As part of the annual Women’s Month programme, the Honourable Speaker of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL) honours women across Gauteng who have made meaningful contributions towards empowering others in society.
Each year in August, the GPL’s Multi-Party Women’s Caucus leads the Annual Vita Basadi Awards – an initiative that recognises excellence among women in various fields of work, as well as acts of service to those in need.
Through these awards, the Speaker celebrates women of courage who continue to make a positive impact in their communities.
Celebrate the winners of the Vita Basadi Awards…
LIFETIME ACHIEVER
Shandukane Hilda Mokono-Shange
Between the years 1952 and 1954 she was initiated into politics as a nurse at Baragwaneth hospital.
In 1956 she was part of the Pass Law march to Pretoria.
During the 50s her house was used as a hiding place for the youth in transit from Sebokeng hostel to border crossing to Botswana. She withstood hard times and daily and raids on her house before and during the state of emergency. The raids were in search or youth from COSAS ranks.
In 1984 she took part in the Civic Movement Bricks Mokole and uprisings. Consequently, she lost her son during the riots.
She was among those who supported the Delmas Treason Trial from 1985 to 1989.
Prior to 1994 she was part of the comrades who received voter training to help Citizens during elections.
YOUNG DIGNITARY
Alexander Okoye
14-year-old Alexander Okoye is a born athlete and an A-plus learner. She won a certificate of merit in her grade 8 year in 2021 and was a round 2 finalist in the South African Maths Olympiad for schools. Her current average for 2022 is 86%.
He strong leadership qualities saw her being elected to the Learner Representative Council (LRC) Learner in her Grade 9. She positively influences her peers through peer- to- peer counselling, and She holds provincial colours for athletics and netball, which she achieved in 2021 and 2022, consecutively.
She is also a Triple Gold medallist for the ASA under 16 and Relay championships. She holds provincial colours for Gauteng under 15 girls’ netball team.
YOUNG PHILANTHROPIST
Karabo Mokgonyana
Karabo Mokgonyana is a youth and gender activist, and a lawyer by profession who’s committed to advancing social justice and socio-economic freedom. She does this through advocacy and campaigning, grass root work, research, advisory, and high-level project coordination.
Karabo has worked with organizations such as the UN Security Council, African Union, multiple UN agencies (UNESCO/UNFPA/UNICEF, etc.), the British Council and Transparency International in social development work.
Karabo has successfully led the implementation of programs advancing women empowerment under the Global Fund and the International Joint Gender Fund in South Africa (Gauteng and Eastern Cape). At just 25, Karabo has achieved numerous accolades for her advocacy work, and has represented South Africa in many countries in youth diplomacy.
Didintle Olorate Moashe
Didi founded organization that support moms who lost children through miscarriages, still births and infant deaths. She established her organizations in 2020 after losing her triples and having to navigate that journey without any support.
She also founded a support group for people grieving the loss of loved ones, where she works with other people who relate and walk the journey with them.
She also runs a sisterhood club, where she brings young women under one roof and creates a safe space for them to talk about their life challenges.
In 2016 she started an organization called Barrier Breakers which gives sanitary towels and toiletries to homes of abused and abandoned children. She is a born leader and a motivated young person who strives for change.
Gomolemo Phillips
20-year-old Gomolemo is a kind young leader who has made a significant contribution to her community out of her compassionate heart. She co-founded multiple organizations that empower young women and girls. Her organizations work with primary schools (largely poor communities) to mentor young girls, as well as assist with food, clothing, toys, and sanitary pads – donated by orphanages. Every year in January, she distributes school stationery to poor children, and arranges regular fun days for kids from orphanages, where they play and compete for prizes.
She also hosts Christmas lunches for the homeless and orphans, as well as reach out to donors to give clothing. She prepares CVs for disadvantaged job seekers and provides financial help to those needing to get their IDs. She also takes care of the elderly and helps them with their various needs.
Amanda Nomnqa
Amanda recently raised over R10k to help the Bathabeleng Children’s Home & Day Care that burnt down on the 3rdJULY 2022 – leaving behind immense devastation in the community. She also plays a pivotal role in diverse communities of Tembisa.
