Cebolenkosi Mzinyane, 28, from Ntuzuma, is changing lives in his community.
Mzinyane is the Founder and Operations manager of Monarkhia Academy, a not for profit company. He is passionate about entrepreneurship, early childhood development, and community development.
The organisation aims to discover, develop and harness talent through sports, art and social development programs, targeting children from the age of 9 to 17- years old.
They offer various programmes such as a skills hub for sewing and textiles, entrepreneurship mentorship, provision of online tutoring for exams plus mentorship and guidance, showing films to children from the township so they could explore careers in film (and are looking to introduce music instruments to expand their artistic options). They also provide access to various sporting codes in the townships, such as netball and soccer.
Mzinyane, who holds a Bachelor of Science in Electronics Engineering from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, was inspired to create the organisation to bridge the gap between the privileged and those that are underprivileged, through the skills the organisation offers.
The Monarkhia Academy team is made up of 11 executive committee members, volunteers and coaches.
Members pool their resources to keep the organisation afloat.
“We have managed to also obtain the Public Benefit Organisation status and we are hoping to attract some funding next year. So, the plan is to raise more funds, generate more revenue and create more employment,” he said.
Mzinyane said that their greatest obstacle was the lack of support from the parents of the children.
“In the township community set up, parents do not fully understand what we are trying to achieve with their children.
“We sometimes find that the child is enjoying the activities they are doing but is perhaps failing to strike a balance with their academics and house chores so the parent punishes the child. We encourage them to read and do their chores before engaging in the activities.
This also has a detrimental effect on us as we have a structured programme, however the child ends up lagging behind. We are planning to counter this by hosting a workshop for parents which will assist them to understand our programmes and be encouraged to attend school meetings,” said Mzinyane.
He said that he was motivated by his ability to comprehend.
“I draw motivation from understanding the purpose and the calling. I grew up in an environment marred by crime. So, I look at life as a game of relay- the person who holds the baton has the responsibility of passing it forward and that is how I live life.
“We want the next generation to arrive in a world that is much better than ours,” said Mzinyane.
His dream for the future is seeing the organisation flourish.
“I see myself as a professional engineer because that is my career. I also see the organisation growing and creating more employment opportunities and more businesses, which will ultimately lower the crime rate,” said Mzinyane.