Nkosikhona Swartbooi, 32, is a community organiser bridging philanthropy and grassroots power. As a community liaison consultant at the Bertha Foundation, he helps youth groups, movements and community leaders access resources and shape campaigns rooted in justice. He coordinates the Movement for CARE, a platform reimagining politics through care. Nkosikhona facilitates community assemblies, helps residents analyse city budgets and amplifies voices often sidelined, especially black women, youth and informal settlement residents. A co-founder of Reclaim the City, he leads organising efforts for affordable housing in Cape Town’s inner city, challenging spatial apartheid through legal advocacy and public education. His activism began in Queenstown, where he matriculated. Though he started a law degree at Unisa, he chose to pursue grassroots organising full-time. In 2017, he completed a leadership course through the University of Pretoria. His contributions span legal reform, mutual aid and public mobilisation. He co-founded Cape Town Together, helped pioneer transitional housing, and authored tools like the Social Audit Guide.
Postgraduate certificate through the Leading in Public Life: Building Bridges course — a programme that deepened understanding of ethical leadership and care-based politics (2017)
I look up to Axolile Notywala as a mentor, friend and fellow organiser shaping my journey. We worked together at the Social Justice Coalition and co-founded Cape Town Together, Movement for CARE and Role Models NPC — spaces reflecting Axolile’s values of principled leadership, collective care and justice. Whether tackling COVID-19 or systemic injustice, he brought clarity, humility and care, showing me politics as a practice rooted in community, not power. Inspired by Ada Colau’s municipalism, our work aims to make electoral politics reflect participation, care and democracy. Axolile reminds me that change takes time, but is possible with courage and integrity.