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We at the KwaMakhutha Community Resource Centre bring hope, support and justice to our community by offering various interactive initiatives that uplift and empower.

The standard of living in KwaMakhutha is sombre as the effects of unemployment, substance abuse, crime, lack of infrastructure and limited access to information takes its toll on the residents. In the face of these real and very complex challenges, lives are improved on a daily basis through our community development programmes which are:

Accessing Justice

Costly fees make legal assistance a luxury service that the vulnerable KwaMakhutha community simply cannot afford. We provide free and quality legal advice on a variety of matters.

Youth

Our Youth Programme provides an exciting platform for young people to harness their energy positively and productively.

Income Generation

Community based income generating activities is a critical part of how households in KwaMakhutha can move out of poverty and create more opportunities for themselves and others.

Active Citizenry

We encourage active citizen participation and accountability within KwaMakhutha and the surrounding areas. Together with the community we call for service delivery and justice.

Women in Action

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Healthy Living

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Our Centre is a truly community based facility that employs community members to work with, and for, the community.

Ward Councillor

Details here

Population information

Details here

Team

The people who form part of our Community Centre are very important to us. Our team is made up of dynamic and passionate members of the KwaMakhutha Community, and this makes all the difference to our work.

Management

Mfanafuthi Gumede our Programmes Manager is the person behind our proactive community focused work.

Mfana, as he is affectionately called by the community, was born and bred in KwaMakhutha and he knows the plights faced by the community very well. “Growing up in an under developed area with limited resources moved me to play an active role in uplifting the community,” Mfana says.

We absolutely love working with community bred leaders like Mfana as he provides in-depth insight on how we can move the community forward.

“I really really love what I do, every day I am grateful that I am using my skills and expertise to give back to my community,” Mfana says with a smile.

The young people of KwaMakhutha look up to him and the elders find reassurance in being helped by a familiar face within the community.

With dynamic and driven people like Mfana on our team, we continue to move from strength to strength in making change within our community.

KwaMakhutha residents like Thandeka Biyela our Centre Director playa leading role within our community and the KwaMakhutha Community Resource Centre.

Thandeka’s passion for community development was ignited when her church, the United Reformed Church, which is a co-founder, launched the community resource centre. “When the church started the Centre, I was excited and wanted to be part of a team that would improve lives; I never knew that I would one day be the Director of the Centre,” Thandeka said.

Thandeka has been with the Centre from the very beginning and throughout her journey she has played many roles that now help her fulfil her leadership position. She knows her community very well and understands the social ills that they face. This is why Thandeka is able to implement the visions and strategies from the board and the community.

From humble beginnings as a volunteer to being the Centre Director, Thandeka continues to take strides in her work that is fuelled by her unwavering love for community development and improving the standard of living for all KwaMakhutha residents.

Overview

Our primary objective is to improve lives by assisting our community to gain access to justice and government services as we continuously advocate for human rights and democracy. Equality, integrity and responsiveness are the values that we hold close to our hearts.

We do this by being truly community based, having responsive and effective programmes, and working with partners.

We employ community members who work with, and for, the community.

Our 90 Ambassadors conduct home visits within our community to identify human rights cases, assist the sick, and offer a helping hand where needed. The Ambassadors report back to the Centre where the Paralegal Desk and Management intervene to find solutions. The feedback from the Ambassadors helps us to get first hand information on the challenges within the community and we then develop programmes to tackle these issues.

We work under an umbrella of programmes that are closely linked.

We have strategically formed close working relations with other civil society organisations, parastatals and government departments to ensure that KwaMakhutha’s standard of living is improved.

Stakeholder engagement meetings are held regularly with various representatives from different government departments with the objective of addressing the challenges our residents have with their services and discussing ways we can better serve our community. Since signing a memorandum of understanding with these departments, we work hand in hand in tackling the challenges in our community.

We have developed meaningful partnerships that work to address household and community concerns. This includes helping to mediate conflict between neighbours and community members where issues arise.

Our success lies in our unwavering resilience and passion for the community we live in and work for. We go over and above the call of duty, and even with limited resources we make strides in improving lives. The positive changes in our fellow community members remind us that it is all worth it.

From humble beginnings, we are growing steadily and improving lives through our various interactive programs.

We love our community and most of all we love creating an impact that has a positive ripple effect on KwaMakhutha and the surrounding areas.

Associations and Affiliations

We have strategically formed partnerships with important entities to create a harmonious and beneficial working relationship that enables us to fulfil our vision. Funding and any assistance that is favourable towards community development are welcomed with open arms.

We align ourselves with organisations that share our dream and help us to improve the lives of people who live in KwaMakhutha.

Our operations and programme work has been funded by a mix of donor organisations:

Oxfam Australia
National Lottery
Foundation for Human Rights
Canadian International Development Agency
Operation Jumpstart

We have mutually beneficial relationships with the various organisations that we work with:

The Independent Development Trust partners with us in conducting home visits to identify challenges and human right cases that are within the community.
The Sobonakhona Traditional Leaders Tribunal is our ally in encouraging social cohesion and land distribution for potential farming projects.
Bobby Bear, Lazizuzwe Community Caregivers, and the Family and Marriage Society of South Africa (FAMSA) all take up cases we refer to them for further intervention.
Legal Aid South Africa is our permanent partner as they visit our offices regularly to consult and assist the community with legal matters.

We have created close working relationships with many arms of government at local and provincial levels. We actively engage with:

The Department of Social Department,
The Economic Development Department,
The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development,
The Department of Labour,
The Department of Home Affairs,
The Department of Agriculture, and
The local eThekwini Municipality.

We are continuously growing our network and partnerships as we believe that this will enable us to have a wider reach and spread our impact within the KwaMakhutha Community.

We are humbled and thankful to all that have helped and continue to work with us.

History

KwaMakhutha is an under developed semi urban township with a large portion of informal settlements just thirty kilometres south of Durban. The community was marred by political violence in the 1980’s and 1990’s. This left a broken neighbourhood that was in need of a community resource centre that was going to tackle the scars from the political violence, unemployment, poverty, and the spread of HIV and AIDS.

The KwaMakhutha Community Resource Centre was established in 1991 by the Diakonia Council of Churches and Reverend Khuzwayo from the Uniting Reformed Church.

Initially our main objective was to help community members by assisting with paralegal work and community development. Through working closely with the community we realised that more needed to be done, so we widened our work and initiated more programs.

In 1999 we became independent. We are now owned by the community and the Centre is run by community members who work with, and for, the community.

Our Centre is a truly community based facility that employs community members to work with, and for, the community. Our offices are based right in the midst of the community within close proximity to other key services such as the Police Station, Clinic and Library. Not only does this enable residents to have easy access to our services, but it allows us to focus on the heart of what matters to our community.

Real community based development is a never ending journey that is challenged by lack of finances and resources. We would like you to walk this journey with us. No assistance or donation is ever too small as it all goes towards lasting community led change.