Civil Society
19
The Eye of Hope Community Development Organization [NPO]
Website
At just 19 years old, Kutloano Malahlela is the founder and president of The Eye of Hope Community Development Organization. His regular tasks include staff development; leadership and management; programme management and development; event planning; policy formulation and implementation; monitoring and evaluation. “A big part of my job is to make sure all our goals are achieved by delegating roles and responsibilities to other members of the organisation.” He says the best part of his job is “inspiring greatness and unleashing the potential of those who regard themselves as juniors”. Kutloano received a certificate of Appreciation for Outstanding Performance In Rural and Township Entrepreneurship in 2021. Kutloano is in third year at the University of Johannesburg, studying for a BA in community development and leadership. He is a volunteer champion and stakeholder at the university’s Community Engagement Unit and a member of the Faculty of Humanities Student Representative Forum. He was on the UJ Faculty of Humanities Dean’s Honours Roll for Top Academic Achievers in 2022. He is driven by a passion to serve, learn and teach. “I am inspired by the untold stories of Africans which make it seem like we are not capable of driving social development from our own frame of reference. And my biggest goal is to redefine the African Identity by facilitating holistic development,” Kutloano says.
- National Senior Certificate, Ribane Laka High School (completed in 2021)
- Certificate for African Insights, University of Johannesburg (competed in 2022)
- BA Community Development and Leadership, University of Johannesburg (Still in progress — currently doing my second year)
- Certificate of Appreciation for Outstanding Performance In Rural and Township Entrepreneurship, 2021
- Volunteer Champion & Stakeholder of the University of Johannesburg Community Engagement Unit
- Member of the Faculty of Humanities Student Representative Forum
- Head Mentor at UJ Hector Pieterson Mixed Residence
- UJ Faculty of Humanities Dean’s Honours Roll for Top Academic Achievers.
- Through my organisation, we hosted the first-ever Spelling Bee Competition in SA Indigenous Languages. Interviewed on various national and local radio stations, as well as facilitating lectures on community development.
When I was in grade 6, my mother was working at Woolworths Food and she used to buy different kinds of food using her staff card. It was during this time that I started carrying multiple lunch boxes to share with some of my friends less privileged than me — until she found out and banned me from carrying a lunchbox. The rebirth of this habit came in the form of me now cooking for my friends. I would boil eggs and then give them to my friends after school, when I got home. I really could not say what prompted these odd behaviours during that phase in my life but, clearly, that’s when the love for serving started.
Continue believing in your dream, one day all that has transpired throughout the journey will make sense and you’ll be grateful that you were never impatient with the process and didn’t give up
I yearn for a South Africa that will afford opportunities and resources to young people, regardless of their age, gender or background. I yearn for a South Africa that believes in its own ideas and that believes that, regardless of its history, it can still reach greater heights. I yearn for a South Africa that embraces its constitutional values, a South Africa that feels safe to be in, even at night.