When I am not occupied by rocks and work for most of the time, I am a dedicated social change agent. Human development and a better society through education for young people is something I am very passionate about. I am part of two non-governmental organizations (NPOs) that I am proud to be associated with, each occupying a special place in my heart. I run a tutoring project at a local children’s shelter in Rustenburg where I teach English and Maths for free on a weekly basis to primary and high school learners at the shelter. I am also part of Lebone Rivoningo Developments, a youth-based organization that is geared towards offering mentorship, career guidance and personal development initiatives to young people of Ivory Park, Midrand.

Lebone Rivoningo (which means light) has been in existence for 7 years now and the mentoring ‘impact’ sessions held monthly, celebrated 5 years in operation on the 6th December 2020. We held our final impact session on the 5th December 2020, which also coincided with our anniversary and our year-end. A year-end celebration that was organized under the theme of celebrating and acknowledging the mentors and mentees for their incredible work this year. Any organization is measured by how it aims to put its value on their biggest assets – the people who make it work. We are an organization that is people-centered and driven, appreciating those that work tirelessly in-front of and behind the scenes to ensure that our vision becomes a reality is something we hold dear as priority.

2020 will go down in history books as an unprecedented year for everyone. It is the year when the deadly Covid-19 gripped the world to a complete standstill. Shops closed down, jobs were lost, spirits were disheartened, emotions of shock, confusion and despair engulfed all of us – lives were lost. Many more people are still succumbing to the virus to this day. May the Merciful Lord protect us all from the hands of this enemy. Lebone was no different to the world with how it was adversely affected by Covid-19. Our social change work had to take a pause, our doors at the Youth Centre had to shut as we stayed at home when hardcore lockdown was effected late in March 2020. Our normal was turned upside down. As a responsible community-based organization we had to adhere to the regulations as gazetted by our national government to prohibit gatherings as a method to prevent the spread of the virus. We found ourselves having to come up with innovative ways to stay in-touch and to continue mentoring and developing our mentees even under such dire and distant circumstances.

We began having virtual sessions, online and via social media platforms. Our mentors had to stretch themselves to reach out to mentees via phone calls and messages – it was not easy. As the lockdown restrictions eased we were pessimistic about the prospects of opening our doors but we were resilient in our approach to continue from where we left off. This demanded a lot from the team. We had to change our ways of doing things to comply with the regulations in place to ensure the good health and safety of everyone. We finally got the courage and gradually resumed our sessions with masks, sanitizers and social distancing in mind.

Things looked up and gradually began heading to the right direction with our numbers starting to show a significant improvement month on month. As part of our milestones for the year, we assisted matric mentees apply online for the national students financial aid scheme (NSFAS) and to apply to tertiary institutions for the 2021 academic year on the 8th August 2020. We also began our academic support programme which has ensured that we tackle the pertinent issue of academics while we refurbish personal wellness and development as part of the impact sessions. We showed significant growth under a difficult and trying year.

We also stuck to our schedule to ensure that our learners learn how to code. We did so on a rainy Saturday on the 21st November 2020. But that too, did not stop us from holding a successful coding session.

We were also profiled on national television for the impact our work has on matrics preparing for their exams by the SABC TV News crew. This was in October 2020. This PR did good things to boost our morale and to keep us maintaining the momentum.

We also held our annual Spelling Bee competition on the 14th November 2020 which was a great success!

Now back to the last session we had scheduled. We had exciting plans for an outdoor experience, picnic-style at one of the most scenic nature reserves located at about half an hour’s drive away from our Youth Centre. We had the works prepared – decor, cushions, camp chairs, hats, transport, great food, drinks, games – we were ready for the outdoor experience. The weather on the day, especially in the morning, had different plans. Our hopes, especially those of the mentees (who were looking forward to the outing) , were dashed….

Undeterred, the team met up early in the morning to map a plan B for the day which unfortunately meant that the trip to the nature reserve had to be canceled. This was primarily due to the health and safety of everyone under our care. It was a risk that we could not take as it was raining and cold, chances of anyone getting a cold and falling ill as a result of the trip were high. The grass would be slippery, it would not make sense to set up our picnic blankets on such. As expected, our mentees were disappointed but we forged on with ensuring that the day proceeds as planned because there was a lot that had gone into this day for us to give in just like that. We decided on having the session and year-end at our usual venue – the youth center. We set up the hall to look as classy and stylish to welcome our special guest and give them that warm welcome and feel.

Our hall of fame always describes what we as an organization are all about. Everyone steps in to help put it up.

We also brought all the picnic elements and our décor items indoors with our set up.

We are an organization guided by the four pillars of education – play, learn, serve and voice. We had two powerful young speakers who were lined up to give talks to our mentees and mentors. Both our guest speakers were young people who are making moves on their individual areas of expertise.

We kick-started the day with outdoor games that tested the mentees on their team work, agility and creative skills. Everyone took part in the games, learnt a thing or two and had a lot of fun!

18 year old Tshepiso Malema was our first guest speaker for the day and is a digital games developer, entrepreneur, public speaker and blogger who is a proud product of Ivory Park. He is also an academic achiever who inspired our mentees to dream big and remain focused on achieving their goals.

Then 14 year old OxiPinion took to the floor. She is a YouTuber with the confidence and intellect that has seen her video on ‘black consciousness’ go viral on TikTok. She even got a reaction and response from mega star Rihanna on it. She spoke of the importance of reading as a life skill and how it links to sharpening one’s opinions on issues in general.

Our team was inspired and learnt a great deal from the exceptional duo who make success a reachable target. We thank them for their valuable time and insights.

Our mentors then got the chance to be honoured for their selfless acts in being part of the magic at Lebone this year. Mentors from the reading department, academic support programme, I-Tech, disciplinary & co-ordination departments were individually acknowledged and awarded with special gifts of gratitude. We appreciate all our mentors who always go beyond their normal duties to make an impact.

Mentees were also awarded gifts for excellence in these categories : Most improved mentee of the year, Best Newcomer, Academic achievement (Primary and High school), Gem of the year, Most committed reader and Excellence in Leadership (an award which recognizes a mentee who has shown exceptional leadership skills at their school and in and around their community through the projects that they run). We congratulate all the recipients, we wish them well for all their future endeavors and thank them for the inspiration that they serve to all of us.

We also like to thank the parents from our community for their consistent support and encouragement for the work that we do. We thank them for their understanding and for trusting us with their children.

We look forward to the break ahead as it affords us the time to strategize how we will tackle the new year. One thing that this year has taught us is that there is indeed power in a resilient spirit – A resilient spirit that refuses to give up.

2020 has been a year filled with recollections, reflections, lessons and trials for us. The one thing it has taught us is the strength in our spirit of unity, team work and resilience. It has been tough but we’ve also proven how tough we also are as an organization in making it this far.

Also help us celebrate our 5th anniversary! Look at these amazing Lebone-inspired cupcakes prepared by the awesome baking team at #BowlOfYumm. They were so delicious!

Looking ahead, we’re currently on a school shoes drive for this festive season in preparation for the new academic year. We are requesting people to donate brand new school shoes that we will ensure that they get to deserving learners from our communities. This will make their journey to school in 2021 a bit more comfortable and bearable.

#WeAreLebone

#WeAre5

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