Inceboyenkosi Community Foundation

Inceboyenkosi Community Foundation is in a small village called Swayimane, 62km from Pietermaritzburg. The problems of poverty and teenage pregnancy are huge. Many young girls have babies in order to access small social welfare grants and Inceboyenkosi wants to show them that there are other choices.

Thanda Phakathi who leads the project knows from personal experience what it is like to be a vulnerable child. Her mother struggled to make ends meet and Thanda remembers often going to school and to bed on an empty stomach. After her mother died (from a disease and hunger), a distant relative helped her complete her studies and many other people have helped her along the way. Now she wants to give other children that same chance.

Thanda Phakathi

E3’s partnership:

  • Supports 150 orphaned and vulnerable children through the Back to School programme. Six community women visit the children to support, pray with them and help with homework.

  • Runs Life Skills workshops for the Back to School children and teenagers to help them make the right choices for their future, including education on the dangers and consequences of teenage pregnancy and sexual and gender-based violence.

  • Supports sports tournaments for young people. They gain a love of sport because they do not usually have an opportunity to compete and it boosts their confidence. Information about stopping gender-based violence is shared before and after the matches. It is a big event for the whole community with medals and trophies for the winners!

  • Created a Children's Healing, Support and Recreation Centre, reaching out to more than 450 women, children and young people.

  • Grant from E3: £5,000

“Your support for vulnerable children is making an enormous difference. The uniforms boost their confidence and self-esteem because they see themselves as the same as their peers, and this even encourages them to perform better in their schoolwork. A happy child brings forth a good attitude and better results. Their improved performance creates a positive ripple effect that spreads out to inspire positive change in the community from which they come.”


— Head Teacher, Swayimane High School

Helen has completed her Matriculation (equivalent of A Levels) and is now studying Environmental Studies at university.