Ensuring the youth are the future – Spot-On speaks to Nonhlanhla Dube

Ask almost anyone and they’ll tell you: South Africa’s leaders today are out of touch. That’s why we’re in desperate need of more people like Nonhlanhla Dube, who are committed to building our communities and making a difference in young people’s lives.

Nonhlanhla Dube doing what she loves – teaching children the art of reading and culture

One of the biggest problems with our leaders today is that they are out of touch on the issues facing ordinary citizens. There was a time when community leaders resided in townships among the people, not what we see today in the elite who lead from posh, suburban homes.

The paucity of leaders who are obsessed with serving the community is glaring. Nonhlanhla Dube, a Tembisa resident, is one of the few shining lights in the community through the work she does. PASSION FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

Dube is the founder of non-profit company iMibala Foundation, a community development organisation with a keen interest in developing and implementing creative youth development interventions to meet challenges in the community.

Currently, Dube runs a learning support programme for early childhood development centres in Tembisa called iMibala Lit & Art Club. Her focus is on Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres that are situated in disadvantaged parts of Tembisa and are under-resourced.

“I offer curriculum support, literacy and art lessons to them. Through this programme, I help ECD practitioners give their Grade RR and R learners the support they need to get ready for Grade 1. Through this programme, I aim to empower my learners academically, socially and emotionally,” Dube tells Spot-On.

Dube has a passion for literature and community development – a combination of the things that led her to where she is. She resides in one of the most disadvantaged areas in Tembisa, called Vusimuzi, was raised by a single mother, and became a teenage mother after falling pregnant in her matric year. “All these circumstances influenced me to look at the options I could take to enrich my life and be a positive influence on my children. Education was the obvious choice, as I’ve always loved reading and writing since primary school,” says the 31-year-old.

In 2017, Dube ran a holiday book club programme with other changemakers in the community, called the Kiddies Book Club. “We hosted these book clubs in various places around Tembisa, including local libraries, local art spaces, a local primary school and even in my living room when we couldn’t secure a different venue.”

EDUCATIONAL CHALLENGES IN THE TOWNSHIP As a practitioner who has been working on the ground for years now, Dube says there is a massive gap in townships when it comes to accessing books and other educational materials. “The issue is not just accessing books and learning materials, but also having access to relevant materials,” she says.

“Working in this space therefore requires one to be out there all the time, speaking with the right players who have access to these materials. You need to be creative and build

relationships and networks with the relevant people. Even the few libraries we have are outdated and do not serve our needs as young people who should be occupying these spaces. Most of our schools don’t have libraries – this speaks to this big gap we have in our education system in the townships.”

According to Dube, the initial idea was to take the iMibala Lit & Art Club into primary schools as an after-school programme, like they did previously with the Kiddies Book Club back in 2018. However, schools have a lot of red tape and rules, which makes it difficult for people like her to operate.

“This challenge forced me to be flexible

with the programme and present it to ECDs, where there are no gatekeepers and no school governing bodies. Working in ECD also has its own challenges: some ECD practitioners think I’m there to compete with them when I present the programme. I bring my own art materials to all the sessions, so I have challenges in keeping the art materials cabinet fully stocked,” says Dube. These are just some of the issues she encounters working in the community development space.

RECOGNITION Dube was recognised for the work she does in the community by the Activate! Active Citizen Awards. Active Change Drivers is a network of young leaders equipped to drive change for public good across South Africa. Dube joined the community in 2016 and has gained so much from being part of it.

“Since then, there have been moments where it all felt pointless, with a lot of challenges arising and receiving very little support. However, things took a turn for the better this year for the iMibala Lit & Art Club, as we received funding from the National Arts Council, and now this award. To me, these recognitions mean I am actually making a positive impact with this programme, and it is bigger than me. It feels like a confirmation from the universe that I’m on the right path and a thumbs-up to keep on going.”

LOOKING AHEAD Dube believes Tembisa can still do more as a community in terms of community development and voluntary work. “We have so many unemployed, skilled young people, but we still have a shortage of things like a functional youth desk in our police stations. This is voluntarily community development work. "I feel like we have no culture of volunteerism; everyone wants to do something motivated by what materialistic value they’ll get out of it. We don’t have things like ‘clean-up’ days anymore because even the young people at primary school level believe they must be compensated in some material form for them to take part in developing their communities. This limited thinking leads to so many missed opportunities, for young people especially,” she says.

She has big hopes and ambitions for iMibala Lit & Art Club, and would like to see the organisation employing and empowering more young community art facilitators and literacy ambassadors, increasing the impact of the iMibala Lit & Art programme, and expanding into the after-school space in primary schools.

“I would also really love to see us with a specific home where we have an edu-art centre, where young people go for education, empowerment and entertainment. I’d like to create safe spaces for young people to meet at after school, during the weekend, on school holidays. I believe this is what we need in order for us to take our children off the streets and away from all the negative influences and unnecessary pressures that may lead them to places they don’t need to be in.”

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