Keletso Sesi Twala is the founder of Shine For Hope Developers (S4HD), a non-profit organization dedicated to fostering holistic growth and empowerment within the community.
Their initiatives encompass education, technology, arts and cultural performance, sports, and nutrition. Through their after-school program, they provide academic support, access to technology, and opportunities for creative expression in arts and culture.
Sesi Twala shared with Today Africa about her entrepreneurial journey.
Let’s talk about your childhood because it plays in our lives. So what happened as a kid?
To speak about Sesi Twala as a child, that’s quite a lot. I can say that I’m this child who grew up in a family, but not in a way you expect dad and mum to be there. So I’m this child who was raised by my mother’s sister, who did a very good job, I must say. I was also raised by my grandmother, who’s no longer with us. May her soul continue resting in peace.
So growing as a child, I didn’t live with my siblings, but with cousins. I can say that I was this child who was not very much dependent, but I was so much responsible for myself. Because remember, if you don’t have the elder sister to say, hey, please do this for me, or you know how kids are. I have two children now, I can see that the younger one is always looking for help from the elder one.
But with me, I didn’t have that opportunity because we were cousins. I had to be responsible for myself. So I grew as that person. I lost my grandmother when I was in grade seven. So since she was the person who was really taking care of me, I’m speaking about financial support. She was the one who was making it possible for me to buyvclothes, uniform, and et cetera.
So when she passed on, then I was left with my, my mother’s elder sister to take the responsibility. But for her, it was not that quite easy. She did what she was only able to do. And then I realized when I was in grade nine that, oh, how about I assist her? Let me start a business.
That’s where I started becoming this person who’s very much business-minded. Let me at least sell sweets to other children before classes commence, and they supported me. Then my high school life, I was one of the smartest girls in class because I was doing physics and science.
Then hiccups happened then and there because now I had a whole responsibility that I had to cater for myself. As I said, my aunt couldn’t do some other things. Then I had to quit school and go and look for a job. But that doesn’t just end there. Sesi went back to school after three years because I’ve realized that even if I can work at a retail shop.
I still need to do well with my academics. So I realized that dropping out of school was not part of the idea. Even now, I’m still studying towards my degree and it’s my last year. But I also have other certificates and other qualifications that I’ve worked on.
What inspired you to start Shine for Hope Developers?
Like as I spoke about my childhood, there was a school dropout that happened there. Then there was a child who was being raised by the grandmother. So like it created a whole thinking that, hey Sesi there are many children out there who can be like you when you were a child or there are many children out there who still want you to come and be able to say, hey, I understand, I went through this, please assist me to do such things.
Also, it was an idea of being there to make sure that whatever that I went through, not any child goes through that. And then it was also because there were other children who didn’t go through what I went through, but it was just to say, maybe you might have this special needs, but how about I am this person who can be able to cater for your needs.
So why Shine for Hope Developers? Shine for Hope Developers is an educational program. So what we do, we foster educational programs. So we deal with elementary students and secondary students. Shine for Hope Developers offers four programs, of which the first program is academic support program.
So I’ve realized that let’s start with the academic support program to provide learners who are like the learners that I’ve met while I was still a child myself. So that I can say, okay, this is how you can address this academic challenge. This is how you can address peer pressure within school so that your school work doesn’t get behind.
Then the other program that we have is technology and science program. Since we know South Africa, everywhere in Africa, we name them. Technology and science are the future. Because even now, if it wasn’t for technology, I wouldn’t be having this interview with you, right?
So we are having this technology and science program to uplift these learners who are coming from different backgrounds to say, okay, we are providing these specific technological resources and more so that you will be able to know what artificial intelligence is? What is robotics? What is coding?
Because we want to create a child who is well informed when it comes to technology. Then the other program that we have is nutrition support. As I told you earlier, I was this child who was born and raised by my grandmother because my mother never took this initiative in my upbringing.
