Personal message

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My name is Gerald Jacobs, and I’m the director at Mamelani in Cape Town, South Africa. When I was young, I lost one of my best friends to gangsterism. I often wondered how his life would have turned out if he had access to the mentors, resources, supports, and opportunities that all young people need as they make their way into adulthood. He grew up in foster care and when he turned 18, the family no longer received financial support from the state, so he joined a gang. I will never forget that morning, looking through the bedroom window and seeing him run as the lead gunman of the gang, who were about to attack another gang.  

My friend’s life inspired me to be part of Mamelani, and one of the things we do is ensure that young people leaving foster care and children’s homes at 18 have access to the mentors, resources, supports, and opportunities needed to overcome the barriers they face in reaching their goals. But more than this we create experiences that are embedded with connection, hope, and resilience. In the video above, meet Jean-Claude from Rwanda, who lost his parents in the war and found himself in a refugee camp in Uganda, and later in a children’s home in South Africa; where he lived until he had to leave. Mamelani supported him with the mentorship, resources, and opportunities to become an Uber driver and proud owner of his own take-away restaurant.

Like everywhere else in the world COVID had a serious impact on our organisation and the work we do. Now more than ever we need your support. We are appealing to friends locally and abroad to make a financial contribution and support us in helping other young people, like Jean-Claude, become the future changemakers. Because we are more than the bad things that happened to us.

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