Important Announcement and Reflecting on 2022
Khulisa Social Solutions has been announced as the Youth Support NPO of the Year at the Corporate LiveWire Global Awards 2022/23.
During the awards process, over 90,000 business professionals, magazine contributors and Corporate LiveWire subscribers were invited to nominate companies and individuals based on factors such as service, innovation, experience, sustainability, and other key criteria. In addition, the Corporate LiveWire research team put forward a selection of firms that met the criteria for recognition, and Khulisa won this prestigious award.
Together with other award winners, Khulisa will gain a place in the Global Awards Guide for 2023, which will be distributed to businesses and professionals in the Corporate LiveWire network globally.
KHULISA’S 2022 AT A GLANCE
Here are our ten proud milestones from the past year.
1. SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS
In November 2022, Khulisa launched the Sustainable Livelihood programme which aimed to implement self-sufficing systems to improve the overall quality of life in communities located in Amandelbult and Rustenburg and linked to local platinum mining operations. The programme was aimed at increasing agricultural output and economic opportunities, creating a basket of services within the context of livelihoods and building solid working relationships and referral networks for community members.
In Rustenburg, the Sustainable Livelihoods Agricultural workshop – which took place from 29 to 30 November 2022 at the Rustenburg Townhall, was proudly hosted by Khulisa. It actively provided participants with the tools and insight to develop viable business ideas in vegetable and livestock farming. The workshop was designed to help participants to conceptualise and test business ideas by developing the Business Model Canvas. The event was attended by saw a total of 68 participants across all age groups from areas surrounding Rustenburg including Ikemeleng and Mfidikwe.
Through preliminary research, Khulisa has recognised a desire amongst local community members to take advantage of their environment to generate economic opportunities, as well as to be assisted in creating economic opportunities. In December 2022, Khulisa in collaboration with Ubuntu Business conducted the Agri-preneur Ideation training for 68 community members, to identify 15 high-propensity participants to attend a series of one-on-one coaching sessions and business development workshops.
These top-performing participants were selected based on their in-class participation including their level of engagement, teamwork, leadership potential, enthusiasm, motivation and overall coachability. All participants will be attending a three-month online group-coaching programme to provide further practical training and support in starting and growing their businesses.
Regina Mary Ndlovu (MC); Lesley Ann van Selm (Founder and Managing Director of Khulisa); Paul Modjadji
2. KHULISA’S 25TH ANNIVERSARY
The year 2022 marked the 25th anniversary of Khulisa. Throughout the year, each of our 18 offices came up with a theme to celebrate this monumental occasion with the most notable of all being our Northam office, where one of our local interns, Aobakwe Molefe, compiled a beautiful 25th-anniversary song for Khulisa. To listen to the song,
please click here.
Khulisa was founded in 1997, out of a need to support young offenders in South African prisons on their journey toward becoming productive members of society. Efforts later shifted to working in communities, addressing the issues that inhibit sustainable development.
Since its inception, Khulisa has partnered with remarkable individuals and organisations from all walks of life to make a difference in society. Through our strategic partnerships, we have impacted the lives of marginalized groups of people in South Africa such as the LGBTQI+ community, women and children affected by gender-based violence, individuals or families who are homeless, vulnerable youth and children, criminal offenders and communities affected by crime.
As can be noted in this newsletter, our work has been recognised locally and abroad and this can be attributed to our staff, partners, funders, beneficiaries of our work, and our valuable board members.
THE ALEX PEACEMAKING PROGRAM
Between April and December 2022, Khulisa touched the lives of over 200,000 people in Alexandra, through multiple interventions which are provided in detail below.
3. ALEX PEACEMAKING PROGRAM
The Alex Peacemaking Program is an embodiment of the values that drive us in that it illustrates our collaborative approach. In response to many challenges that plague the community, including poverty and violence, Khulisa initiated the Alex Peacemaking Program, to create collaborative peace-making dialogues between various members of the community in Alexandra.
Through its close ties in the community, Khulisa facilitated peace-mediation processes targeted at victims of abuse and violence, business owners, youth, families who had lost loved ones, members of LGBTQI+ groups, persons with disabilities, foreign nationals, and NGOs.
This peace mediation process focused on understanding the factors behind the violence and other negative elements in the community and has seen a diversity of groups of people come together to advocate for social cohesion in the community of Alex.
Over the course of the year, Khulisa has used a range of data collection techniques to document the perceptions and experiences of children, youth and community members living in Alex. The effort has resulted in rich qualitative insights into the risk and protective factors relating to GBV within the community.
4. KHULISA'S STREETSCAPES PROJECT
Another important Khulisa initiative is the Streetscapes Project, which has been holistically addressing homelessness for the past seven years.
The project offers a long-term, community-based, rehabilitation program that uniquely combines housing, work-based rehabilitation, and psychosocial support.