There are learners who are like me, who are having parents who are not there. Some of them are not there because they are not alive, right? So we want to say, okay, for you to be focused academically and all that, for you to be a person who worries about the other things, please do not worry about food.
Have food so that you can be able to think thoroughly and make decisions that are okay about your future or about your life. The last part of the program that we have is the literacy program. The literacy and numeracy program is to help these learners who are not able to read. Because reading is a challenge, not only in South Africa but also in Africa and other countries as well.
We are having children who reach grade four and they are not able to read for meaning. So it means that they cannot be able to read and explain what they read about and answer their comprehension as we have a number of failures in schools. So we also promote that.
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Why did you name your organization, Shine for Hope Developers?
This whole name has a number of meanings behind it. So if I say Shine for Hope Developers, we want to be the sunlight for somebody who’s having darkness, more especially if academically.
Because we know education is something that can make you a better person, not only to get the best job in the world. But to make you a person who makes wise decisions. Like imagine if a child you are not able to read and all that. But if a child is able to read, she can read, how do you refrain from becoming pregnant? How do you refrain from not getting HIV and AIDS?
Education is broad so it doesn’t only mean that as a child, you are supposed to be educated to get a job, but how you make your decisions, read to gain knowledge. So we just want to be that sunlight. We also want to bring hope.
Hope for a child who is like me. A child who lacked where other kids have actually received. Then if you are say developers, we are developing these learners. We want them to be developed and become better people. So hence the name is like that.
Is Shine for Hope Developers a full school or after school program?
It’s a full project. We do that after school only for academic support, but we also do it on Saturdays. Not only does it end there, but also during school holidays we are there. So, but for nutrition support we can say that is an after school thing or whatever. We do it like the whole month for specific learners.
And if I were to say literacy, literacy, we are there during school hours. So we can’t refer to it as something that is happening only after school hours. No, something that happens even during school hours, even during school holidays, including Saturdays as well. So we are there. I can say full time because the only time we are not there is on Sundays.
How does Shine for Hope Developers help in the holistic growth of the children?
Let me start by saying that remember we are helping learners who are coming in for different reasons. We are having learners who are saying academically I’m okay, but here’s the challenge. I don’t have food at home. So we don’t want this child to be a child who’s worried about things such as basic needs like food which is a basic need.
So there are a number of things that a child can get themselves involved in if they don’t have basic needs. For instance, we know what are the things that make one to be involved in criminal activities. A child can make any decision to say, let me be involved in criminal activities or either let me be involved in drugs.
So with us providing food or nutrition support, we know that we are catering for a child that won’t go back to the street tomorrow to say, I did crime because my basic needs were not met or I am using drugs because my basic needs are not met.
So when it comes to nutrition support, that’s how we are saying that we are designing growth in one’s life. To say, okay, we don’t want you to be a person who’s involved in other things that may not grow you and make you a better person, but to drag your life back.
Like if you do crime, you know you’ll have a criminal record. So refrain from that. Let me be that person who says, food is here. What else do you need? Uniform, uniform is here. What else do you need? As long as we cater to basic needs. But nutrition is one of the most provided support that we give to these learners.
Then academic growth, we can say, let’s say for instance, there’s a child who’s been failing their academics or they are not doing well. They are even challenged to say, oh, this is my last year in high school. If I don’t do better this year, they will remove me, take me to college.
So we are trying to reduce school dropout as well, because they are learners who would fail their academics. And then at the end of the day, they won’t go back to school. And that they even commit suicide.
According to the research that we have done, you know how failing creates an impact in this learner. Others, they don’t understand that failing is part of growth. Others, they would feel like if they fail, they are not okay. Maybe they are learners with special needs and all that.
What we do is that we offer them academic support so that they can progress and go to the next grade. So that they must not be bullied by other learners who are saying, hey, you are old, you should not be in this grade, but at least you should be in this grade by now. We are trying to avoid bullying and all that.
