Success Stories

Bombethu has been part of our life skills after-school programme in Gugulethu for five years, and works hard in school to achieve her dreams.  Born in the Eastern Cape, Bombethu and her family moved to Gugulethu when their house was burned down. They moved into her late aunt’s house, where she lives with her mother, brothers, sister, and grandmother. Her siblings, mother and grandmother all work to support the family. Bombethu is the youngest by almost ten years, and loves being spoiled because of it. “I love [being the youngest]. Because I get everything that I want.”  The Amy Foundation offers several after-school programmes at Siyazingisa Primary School in Gugulethu, from dance to marimba to netball, but Bombethu chose life skills. “I just want to learn. [The dance programme] teaches you how to dance, but I love reading.” The facilitators teach about peer pressure around drugs, sex, and alcohol, as well as literacy and general health education. In many communities, older men prey on easily influenced young girls, causing them to rely on the men and not have the opportunity to grow themselves or prioritize their future career. “Our teacher told us that when you get a boyfriend, you mustn’t just go sleep with him. You must first say, ‘I’m too small.’ In this place now they are dating big people. Our teacher said we mustn’t date big people, we must date our peers.”  Bombethu focuses on herself and her schooling. She has good marks in school and aspires to be a doctor. “I want to be a doctor…Because there are many people this year that are dying in hospitals…There’s another woman there that was giving birth, but there was no one helping her. I want to help.” The quality of the healthcare system in South Africa is dependent on your wealth, the rich receive world-class treatments from highly qualified doctors, while the vast majority of the population is unable to afford the same care. Instead, they are forced into crushing debt or rundown and crowded facilities, causing many people with treatable illnesses to lose their lives. Bombethu wants to be part of the solution; she wants to work in Gugulethu and help the community directly, making sure the underprivileged get equal access to quality healthcare.  But right now she is 13, enjoying being the youngest child and spending her free time spring cleaning and studying. In class, she loves to make jokes and is well-liked by her peers and teachers. “I am so talkative. I’m a dark-skinned girl. I’m tall, I have black hair, and my favourite subject is technology. I don’t like geography, it’s too hard. I’m kind to people.” Her future is bright, and the Amy Foundation will be there to support her as she grows up. 

Nomzekelo was raised in Khayelitsha and has been part of the Amy Foundation for over fifteen years. An active kid growing up, her primary school offered her the opportunity to join the Amy Foundation’s after-school programmes and she immediately signed up. She was mostly part of the dance programme, and was one of the children chosen by the foundation to partner with JazzArts, a dance project that has worked with the foundation for many years. “We would go to Ads Cape every Saturday to the JazzArts dance project, and we would learn contemporary dance…It was something new, something fun, that we loved.” She was part of the after-school programmes throughout primary school, then moved on to secondary school and focused on her matric. The impact of the foundation lasted long after she left the programmes, changing the way she saw the world and the standards she held for herself. Being at school long after the day finished kept her away from the negative influences of the streets and gave her little time to mess around with drugs, sex, and alcohol. “If I was never part of the Amy Foundation at that time, I would not know how I would be now, if I would still be alive…Or maybe I would have multiple kids at this age…but the fact that I was part of the [Amy Foundation] at that time meant I wasn’t exposed to negative things.”  After earning her matric, Nomzekelo signed up for a hospitality job agency, filling in for various positions in the hospitality industry all across the city. “I was not only a waiter, sometimes I would be exposed to the bar, be a barista, or sometimes do decor setups…They would teach us, or we would learn from other people, but I got to be exposed to almost every corner of hospitality.” The experience she gained from working at the agency inspired her to start her own catering business in Khayelitsha. “I started my company, I was not registered. I was just there if there were events…I didn’t know how to bake, I learnt through YouTube.” She would look for posters advertising events, then would call the event organizers to ask if she could cater for them, or would set up a table outside the event venue and sell homemade goods to attendees. All that she had was R200 as pocket change and an unstoppable drive to succeed.  Nomzekelo attended countless entrepreneurship workshops and seminars, working overtime to grow her business. She registered as a company and began to cater for larger events, eventually earning several referrals from past clients to new ones. “A referral is a good thing for any business because it means that you provided a service and they were happy with what you did.”  From that R200 pocket change, Nomzekelo has grown her business to be worth R80 000. She has her own food trailer and culinary equipment, and is currently working to expand to include decorations and further staffing. She has two full-time employees and two part-time ones, creating a rippling change in her community as she creates jobs and opportunities for others.  She saw the Amy Foundation’s YSD hospitality programme on Facebook and didn’t hesitate to sign up. “I know this foundation and I trust them… [I didn’t even] go to the website because I know them and I trust them from what I got when I was in primary school.” She is currently enrolled in the hospitality programme and hopes to gain the skills needed to further advance and expand her company. 

