SUCCESSFUL Stories
Sandi's Ubuntu Foundation has made a remarkable impact through its various initiatives, empowering countless individuals and communities. These stories exemplify the foundation's commitment to creating positive change and uplifting our children in the community.
Story #1
Story #3
Story #2
In 2023, the SandisUbuntu Foundation received the National Ubuntu Excellence Award for its outstanding contribution to education, arts, and community upliftment in disadvantaged areas. The award, presented by the Department of Social Development, honoured the Foundation’s holistic approach to empowering township youth through literacy, African storytelling, and visual arts.
The recognition followed years of grassroots work that included mobile libraries, heritage-based art classes, mentorship, and cultural preservation programmes. Notably, the Foundation’s ability to integrate education with identity-building set it apart.
This milestone brought national visibility to the Foundation, opening doors to new partnerships and funding that expanded its reach into other provinces.
Sipho, an 18-year-old from Soweto, struggled with stuttering. He often avoided speaking and dropped out of school due to bullying. When he joined the SandisUbuntu Art Classes, he barely made eye contact — but he picked up a paintbrush.
In just months, Sipho began to express his pain, hope, and dreams through vivid paintings. His piece titled “The Unheard Voice” was showcased at a local youth art exhibition sponsored by the Foundation. It was sold to an international buyer — Sipho’s first income, which he used to help his grandmother fix their home.
Now, he runs weekend art workshops at the Foundation and mentors other teens like himself. Sipho says: “Art gave me a voice louder than words ever could.”
SandisUbuntu Receives National
Award for Community
Impact
How Sipho Found His
Voice Through Art
What began as a small community gathering around a fire has grown into one of the most anticipated cultural events in the township calendar — the SandisUbuntu Women’s Month Bonfire Celebration.
First hosted in 2021, the event was envisioned as a safe, warm space where women could reclaim their stories, celebrate their resilience, and pass down ancestral wisdom. Held every August, the evening features spoken word performances, traditional music, intergenerational storytelling, and an art showcase by female youth from the Foundation’s programmes.
It became a platform for survivors of gender-based violence to speak, and for young girls to see role models who look like them, sound like them, and come from where they come from.
The event is now co-sponsored by local businesses and forms part of the Foundation’s annual calendar of heritage and empowerment events.
Story #4
Thandi, a 13-year-old girl from Zola,Soweto, had always struggled to express herself. Growing up in a noisy household and a violent neighbourhood, she often felt invisible. That changed when she discovered the SandisUbuntu Library and Art Programme.
Through access to books that reflected her identity and heritage, Thandi began writing poetry. Her talent was nurtured in the Foundation’s creative writing classes, where mentors introduced her to African literary greats and encouraged her voice.
Today, Thandi is a published young poet and speaks at youth events about reclaiming identity through words. She dreams of becoming a teacher and opening a literacy centre in her community — proof that access to a safe space and the right tools can completely change a life.