So academic support, not only doesn’t end there, after we tutor you, you pass your matric and all that. We also provide you support to say, okay,let’s look for a higher education institution for you. Let’s enroll you with the universities. We have 24 learners that were able to enroll in higher institutions.
Some of them are doing law, some of them are doing teaching and all that. So that is the growth that we want. Remember, other learners, they don’t have access to that. No one has information in their families regarding that. Because of some of them, they are raised by people who never had an opportunity to go back to universities, colleges and all that.
So we are there to say, okay, things well, you’ve done very well within the program. We can now take you and put you into this space so that tomorrow you can be a person who’s very much responsible for themselves. So that is the growth for academic support.
But for literacy, obviously for a child who’s not able to read. We make sure that this child is able to read, to make sure that this child is able to count. So that’s what we do. That is the growth that we want.
Are all these offered for free?
When it comes to academic support programs, it’s not free. Because we also believe in social entrepreneurship. Some other services are paid so that we can meet the other programs’ needs within the project. So for instance, academic support programs are paid for.
Parents are paying monthly for tutoring programs. To say, okay, I’m assisting your child with homework, I’m giving your child an additional class based on this topic that they didn’t understand at school. So parents are paying for that.
But remember, we are also having learners who are actually like me in my childhood to say, my parents are not available. Who will pay for me? I’m an orphan and all that. And then we also cater for those children. Even if they don’t have money, they get the services for free.
As long as they follow our policies, procedures, you name them and all that, then they are within the program. And then we also have funders and donors who are on board to say, I love your program. Let me fund this program. Let me donate.
As a nonprofit organization that is also a public benefit organization. So we are asking for donations. We are getting them. So let’s say, for instance, Mr. Price last day gave us a school uniform. So this school uniform was provided for learners who are having needs, who are not able to buy uniforms.
And then we are also having donors who are giving us reading books. So that we can be able to produce these reading books to learners who are not able to buy reading books. But when it comes to applying to university and all that, that is free. To apply, we only need Wi-Fi, then we do it for free.
For a child to be accommodated or to be selected to be part of the university learner, they just need to meet their university criteria. Like in South Africa, they are bursaries here. A child just applies for NSFAS. NSFAS caters for a child who meets certain requirements.
For instance, if a child’s parents are not receiving a salary that is more than 350,000 per annum, then that child qualifies for a bursary. Some other things are meant to be done for free, while others are meant to be done to be paid.
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How do you pay your staff since you’re a non-profit organization?
They are also getting paid. They are receiving stipends for now. How do we make the stipends? We make stipends from the academic support program. And then with the extended numeracy and literacy project, that’s about to take place, the one that is funded for three years.
Sometimes we get projects that we need to run maybe for a specific period and then the funder or the implementing partner that we are working with then decides to fund people who will be working within the project. And then with our tutors, they get money directly from the money that we raise from academic support.
As I speak, I have 87 students who are coming for academic support programs of which high school learners would pay 300 rand on monthly basis. Then younger ones, they pay 250 on a monthly basis. So that creates a whole sum of stipends to be able to give to our tutors.
What challenges did you face in the beginning and how did you overcome them?
From the beginning even now I’m still having challenges. You know when you’re running a non-profit organization it’s not the same as running a business because I’m the founder of two. I have a business on the other side. And I also have this nonprofit organization as well.
So the challenges that we meet in a non-profit organization is that in most cases as NGOs, we are not alerted that in order for you to become a successful nonprofit organization, you should know ABCDEF, right?
So they don’t give us the right information whenever you are getting yourself into that. You will think, oh, this is very simple. I will start a program and then that’s it. And then I will get funding. No, it doesn’t go like that. Before somebody funds you they want to check the impact evaluation.
What impact have you had before I give you money? Is there any data to show that? So there’s a number of things that are needed there. So the challenges are funds.
