Seeing young people from all walks of life participating in the economy, creating jobs, feeding their families and strengthening their communities is something Sino Mankayi, 23, of Rondebosch, says he is passionate about.

Mr Mankayi, a former mayor on the City’s junior city council, was deputy head boy at Observatory Junior School and on the governing body at Rhodes High School. In 2019, the third-year Bachelor of Social Sciences student started a non-profit organisation, Khululani Youth Foundation.

It provides entrepreneurial training, funding and mentor connections to youth.

“At first, we only did donations at orphanage homes in the area. We then felt a need to do something more sustainable rather than once-off donations, and that is where we got to where we are today. Providing business training to youth aged 16 to 26 years of age, connecting them with mentors and providing seed funding through partnership. One day we hope to make a very significant contribution toward lowering the youth unemployment rate in the country, which will have a ripple effect in lowering other social ills we face as a country,” he says.

The goal for the NPO this year is to build relationships with at least 16 schools including community organisations.

“This would give us a reach of about 4 600 business-minded youth who would like to either start or grow the businesses. Offer a networking space where all young people from all walks of life can meet, share ideas and receive resources.”

He recently met with young influential leaders in Washington DC and New York and from Harvard University thanks to the Ripples of Hope Fellowship, which selects 10 young adult leaders from South Africa and America to participate in a life-changing experience in both countries.

The experience, he says, showed him how his organisation could increase its scale and impact more young people.

“We are now fund-raising and raising awareness for March when we go to various schools, communities and organisations. We have already connected with various institutions and are very excited.”

After Zandile Vapi was introduced to the Khululani Youth Foundation, she started volunteering at an NGO that promotes the rights of women and children.

“This was possible thanks to Sino and his team who helped me see my true potential so I could get out of my comfort zone. I did a number of sessions with them to speak and network more effectively,” she says.

For more information or to get involved, email Sino at Sino@khululaniyouthfoundation.org

Khululani Youth Foundation president Sino Mankayi.

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