Inkululeko

We believe in the transformative power of education.

It’s not just a tagline for us; it’s a fundamental part of our identity.

In a nation just over two decades into democracy, we know that the success of the next two decades relies on equipping capable, educated agents of change.

Those agents of tomorrow? They’re in our classroom today. 

Inkululeko’s mission is to provide South African township youth with the skills, support and guidance necessary to apply, attend and succeed in university; to challenge the bigotry of low expectations for township youth; and to provide sustainable, positive change; student-by-student, generation-by-generation.

The organization is structured to be heavily woven into the local community it serves. Inkululeko works with the Makhanda community to identify challenges and opportunities in education and works within existing frameworks and systems to address those challenges and capitalize upon those opportunities. Qualified staff with knowledge of the local culture are hired from the township to help lead key Inkululeko initiatives. The Board of Directors is made up of citizens from a wide variety of backgrounds from both the USA and South Africa.

Inkululeko enjoys robust collaborations with Rhodes University Office of Community Engagement and Social Development to obtain high-quality tutors to work one-on-one with Inkululeko youth. It is also collaborating with other non-profit entities in Makhanda that work with children to share ideas, resources and insight.

Inkululeko has also collaborated extensively with Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York, the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Bloomfield College in Bloomfield, New Jersey, Oxford University in the United Kingdom as well as student and faculty volunteers working in Makhanda.