She founded an NPO that drives the mentorship & empowerment of girls and young women. She received the 2022 Forbes Woman Africa Young Achievers Award and was named in Forbes Woman Africa’s Young Achiever list of Most Powerful & Influential Africans. She is an all-out
champion for to youth skills’ development, and Women-led leadership.
She has served on the Board of Directors of African Youth Union RSA, a youth-led organization that advances the youth development agenda.
UNSUNG LEGEND
Namitwa Gololo
Namitwa has selflessly helped communities in informal settlements since 1990. She has conducted training for community workers in different sectors, who later went on to be employed by different government departments. She also helps Women with the health needs, e.g., papsmear and family planning, as well as with gender-based violence and HIV awareness campaigns.
She has sourced funding and personally funded many businesses run by youngsters in Johannesburg and Soweto, including artists and professionals.
She runs feeding schemes in various communities. She also founded a Widows Forum and runs programmes to get the youth off the streets – working with Arts & Sports Specialists, etc.
She is a member of the Women Round Table founded the GPL Speaker.
Grace Mathlodi Mosala
Soshanguve’s Mrs Mosala believes in the power of education. A teacher of 34 years and Editor for Setswana books, lives by the notion that ‘language is the road map of a culture.’
She’s passionate about instilling the love of home-languages among learners. She tutors in Setswana, making teaching fun through storytelling, poetry and encouraging learners to recite clan names.
She has invested her earnings in books and reading competitions in her community. She also founded the Isago-Entle home for children with disabilities. The home is a beacon of hope for children with special needs and autism.
She works closely with orphanage homes by giving funds and food parcel, visiting centers for the elderly, and supporting people with disabilities.
Dr Hunadi Chipane
55 year-old Dr Chipane authored the book ‘Soldier on Woman’ and founded the ‘Oracle Hunadi Foundation’ after losing her son to suicide. Her foundation distributes clothes to the poor, hosts Christmas lunches for the elderly, and donates school uniforms to and sanitary pads and toiletries to the youth. During Covid-19 lockdowns the foundation fed more than 250 families in Soshanguve and donated hair products to young girls. The foundation is not restricted to Gauteng only, wherever there is need they’re there to help. The foundation also cooks lunch for homeless children in Pretoria.
She now aims to build libraries in the rural areas for children to learn to read on their own and to promote writing of books at an early age.
Community Builder
Salamini Mpho Mofokeng
32-year-old Salaminah Mofokeng founded a skills development youth organization, which also helps young entrepreneurs start their enterprises. Skills offered by the organization include End User Computing, Cashier Training and Code 10 Driver’s – which has placed numerous youths in retail jobs. Others have started their own businesses with the skills acquired. She also runs a feeding scheme that feeds 450 people daily, five days a week. She also donated food parcels to widows and helps them start small food – sourcing gardening tools from donors. She is a community builder at heart, having helped many community members to rise from abject poverty and do it for themselves. She does all of this without support or reward.
Innocentia Fhulufhelo Rambau
Fhulufhelo founded a Women-empowerment and opened an events company that employs four people. She mentors women of all ages and organizes information sharing sessions about what Women can do to deal with their plight in communities. She is currently helping an organization of young poets in Soshanguve with their projects. She also opens her home to young ladies and gives social and parental advice on issues ranging from education, business development, personal development, motherhood, relationships, HIV/AIDS mentoring, Women’s health, etc.
In 2018 she opened a foster home in Soshanguve, which looks after nine children.
She runs a endometriosis awareness campaign in Soshanguve where she teaches men about the disease and how to support partners living with a chronic disease.
Pretty Kekana
Pretty is a mental wellness activist, youth leader & facilitator, social entrepreneur, psychology graduate, life coach, and HIV/Aids counsellor. She founded an organization that helps young people deal with psycho-social behavioral issues at an early age – teaching them to live full lives.
