ABOUT ABANQOBI
Abanqobi has evolved into an organisation that teaches valuable life skills, as well as the skills needed to create and produce beautiful hand-crafted products for sale.
Mission/Vision Statement
Our mission at Abanqobi is to build resilience in Children and Youth, as well as their Caregivers to achieve valuable communities.
The key values driving the organisation are:
- Skills development
- Academic empowerment
- Economic strengthening
- Community upliftment
Our Team
Wendy Meintjies - Abanqobi Operations Manager
Wendy's passion for what she does has been the key factor to the growth and success of Abanqobi.
Wendy is more than the Operations Manager for Abanqobi. She is the heart and soul of Abanqobi. Her dedication and commitment to communities that Abanqobi serve, is more than remarkable.
She is always striving to promote the achievement of the children and looking for opportunities that will help them grow.
Ntombi Mahlangu - Creative Crafts Co-ordinator
Ntombi Mahlangu is a proud Ndebele woman, skilled in traditional beading. She leads the Abanqobi beading/ creative crafts division. Her passion is to impart her skills on the youth at the Kwa Guqa hub.
Under her leadership the Abanqobi dance group has performed at various events and celebrations, including the Abanqobi open day as well as the Graspan Glencore wellness day.
Hildah Masemola - Youth Care Worker
Hildah Masemola is the Youth care worker in Klarinet and leads the Abanqobi reading program across our 3 hubs. Hildah is proudly Pedi. Hildah completed the PLAYSA course and is currently enrolled as a student at Unisa.
From teaching herself to play chess, Hilda has started a chess school and is now imparting these skills to youth at the Klarinet hub. This hub has two Gogos assisting Hildah, and imparting valuable skills of cultural crafts to the youth, that would otherwise be lost. Hildah has an assistant, Mavis Makobe who is passionate about imparting life skills to the youth.
Olga Mndawe - Youth Care Worker
Olga Mndawe is fluent in Swati, Sepedi, Xitsonga, Zulu and English. She is youth care worker in Phola and leads the sewing programme for adults.
Olga is very creative and is passionate about teaching the children at the hub creative skills by upcycling waste which benefits our environment.
Our Story
Abanqobi started in Kwa Guqa, based on insights garnered through a nutrition counselling programme aimed at People Living with HIV/AIDS. Food insecurity made it impossible to only provide counselling, without a meaningful contribution to the struggles facing families involved with the programme. Various food security programmes were introduced, coupled with household economic empowerment strategies. Following a donation of sewing machines by individuals, another workshop was held in July 2011, bringing Abanqobi into its first stages as a community organisation.
Abanqobi’s first steps were taken in the homes of community members, humble abodes such as a mud-house, an RDP house and a shack. Children involved with the organisation were encouraged to begin their lessons in economic empowerment by reselling chocolates, and then buying a pair of scissors and 1 metre of hessian material – the beginnings of a business. Volunteers were brought in to train the children on how to sew and create using their purchases.
Saveways Spar initiated displaying the first products of Abanqobi with sales generated from the front of the shop. The first phases of Abanqobi operated on a home industry business model. This later progressed into the model currently used by Abanqobi, which involves a shared pool of funds gathered from purchased Abanqobi products.
Abanqobi has evolved into an organisation that teaches valuable life skills, as well as the skills needed to create and produce beautiful hand-crafted products for sale. Our attending children learn social skills, get assistance with reading and school work, learn how to channel their creativity into tangible products, and most importantly learn to enjoy themselves and trust in their abilities. Abanqobi has become a safety net for its community, always willing to give a helping hand or an extra motivational push where it is needed.
Our Children
The children enrolled with Abanqobi are from vulnerable but valuable groups, such as youth and child headed households, single and double orphans, children from hiv-affected households and households dependant on SASSA grants only.
The children are supported through skills development, educational programmes, and care giving, through the Abanqobi programmes and hubs.
Abanqobi and Re-Action!
Abanqobi was developed as an off-shoot of Re-Action! Consulting’s programmes in Household Economic Strengthening and Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC), and supports households in the Nkangala District of Mpumalanga.
Re-Action! Consulting is passionate about sustainable youth development, and have been supporting households in Mpumalanga’s Nkangala District since 2007. Re-action! Consulting’s executive team sit on the Management Board pro bono. Re-Action! covers most business operating functions like finance, HR, procurement and related expenditure as part of their corporate social responsibility. Employees regularly volunteer their time and expertise to assist with the operational success of Abanqobi.
Find out more about Re-Action! by visiting the Re-Action! website