Stewarding Her Life Well

She had dressed very carefully for the interview…”professionally”, she called it. She knew that this was the break she had been praying for, but was dealing with conflicting emotions of excitement and trepidation. Knowing that her shoes were in a less-than-happy state of repair added to her apprehension. Local folklore had told her that, if something was damaged, it was a forewarning of worse to come.  En route to the appointment, her footwear gave out, but the young woman had made a contingency plan, stowing a pair of flip-flops in her bag. After this not-too auspicious start, she arrived well in time for the interview and, from then on, things went from good to better. 

Ushered into the boardroom, she was warmly welcomed by the two ladies from The Domino Foundation, Nicky Walton and Cathy Whittle, who immediately put her at her ease: “I was able to answer all their questions truthfully and confidently.”  Soon after she left the NPO’s Durban North offices, she received an email with the good news that she had been accepted as an intern and she started work within the week.

Sisanda Shange had been placed with Domino through business consultancy and training firm, The Success Company, which has skills-development as one of its areas of focus. Intern Administrator, Mendy Mhlungu, explained that Sisanda had been directed to them through the Yes4Youth programme which connects talented work-seekers to opportunities like full-time and part-time employment jobs and learnerships. “We are delighted when we are able to place eager and motivated young people like Sisanda in environments where their determination to win over their circumstances is going to mean brighter futures for them and their communities.”

Sisanda’s story has been one of dealing with adversity and not being crushed. Raised in the Amaoti informal settlement area in the Ethekwini metropole, she and her two siblings lived with their mother in a two-roomed home with no electricity they had built themselves. Often, they went to bed with no more than a meal of uphuthu (maize meal) washed down with sugar water to see them through the night. Disaster struck in the floods of 2022 when their rudimentary home was destroyed in the torrential rain.  The family of four moved into a shelter for destitute people for a year. Despite the hardships, friends said the Shange home was filled with joy and love. 

Moving to her aunt’s for her Matric year, Sisanda studied for and passed her exams in 2023. She found a job where she assumed total responsibility for the day-to-day running of a shisanyama. This was to be her toughest year, working alone, opening the premises at 7am and closing the doors at 9 at night (and as late as midnight over weekends). Often, the owner would either pay her salary late or not at all. However, Siasanda came away from the experience having learned entrepreneurial skills the hard way: customer-service, stock-taking and balancing the books. 

The isizulu saying, ”Kuba mnyama kakhulu mese kuzosa” means that the darkest time comes just before dawn. The industrious young woman was taken by surprise when she discovered her cousin had provided her details to The Domino Foundation and so began the next stage of her journey into building a future for herself and her family as she began her internship year at Domino.

She was joined by Mpilo Mthiyane whose year at the NPO was on a different basis as he is on a learnership programme with a certificate in business administration as his goal. The pair is being put through their paces on many fronts: data-capturing; manning the front desk; working in the kitchen together with the Nutrition team making high-protein sandwiches for hungry primary school learners, logging donated items, with Mpilo exercising brawn loading delivery vehicles and then driving to underserved communities where Domino’s seven programmes work.

Sisanda’s chance to go solo came when she was given the job of organising the refreshments (sandwiches and drinks) for 80 pre-schoolers from early childhood development centres in Inanda on excursions over 9 days to the Umhlanga Lagoon Nature Reserve. She worked together with the Kinship programme, an NPO which cultivates what it terms “pro-environmental behaviour” where people learn to minimise the negative impact of how they live on the environment. Kinship’s Jade Peterson commented, “We work at the intersection of Early Childhood Development education and earth stewardship. The excursion created an environment of play in Nature by taking children away from their home environment and into ‘nature.’”

Jade described how the event was designed around the concept that children don’t need expensive toys to be able to engage in and thoroughly enjoy playing and learning, “The preschoolers with us that day come from homes with limited resources and it was very special to see them really respond to the wonder of the reserve’s pristine world, a 26-hectare wilderness area at the Ohlange River’s mouth.” 

Sisanda admitted that it was a great experience for her as well. “I was determined that the little kids would have something to eat and drink each day while out learning, playing and exploring in the wetlands, coastal dune forest areas, lagoon and at the beach.” Jade and her team led the preschoolers learning about the small wildlife and more than 200 bird species in the reserve and gave basic information about the flora in the area. 

As she waved “farewell” on the ninth day of Jade’s collecting the last of the 720 sandwichess from Domino, Sisanda reflected on her own journey of interacting with the world around her. “I hope to finish my studies and do a course in office administraton. My dream is to own my shisanyama business one day and help give my family live a better life. The Kinship outing helped me understand how important it is in life to see what is really good and worth preserving so that everyone can benefit and make the world a better place.”

Caption: Sisanda Shange - Domino intern.

All the other pics are at the Kinship excursions to the Umhlanga Nature Reserve

ISSUED BY DOMINO MKTING & PR. PLEASE DIRECT MEDIA ENQUIRIES TO:

Karen Brokensha | marketing@domino.org.za 

Rowan Phillips | comms@domino.org.za

This article is written by Rowan Phillips Communication and PR Guy for The Domino Foundation a registered NPO and PBO with a desire to see individuals and communities within South Africa living in dignity, justice, hope and purpose. Through their 8 focused community transformation initiatives, Domino directly impacts the lives of over 13,500 individuals daily, across KZN. The Foundation is 100% compliant in terms of the B-BBEE codes, and is able to offer companies and individuals’ maximum benefit based on their donations and seeks to collaborate with new partners to continue the #DominoEffect of changed lives, changing lives.

Keywords: Sisanda Shange, Domino Foundation, youth development South Africa, youth empowerment KwaZulu-Natal, Amaoti community, Yes4Youth programme, conservation education, community upliftment