The development of decent jobs is an integral part of our efforts to provide sustainable solutions to combat homelessness. In the past 12 months alone, the project has managed to move 19% of homeless people into sustained livelihoods including jobs, SASSA grants, and homes.
At least 3% of other homeless people have been placed into other rehabilitation programs to keep them off the streets, while 64% are continuing in drug addiction recovery programs. The program has also seen a dropout rate of only 14% of people who have gone back onto the streets. To us, this simply tells us that there is more work to be done.
5. PARTNERSHIP WITH IBM
A clean environment plays a big role in building a safe community. For this reason, Khulisa, together with IBM and the Alexandra Water Sanitation Environment Community Forum, participated in a Design Thinking workshop to solve problems facing the Jukskei River.
The workshop took place at IBM’s premises in Sandton and was facilitated by the IBM Service Corps. Various stakeholders attended the session, including government and municipal representatives, members of the community, and a host of invested stakeholders in the Jukskei River. Khulisa is immensely grateful for the stakeholder’s keen interest to see tangible solutions to the ongoing environmental challenges that plague the river.
We believe that if not addressed effectively, challenges facing the Jukskei River may degenerate into unrecoverable losses for those involved.
A key element of an inaugural symposium held on 21 November 2022, was a presentation by Gillian Niven, a regulatory lawyer specialising in environmental law at Allen & Overy. Niven addressed the regulatory framework for consideration when planning the revitalisation of the Jukskei River, and provided insight into the importance of understanding the causal factors of waste management. Another training by Allen & Overy is scheduled to take place on 15 February 2023.
6. Launch of the RYSE Song
A clean environment plays a big role in building a safe commuThe Resilient Youth in Stressed Environments (RYSE) is a research project by the University of Pretoria and Dalhousie University, an established public research university in Nova Scotia, Canada. This 5-year multinational research investigated youth resilience in communities involved in oil and gas production and communities impacted by climate change in South Africa, with a particular focus on Secunda and eMbalenhle in Mpumalanga, and in Canada, looking specifically at Drayton Valley. After partnering with RYSE to help realise the objective of the research project, Khulisa Social Solutions went on to partner with Paradise Sound System Yolanda Fyrus to create a song on behalf of the RYSE campaign, to better communicate the key findings and message of the research project and raise awareness.
According to Kamo Mailula, Label Manager at Paradise Worldwide, “Phumelela is a powerful track that has a unique message behind it. Phumela means to succeed or make it in life.” The song is a creative culmination of a research project by the RYSE campaign, which took a closer look at what it takes to build resilience among young people who face hardships in life.
“The sound is fresh and appeals to young people while conveying the important message of resilience”, said Simphiwe, mentor of the RYSE committee.nity. For this reason, Khulisa, together with IBM and the Alexandra Water Sanitation Environment Community Forum, participated in a Design Thinking workshop to solve problems facing the Jukskei River.
The workshop took place at IBM’s premises in Sandton and was facilitated by the IBM Service Corps. Various stakeholders attended the session, including government and municipal representatives, members of the community, and a host of invested stakeholders in the Jukskei River. Khulisa is immensely grateful for the stakeholder’s keen interest to see tangible solutions to the ongoing environmental challenges that plague the river.
We believe that if not addressed effectively, challenges facing the Jukskei River may degenerate into unrecoverable losses for those involved.
A key element of an inaugural symposium held on 21 November 2022, was a presentation by Gillian Niven, a regulatory lawyer specialising in environmental law at Allen & Overy. Niven addressed the regulatory framework for consideration when planning the revitalisation of the Jukskei River, and provided insight into the importance of understanding the causal factors of waste management. Another training by Allen & Overy is scheduled to take place on 15 February 2023.
7. FINALIST IN PEACE AWARDS
Khulisa was selected as a finalist in the prestigious International Peace Awards 2022, which will take place during the first quarter of 2023 in Montreal, Canada.
Khulisa was selected as a finalist under the International Peace Awards category for best work in addressing poverty and homelessness, children, and youth interventions, and for outstanding work in marginalised communities in South Africa.
The International Peace Awards was initiated by the Gandhian Initiative for Development of Support Services, with support from the Canadian Ministry of Youth, Culture, and Heritage.
“This year’s International Peace Awards are dedicated to thousands of organisations and individuals from 195 countries, who have been helping the communities in diverse areas,” said Raminder Singh, Executive Director at GIDSS, in a statement that went on to thank the participating organisations for their outstanding work.
8. KHULISA USE THE ECOLOGICAL MODEL OF VIOLECE TO UNDERSTAND THE COMPLEXITIES OF GBV
For close to twelve months in 2022, Khulisa together with the research psychologist, Sheri Errington who is a research associate at the University of Johannesburg’s Centre for Social Development, have been conducting research to better understand the numerous causal factors of gender-based violence (GBV) with a particular focus on Alexandra – a township located a stone’s throw from Sandton – dubbed Africa’s richest square mile.