During the Covid-19 lockdown she collect food to give to poor families, pay school fees for children from struggling families, and shared useful information with young people to pursue their dreams. Her mission is to help the youth with low self-esteem – to claim their place in society. She also helps Women and young people who are navigating dark times.
She believes that every young person should have a voice, find their identity, fight for their rightful place in society and participate in the country’s economy.
Sesi Twala
Sesi creates youth employment, runs programs aimed at assisting with mental wellness, and fights crime. She founded an organization that creates spaces for graduates and student to interact and assist each other through their academics and career building. She acknowledges that the reasons that led her to dropping out of school could very well be experienced by many students today.
She avails educational resources such as internet access for homework, projects and research, tutoring for STEM and non-STEM subjects, scholarships and bursaries, and NSFAS applications. She also runs academic competitions and maths/science olympiads.
Her students continue to pass primary and secondary grades with flying colours. She also donates sanitary packs to girls from disadvantaged families, stationery, and clothing.
Tshepo Makupu
Tshepo Palesa Makupu is committed to working with the youth to prioritize sustainable agriculture and food security. She owns a business that employs four Women and founded an organization that enables Women to provide for their. She also trains and mentors Women to upskill themselves and not be dependent on men.
She used profits from her business to buy a plot of land that now produces agricultural produce and employs community members. She has also started a small chicken farm where she works with local farming experts to assist in this venture and create employment for communities in the East Rand. She supports local children’s homes with food and clothes. She is great inspiration to others, and advocates for various issues affecting women today i.e., gender-based violence and managing mental illness
Mapule Moloto
Working collaboratively with the Department of Social Services, Mapule goes to local schools and youth centers where she motivates children with disabilities and teaches them to unlock their talents and reach their amazing abilities. She recently released a motivational book that talks to her journey since childhood. Most of the youth with disabilities are learning to stand on their own because of her motivational book and talks.
She hosted a Women’s Day event for young women with disabilities, where she taught about financial literacy. Her idea is to make ensure that people living disabilities do not depend on government grants but are fully equipped to stand on their own. Her other projects include teaching the youth how to start successful businesses. She also supports mothers of children with disabilities.
Suzan Ngobeni
Suzan Ngobeni foundered an organization that cares for people with hearing impairments, the youth, disadvantaged families, orphaned children, and the elders in Hammanskraal.
She also runs skills development programmes fo the youth. In 2019 and 2020 she secured learnerships for numerous youths with hearing disabilities in the retail sector in Hammanskraal and Mabopane – others were placed in various farms and farming projects.
She is proficient in sign language – a skill that she uses to translate for people with hearing disabilities in churches, events, churches, meetings, and training programmes.
She also works with the Roman Catholic Church to distribute food parcels and other essentials to people with hearing disabilities. She helps leaners with homework, who live with pensioners.
Matebogo Victoria
Matebogo lives with a hearing disability, and her mission in life is to address the challenges faced by people born with the same disability as her.
She educates communities on how to do small-scale farming, which can generate high revenues and sustain communities. She primarily works with the youth with hearing disabilities – teaching them about modern ways of farming. This project will also benefit the jobless since it will provide job opportunities among the society of people with a hearing disability. Due to obvious communication challenges, people with hearing disabilities struggle with using public transport. This moved her to buy them bicycles as a mode of transportation to work. She also teaches on financial literacy and investing.
WOMAN OF HONOUR
Maria Diamond
Maria is an athletics coach. She fosters and coaches more than 115 children from poor families in Germiston. She makes sure that they all not only perform on track but that all homework is done. She has already secured 20 athletes’ bursaries at local universities and eight (8) overseas. She believes that children can make a life-long career in athletics.
Maria also stood the test of time against most male sprints, hurdles, and long jump coaches. She excelled during the athletics season and produced outstanding results from August 2021 to May 2022. She is also committed to unearthing fresh talent and grooming youngsters to become self-sustainable with a four to eight-year cycle for each athlete.
Glenda Masebe
Born into abject poverty in an informal settlement Glenda built her life from nothing. She managed to get herself through school until qualifying as an electrical artisan, doing maintenance on trains. She thrived despite the odds of being among very few Women in a male-dominated environment. With her dream being to work in the mining industry, in 2020 she got an internship at Scanmin Africa as an instrumentation trainee technician, later qualifying as an instrumentation mechanician.
