On 16th May 2018, Lesley Ann van Selm – the Founder and Managing Director of Khulisa Social Solutions – received a Gold Award from the South African Chamber of Commerce.
Recognised for her commitment to lifting of the spirit of South Africa, ensuring a better future for all, Lesley Ann was recognised for the work done through Khulisa, which she founded in South Africa 21 years ago. Since the inception of the organisation Khulisa has worked tirelessly for social justice, working throughout South Africa at grass-roots level through engagement with marginalised communities, gaining an understanding of local needs and how best capacity can be built at grass-roots level in order, through multi-stakeholder engagement, to leverage wide-scale change and measurable impact.
Khulisa has adopted a systemic approach to community development in contrast to the typical approaches of governments and NGOs which compartmentalise problems and deliver programmes which tend to address single issues.
“The sense of hopelessness prevailing over our country can be combatted. The secret lies in addressing the community-identified needs through multiple partnerships. Only by reaching a critical mass will we ever effect wide-scale change. The time for us to do things differently is now – the solution lies in the hand, is of each and every one of us.” Lesley Ann van Selm, Founder and Managing Director of Khulisa Social Solutions
Global Reach
Following the success of Khulisa in South Africa, Khulisa UK was established as an independent charity in 2007, and prides itself on its award-winning programmes which have had a significant impact on a variety of communities throughout the UK. Khulisa Australia was registered last year and is currently developing programmes addressing the needs within the Youth Justice System through a variety of South African developed interventions. You can read more about Khulisa South Africa and the link to Khulisa UK, here.
What's Next for Khulisa in South Africa?
Through a recently established partnership with The Thuli Madonsela Foundation, Khulisa aims to deal with social injustice through leveraging the support of strategically aligned investors in community eco-systems where, through a collaborative approach, complex problems can be addressed whilst simultaneously tackling the causal factors of complex social problems from a systemic point of view.
One of Khulisa’s most effective programmes is Streetscapes located in Cape Town which has been running for the past four years through addressing the fundamental needs of the homeless. Khulisa, alongside various partners, have been successful in placing 66% of the street people in Central Cape Town Business District into jobs mainly in the arena of micro-enterprises and jobs offered through public works and other such programmes.
If you’d like to know more, please contact Lesley Ann at lesleyann@khulisa.org.za or call +27 11 788 8237