Due to the complexity of GBV, it cannot be attributed to a single causal factor. Considering this, Errington worked with Khulisa in framing the ecological model of violence, which conceptualises the occurrence of GBV as a multifaceted phenomenon that is grounded in an interaction between an individual and their social environment. The model proposes that GBV, whether occurring as an isolated act or as part of a systematic pattern of violence, is the result of a combination of various factors that increase the risk of a man perpetrating violence and the risk of a woman being a victim of violence.
Khulisa used a range of data collection techniques to gather the perceptions and experiences of children, youth, and community members living in Alexandra. The report findings were published during 16 days of non-violence in Alexandra township on 30 November 2022, and Khulisa will be implementing this model in multiple communities during the course of 2023.
9. "MY EXPOSURE TO THE WORK OF KHULISA WAS LIFE-CHAGING … AND PROFOUND." MEET DR DAVE GUSTAFSON
Khulisa has been privileged to work with the leading global authority in trauma recovery and restorative justice, Dr Dave Gustafson.
Dr Gustafson cares deeply about relationships and the opportunity to contribute to the areas of his lifelong passions, which are trauma recovery and healing, creating social structures that contribute to the making of a just peace, assisting others who languish such as trauma survivors to discover their gifts, recover hope, grow and flourish. For Khulisa, this characteristic resonates greatly with our values.
Dr Gustafson is a sought-after speaker and trainer; he is often found working with non-profit and indigenous organisations throughout Canada and internationally.
Recently, he visited South Africa between 31 October and 4 November, during which time he conducted ten workshops for various audiences under the banner of his organisation Community Justice Initiative Association in Canada.
Dr Gustafson is expected to return to South Africa in 2023 to assist Khulisa and their partners to implement his methodologies in collaboration with various government departments and NGOs.
Extract from Dr Gustafson’s letter
I have just returned from Johannesburg, South Africa, having had one of the most remarkable experiences of my life. I was invited by the Executive Director of Khulisa, Lesley Ann Van Selm, to travel there to train and consult in several sectors, from the School of Social work at the University of Pretoria to the Ex-Offenders’ Academy in Alexandra Township. Along the way, I presented workshops from the law offices of Allen and Overy, whose generosity and clear respect for Khulisa’s work, made it possible to offer these workshops to the staff of several NGOs and to stream them online to a wider audience.
My exposure to the work of Khulisa I anticipate will be life-changing. The sheer breadth and scope of Khulisa’s involvement in South Africa and beyond are breathtaking and profound. How Lesley Ann and her husband Graham keep up the pace they do is remarkable, but the degree to which they inspire others who, in turn, have poured their hearts into their work over the duration of Khulisa’s 25-year history is nothing less than stunning. They have touched the lives of multiplied thousands, bettering lives one at a time and contributing on a much, much wider scale to the social weal wherever they have served.
I cannot recommend this organisation highly enough. In fact, I have committed to return to South Africa in March of the coming year, to join them once again in offering whatever I can in support of their ongoing investments in human capital. Part of what I hope is that the Board of Directors of the organisation for which I am ED (www.cjibc.org) will be persuaded to form a coalition with Khulisa to continue to support the exemplary work they do in each of their contexts.
10. OneSight Collaboration
On 31 January 2022, OneSight, an independent non-profit organisation committed to eradicating the global vision care crisis, reached out to Khulisa with an incredible opportunity to help at least five hundred people in Soweto with vision-related problems. OneSight trained eight Khulisa staff members to conduct pre-screening assessments to ensure that beneficiaries selected were eligible for the glasses valued at about R3,000 per unit.
Lameez Eksteen, country manager at OneSight, said, “Together with our donor and Khulisa, we will be bringing solutions through our sustainable and charitable clinic.” Pre-screening assessments in Soweto took place throughout February and March. The initiative also aimed to reach persons with albinism and provide them with sunglasses to help with their sensitivity to sunlight. The joint effort successfully reached the target number of five hundred people.
Later in the year, OneSight and Khulisa took the eye care intervention drive to two mining communities in Witbank from the 13 to 18 of October 2022. The Khulisa team in Witbank agreed to work with schools from mining communities after a school principal mentioned that the constant blasting by nearby mines polluted the air and had serious health implications. She also mentioned that since she started working in Phola, her eyesight deteriorated and there were many children with varied undiagnosed eye and vision problems.
This was also confirmed by an educator from Makause Combined School which was chosen, together with Hlangu Phala Primary School and Arbor Primary Schools, where learners would receive eye tests and free spectacles if they qualified for it. At least 309 learners from Makause Combined School, 137 learners from Hlangu Phala Primary School, and 87 learners from Arbor Primary School received spectacles.
Considering the socioeconomic circumstances of community members which included poverty and high unemployment, quality eye care is not accessible for many of them. Therefore, many were immensely grateful to have been treated with free eye screening and spectacle prescriptions.
