What We Do
With the help of our Sponsors, Friends and Affiliates, Ziphakamise is an Organisation that
makes an invaluable difference in the lives of the less fortunate. We effectively
distribute resources to support training and development initiatives in
vulnerable communities and to provide relief within our area of operation
Ziphakamise is an independent, non-profit, non-governmental and non-political organization
registered with the directorate of non-profit organizations: Department of
Social Development NPO-002-360. Ziphakamise is also a public benefit
organization recognized by the South African revenue services (SARS)
PBO-1811132576 in terms of section 30 of the Income Tax Act. The Organization
works within the legal framework of the Non-Governmental Organizations
registrations and other relevant laws and acts.
Background Information
Ziphakamise, was founded in 1976, at a place called Nyandezulu and Murchison in the region now referred to as Hibiscus Coast Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. We started out as a casual
response to child malnutrition in the area, providing soup and bread to these
children. Our organization is funded on an annual basis and includes
funding from National Lotteries.
Our central aim as defined in our constitution is to make a meaningful contribution towards
social relief and empowering our communities through development and training.
Ziphakamise means “Lift Yourself Up” in the indigenous Zulu language.
This vision is deeply entrenched in our way of approaching our work. That
is: to assist and empower individuals who in turn help to “Lift Up” their
Communities.
Ziphakamise is a Non-Profit Organisation, operating in the Ugu and Harry Gwala District Municipality areas, a developed coastal region extending into under-developed
rural inland settlements. Both Ugu and Harry Gwala District Municipalities consist
of six local municipalities each. The Ugu District Municipality is a
Presidential Node municipality, which means it falls under the areas, which
were identified by the President as the poorest areas in South Africa.
The population of this district is 694 454 with 103 157 households.
The majority of the people in the district are African, most of whom
(84%) live in the rural underdeveloped areas. There are 69 115 people in
the district who are living below the poverty datum line. The
unemployment rate in the distinct is pegged at 63%, which is largely applicable
to the people of the Umziwabantu and the Ezinqoleni local municipal areas.
Dependency ration of 5.87 means that 5 – 6 people in each household
are dependent on the income of each person employed from the pool of the 35.7%
of people who are employed. There is high dependence on the 15.44% of the
population who receive old age pensions (5.89%), child base welfare (7.42%),
disability grants (2.1%) and other small grants.
The organization has grown from strength to strength. Our projects began
spreading out to neighbouring areas with significant increase of diversity in
our activities, i.e. Bizana. Additional projects such as the Emseni Child
& Youth Care Centre which was established in 1984 (for children and youth
who are infected/affected by HIV/AIDS, abused, abandoned, neglected or
orphaned); People Development through skills training, community support
services, and HIV/AIDS education, awareness, prevention and counselling
programme were also introduced.
Due to the great need for community awareness, the Masithintane Initiative was established
in 2001, with the main objectives including the training of Religious Leaders
to hold awareness workshops in their places of worship
The Home Base Care (HBC) Services was initiated in 2005. The project is provided under our
Social Services Department whereby the potential HBC workers receive
training and after qualifying they care for the sick, train the infected and
affected and also engage in awareness campaigns for Health Issues e.g.
HIV/AIDS, TB, Cancer, Diabetes etc.
A Board of Directors governs Ziphakamise and our Chief Executive Officer guides the daily
management of the organization. The CEO draws on the support of a staff
management committee that meets fortnightly. Ziphakamise activities are
listed under 3 main departments, namely: Administration; Social Services and
Training and Development.