Cape and Western Cape. This campaign aims to raise awareness about the detrimental impacts of fracking, mobilise community support, and advocate for a ban on fracking activities in these regions.
– Gender Justice and Workers’ Rights: The unjust dismissal of women from the beneficiary farm highlights ongoing gender-based inequalities and labour rights issues within the agricultural sector.
– Land Rights and Access: Persistent barriers prevent small-scale food producers from securing land rights, hindering their ability to sustain livelihoods and contribute to local food systems.
– Environmental Protection: The campaign against fracking underscores our commitment to environmental justice and the protection of natural resources for future generations.
Our organisation remains actively engaged in multiple campaigns that intersect at issues of land justice, gender equality, environmental sustainability, and community empowerment. We believe that coordinated efforts and solidarity campaigns are essential to amplifying our impact and advancing the rights of marginalised communities in the South Cape region.
These profiles were submitted as part of the Imbila Yesu publication produced daily for the duration of the Winter School in 2025 (15-19 June 2025). They appeared in Edition 1, released on 15 June 2025. 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.