Because funding is never enough for a non-profit organization. Because funders don’t stay forever. Like I said, there are funders who come to say, I’m here for three years for this project. And remember you are having staff, you are having a number of beneficiaries who still want you to provide them with the savings that you have been providing them with.
Because now as an organization, you can say, no, there are no longer funds. Let’s stop the project. Remember, if you are creating impact, it should be something that will last forever, not something that you just do whenever there are funds. So the first challenge that I meet is funding.
Because not every funder or donor will fund your program. It depends if your program is their focus area or is it what they are aligned with. They don’t just fund. And then you will find out that they are big sponsors or big donors who are doing other projects that you would wish that, hey, I wish mine was also aligned or was one of their focus areas.
Challenge number two, we know how things work in this world. These days it depends on who you are, who you know and all that, right? So if you don’t know who you must know, sometimes it’s challenging for us. Like other doors are closed because you don’t know who you are supposed to know.
So that is the other challenge that, okay, I am ready to run a specific project. But the problem is that, the problem is that, okay, may I have your assistance? But who are you to ask for assistance from me? Why me? How do you know me?
You know how things are these days. So that is the other problem that we had, that there are certain things that can stand in your way to be able to produce whatever impact that you want to make.
Then the third challenge that I’m having is having to keep staff. Like the money that we give them is not enough. As I said, stipends are not the same as salary. This year I introduced a stipend so that you are able to buy certain things you need.
Because a child doesn’t want to see somebody who’s having a need while they are addressing their needs. I don’t know if you understand that statement. So then next year, I’m saying, okay, now we have moved from stipend to salary.
Because now we are having partners who are willing to fund us and provide you guys with salaries, but the contract will be three years. Then after three years, I’ll have to return to stipends again. That’s where the problem is. So not being able to keep staff for too long.
What are your plans for expanding Shine for Hope developers?
Expanding Shine for Hope developers is part of our vision, because we don’t want to be a program that’s only in South Africa. So we want to work with other organizations as well, to create partnerships with organizations in Africa that are doing the same thing that we are doing.
So that we can work together, be able to share our common goals and challenges that we meet together. You might never know, maybe somebody might say, hey, come to this place, we can do it. So we want to expand in Africa, including in South Africa, other provinces as well.
Our plan is to work very hard, like how we are doing it now. Hence we have started engaging with the Department of Education, schools and stakeholders, and libraries. Because we know once we have their attention fully and once they see our impact, believe in our vision, aims and goals, then we believe that we will fly high.
What are some of the biggest lessons that you have learned in your journey as a non-profit founder?
If you run a non-profit organization, you need to be very patient. If you don’t have patience, you won’t make it. But not only in a non-profit organization, including running a business, you need someone who’s very very patient.
For instance, I can tell you when I started this program, for years I was not even benefiting a single cent or any monetary value. So it needs one to be very patient and you must love what you do.
Don’t do something that you don’t like. Don’t invest in something that you don’t like because non-profit organizations are bloodsucking. That’s what I can say. They are really bloodsucking. So if you don’t have love for that, then you are out of the game.
I’ve learned that I need to be more patient and to love it with everything that I have. That was the biggest lesson that I’ve learned. So non-profit organizations don’t need somebody who has little love for whatever project that they are doing. You must love everything whether the funder is there or the donor is there, love your project.
What advice do you have for others, especially women, who want to start their business or NGO?
My advice to women who are also seeking to be the same as me is to take time to do research before you involve yourself in a nonprofit organization. Start by understanding what a nonprofit organization is.
Next, know what strategic planning is, how you will monitor it, or how you will implement your project and all that. You are not supposed to say, hey, I can see women there, they are needy, let me start a project and say, I will provide for them. It doesn’t go like that.
Do your research because funders don’t just fund anything. They want you to know what it is. Align yourself with SDG goals and your country’s needs. If you know the social development goals, then you are good to go. And then amongst all, network, network, network. That’s how you will grow.
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