She has worked at Eskom sites, Kendal power station, Lethabo power station, Majuba, Kusile, Tweefontien, Komati, Arcelormittal, Phola, Afrisam, and Sibanye still water – and has worked in several mines abroad.
She now shares her knowledge with Women and young girls studying the same courses.
Katleho Paballo Makupu
28-year-old Katleho heads up the financial reinsurance team at the biggest global reinsurer Munich Reinsurance. She is a published author and her book highlights various for Women to advance their careers and self-development to gain access into senior management roles.
She heads up the outreach program for the actuarial Women’s committee. Together with her team they plan career fair for schools and young professionals with the aim of increasing the number of black females in the actuarial profession.
She is an award winning philanthropist who was named Africa’s most influential Women in business and government, and Mail&Guardian top 200 young South Africans.
She is an actuary and is seen as a transformation advocate for females where out of 1700 actuaries – less than 400 are black females.
Rosa van Niekerk
Rosa owns the Rosa van Niekerk Attorneys in Westonaria – a Christian-based law firm. She does a lot of charity work and public speaking – where she speaks on both her personal journey and law related topics. As an attorney she acts in a practical manner and helps Women with pro bono legal assistance to obtain Domestic Violence Interdicts, Harassment Interdicts, and any other assistance.
She is a strong believe in the notion of ‘Women breaking the glass ceiling and going on to do anything that they set their hearts to’. She empowers Women and paves the way for fellow sisters to empower themselves and prove that Women are world changers – with the ability to uplift, inspire, and empower.
Mavis Mhlanga
Mavis is Gauteng’s Deputy chairperson of SANWIT. She is a taxi operator and secretary who supports Women in all her activities. She is involved in numerous activities that supports Women and empowers them in different ways. She gives advice, financial assistance, and support to Women in need, as well as their children. She’s a hard worker and committed community servant.
OUTSTANDING CREATIVE
Thembi Monametsi
Thembi Monametsi is an award-winning author of four (4) self-help books, winner of Mrs Africa Global United 2020, founder of Rise-up Woman organization, Thembi Tea Talk and radio presenter.
Through her Tea Talk she allows Women going through grief to have a voice and intimate conversations that help them heal. Her radio talk show is also about grief, depression, mental health and how to overcome everyday challenges. Through her organization she empowers Women through workshops and counselling, and donates sanitary pads, toiletries, food and blackest to orphanage homes and needy girls in schools. She empowers young girls through motivation and counselling, and places abused Women in shelters – and helps them through counselling and skills development.
Lerato Phakoe
Soshanguve’s 19-year-old Lerato is an award-winning author of two books.
She also founded an organization that combats socio-illnesses affecting learners, which impede their cognitive abilities. The organization assists learners in need of books, stationery and uniforms. She also donates sanitary towels to other organizations and foundations, to help a girl child not to skip school because of monthly periods.
Through her organization, she promotes and celebrates youth talent. She publishes a youth magazine that covers the life of inspirational young people within the community. Through her organization, she initiated a campaign called ‘Get me published SA’, which helps unpublished authors publish their work without payment. She is currently in search of sponsors to help more youth and upcoming authors.
Nomatlou Johanna Mahlangu
Nomatlou started community development work in her early twenties to address poverty, crime and youth development in rural areas, informal settlements and townships. In 2001 she founded an organization that supports and helps to maintain a community’s folk tradition through dance, music, storytelling, theatre and culinary arts. Today the organization has five (5) branches in four (4) provinces, namely: Gauteng (in Winterveldt & Vosloorus) North West (in Hebron) Limpopo (in Makhado) and Mpumalanga (in Komatipoort-Naas) – reaching 500 young people in poor communities.
Having also trained as a mental and physical fitness practitioner, she guides young people through life-transformation and promoting independence and positive life sustainability through art-preneurship. She also works with Women, children and the youth who have lost hope – through arts groups.
