Manyeleti Development Foundation

MANYELETI DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION

BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

The Manyeleti region is an area made of about 15 villages within a 20 kilometre radius of the famous Manyeleti Game Reserve in the eastern most part of the Bushbuckrigde local municipality. The area has the hallmarks of any rural outskirt of South Africa; isolated from the economic and political mainstream of the country, located about 250 kilometres from the provincial capital city Nelspruit. Everything about the area is a true epitome of rural life in democratic South Africa, characterized by dusty streets and no modern sanitation system. While there is no recorded history of the area, it is a well known fact from the older generation that most of the inhabitants were forcefully removed from what is now known as the Kruger National Park, Manyeleti Game Reserve and other neighbouring game lounges by the then Apartheid government. For many years, the residents of this area survived through subsistence and live stocking farming.

The first junior secondary school in the area was built in 1975. Mugena High School was constructed by Petrus Mugena Mdluli, a local businessman. The school provided an opportunity for the learners who had completed primary education from the few primary schools that existed at the time. In the past thirty years, there has been an increase in the number of high schools to about seven.

The past twenty years since the advent of democracy in South Africa the Manyeleti area has seen an increase in number of students enrolling in institutions of higher learning across the country. The nearest institutions of higher learning are the Universities of Limpopo and Venda, being about 250 and 300 kilometres away respectively. Consequently, the number of graduates and professionals in different fields has significantly increased. For the first time in many years many families boasts one and in some cases more than two graduates and professionals, who through the straps of their boots, have risen from the ashes of poverty to become active participants in mainstream economy. To a great extent, all professionals hailing from this area owe their progress and achievements to the deliberate government funding of higher education and loans available to students from financially disadvantaged backgrounds. As is the case with any rural area, these professionals ply their trade in the cities and mainly in the economic heartland of South Africa, Gauteng.
Notwithstanding these developments and breakthroughs, the area remains poverty stricken by any standard with a stubbornly high unemployment rate. A significant number of families live below the poverty line and only survive on government social security programs, ranging from old age, disability and child support grants. Despite the gains that have been registered since the 1994 democratic transition and the increase in the number of primary schools, with almost every village having free and easy access to primary education, illiteracy remains characteristically high.

A high number of learners who have completed high school are roaming the streets with no job opportunities in the area. Some of these learners have no means to pursue further education or the grades they score in Grade 12 do not couple with the subjects that they studied, which makes it almost impossible to obtain funding in the form of bursaries and government financial aid scheme. Even those who may have done exceptionally well in Grade 12 by the standards of the area find themselves unable to proceed to any institution of higher due to lack of information or limited career guidance. Those who have passions for entrepreneurship and desires to start small businesses face challenges such as the lack of start-up finances and credit line.

Local businesses in the area have collapsed in the past twenty years due to a number of reasons. Small business activities, the main economic activity in the area, are now in the hands of people who are mainly from other countries. The downside of this is that no young person will be inspired to set up small business and pursue a path of entrepreneurship.

Against all odds, during difficult and trying times, the Manyeleti region has produced men and women who have in different spheres of life contributed to the development and the improvement of the lives of the residents of the area. Some have gone to play a role at the Provincial and National level. These men and women, through sheer dedication, courage and hard work, strove beyond the frontiers of poverty, underdevelopment and ignorance to become the best they could. They became trailblazers and trendsetters in many ways and inspired a whole generation. They have taught our generation that we can transcend the boundaries of poverty, lack and underdevelopment to become who we would like to be.

We, who hail from this most rural and remote area of Manyeleti, understand and appreciate better than anyone else why rural development is imperative. We have wholeheartedly welcomed the government’s identification of rural development as one of its main priorities. We are, however, alive to the realty that government alone will not resolve the challenges of our area. Our generation is therefore, taking it upon itself to seek to do all it can to contribute to the eradication of poverty and underdevelopment in Manyeleti. We will do this through mobilizing and galvanizing all the sons and daughters hailing from Manyeleti to invest and commit their skills, expertise and experience to the improvement of our area. The greatest resource that Manyeleti has is its people.

The dream of democracy, freedom, human rights, equality and prosperity can only be realized by our people, if we, who have been fortunate to acquire education and be gainfully employed, own businesses and participate in the mainstream economy of the country as part of the middle class, can make conscious and deliberate decision to embark in a concerted program aimed at the development of our area. The reality is that lack of opportunities; unemployment and poverty do contribute to some of the social ills like drug and substance abuse as well as crime.

It is in the light of the afore background that we have decide to set a Manyeleti Development Foundation that will serve as a platform, forum and vehicle to bring all human resources to bear on the challenge of rural development. The Foundation will serve as a resource, reservoir of skills, brain trust, and strategic partner to all community stakeholders, government, traditional leadership and civil society with a primary objective to contribute in the improvement of the lives of our people. The primary and central focus will be on building capacity amongst the Youth, as well providing assistance with information, guidance and counseling on access to higher education. The Foundation has no political objectives, and it is non-partisan, meaning it is not biased to any political party or any form of ideology.

The Manyeleti Development Foundation will be based on the following vision, mission and values. It is an open platform for any person with an interest and desire to contribute to the development of the Manyeleti area.