“I actually came here to keep me out of the gangs here in Bonteheuwel, because the violence here…every day someone dies.” Maurice is fifteen years old and part of the soccer after-school programme in Bonteheuwel.  He has been part of the Amy Foundation for seven years, first part of the academic support programme and now part of the soccer programme. He is an avid soccer fan and a dedicated Manchester United supporter, spending much of his free time watching games. The programme keeps him busy all afternoon on weekdays, keeping him away from the negative influences surrounding his home.  “I want to make Bonteheuwel a better place for other kids.” A positive role model in the community is incredibly important, and Maurice describes the effect one person can have on the whole street. “The best things about this community are the people trying to make it a better place for the others. There’s a lady here with a soup kitchen that gives out soup to the people that don’t have food. That’s an example of the positive people in the community.” He wants to be one of those people, but struggles to think further ahead than a few years. Many of his friends have joined gangs and left school, but he focuses on soccer, on the foundation, and on his goals for the future.  Self-described as childish, Maurice believes that he should enjoy being young, because as soon as he turns eighteen he has to accept the responsibilities of adulthood. Known in his school as a class clown, he pokes fun at other students and teachers but maintains good marks in all of his subjects. He isn’t sure if he wants to attend college yet, but he knows he wants to stay in Bonteheuwel and dedicate his life to bettering the community.   

Sinalo was born and raised in Gugulethu, and joined the Amy Foundation’s after-school programme this year. She is part of the life skills programme, where students learn about peer pressure in drugs, sex, alcohol, and gangs, as well as general literacy and numeracy skills. Naturally good at reading and maths, Sinalo loves to study and learn and aspires to be a doctor.  She is fifteen years old and lives with her older and younger sister, as her parents passed away, her father from a car accident when she was very young and her mother only a few years ago from sickness. Many children in underprivileged communities grow up with one or no parents and face a lifetime of lasting trauma surrounding the lack of parental figures. But Sinalo is focused on her career, determined to be a doctor. “I want to be a doctor. I will study hard, I will do whatever I need to do.” She has good marks in school and is working towards university. Loyal to her community, Sinalo plans to stay in Gugulethu, loving the place she grew up in despite the violence and poverty.   

“I was investing in myself.” Andile is 21 years old and has started two of his own businesses in less than a year after enrolling in the Amy Foundation’s Hospitality programme.  Andile grew up in Philippi, a township known for its agricultural development, and worked hard in grade school to matriculate in 2019. 27.3% of people in Western Cape are unemployed and it is incredibly difficult to find a job without years of experience or wealthy connections. A friend of Andile’s and a graduate of the Amy Foundation’s hospitality programme now employed at the Protea Hotel told Andile that if he “was looking for a job, [he] should go to the Amy Foundation.” Andile took his advice, sent in his CV, and was accepted and enrolled in the hospitality programme in January 2020.  COVID-19 quickly forced South Africa into a complete lockdown, and Andile was only a few weeks away from completing the hospitality programme when everything shut down. Confined to his home, Andile refused to wait for something to change. He knew from his time at the Amy Foundation that in order to succeed he had to find and make his own opportunities.  “When you do something that people don’t want to do…that’s where you make the money.” Andile looked for problems in his community that he could create profitable solutions to, and in May he started A&A Cleaning Services with his partner and friend Axolile. They wash bins and occasionally carpets, mattresses, and couches, and operate every Monday in Philippi. Despite the challenges of lockdown, Andile has defied the odds and has grown his business to include nine new employees, and washes over 70 bins every Monday. He plans to expand his business to new areas and times in 2021.  One business isn’t enough for Andile, and in October 2020 he started his second business selling gasoline cylinders to his community. He started the business after noticing that there was nowhere in his neighborhood to buy the cylinders and people were forced to pay for transport as well as the gasoline. Andile now sells the gasoline locally and offers free transport to his clients’ homes.  It isn’t just Andile’s life that has completely changed over the past year. With his new income, he is able to offer support to his family and buy them food, providing financial stability as well as pride in their son and his success. Andile’s nine employees can do the same, supporting their families through the COVID pandemic.  Andile joined the YSD programme at the Amy Foundation with the expectation that he would simply be getting training in hospitality. He got that and more, receiving entrepreneurial coaching that helped him start two businesses and create a rippling positive effect throughout his community. Andile has taken the Amy Foundation’s motto to heart and is doing exactly that: changing lives.