HOW THE IMBEWU LIVELIHOODS ACCESS CENTRE
CAME TO BE
“If you don't have a dream, how will you ever have a dream come true?” This was the challenge frequently presented by Dr. Ben Gaunt, one of Jabulani’s founders, and the Clinical Manager at Zithulele Hospital for 17 years. It was Ben's motto that gave birth to the slogan "Zithulele Living the Dream". One of the remarkable things about dreams is that while they can vary greatly among individuals, when there is a collective sense of purpose, the pursuit of these dreams can yield impactful outcomes. Ben’s motto and challenge served as inspiration for an activity during a Jabulani development day in 2019, where approximately 50 staff members delved into their dreams for Zithulele.
The results yielded intrigue and enthusiasm! To the surprise of the broader team, not only did their dreams share common themes, but they aligned with a longstanding dream held by the Jabulani board and management team. This exercise served to reinvigorate the motivation to transform these dreams into reality. The dreams that surfaced during this day centred around establishing a hub for skills acquisition, training, and learning. Rather than a traditional college, this envisioned space would serve as a platform for individuals to develop skills beyond their schooling years. Another dream involved the creation of a city-style coffee shop, offering a distinct experience and ambiance not commonly found in rural areas. Lastly, there was a desire for the establishment of a museum that would tell the rich and diverse story of the Zithulele community, honouring its people and history.
In the past, the Jabulani board and management team had similar dreams and even started seeking funding for a similar project but plans were postponed for various reasons. With a sense that the timing was now right and motivated by collective enthusiasm, plans were made and funding was sought for the centre you see now. The Christian Blind Mission generously provided the funding, leaving a legacy to the 8 years of support they gave to our Rural Ability Programme, Jabulani's community-based inclusive development programme for people with disabilities. In October 2021, construction of the Livelihoods Access Centre commenced. The term "access" encompasses both physical accessibility, particularly for individuals with disabilities, as well as referring to opportunities for advancement.
In line with Jabulani's core belief that everyone has innate potential and that society thrives when working together towards transformation, it was important to Jabulani that the name of the centre reflects its purpose and demonstrates the power of developing potential and personal capacity through livelihoods development opportunities that challenge the poverty mindset and any dependency on handouts. By maximising what people have, Jabulani also hope to encourage and support people to share their resources with others, drawing inspiration from the biblical story of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, where one person's food was multiplied to feed thousands. This led to the concept of "what is in our hands?" and from this point, suggestions for the centre's name were sought from the Jabulani team.
The group of gap year students participating in Jabulani’s 2022 Masiphakameni (let's rise) programme proposed a name with a deeply moving explanation. They stated, "long before the hospital, the NGOs, or anything we see here now, people came and planted seeds. And now we (pointing to themselves) are beneficiaries of those seeds that were planted so long ago, as well as the ones planted by the NGOs more recently." They suggested naming the centre "imbewu,"which means "seed" in isiXhosa. The Jabulani core team and board unanimously agreed that ‘Imbewu’ perfectly captures the purpose of the centre - a space where seeds of opportunities can be planted through Jabulani’s facilitation, that these seeds can be nurtured as they grow, and that their produce will hopefully be shared and have a positive impact on the wider community.
The results yielded intrigue and enthusiasm! To the surprise of the broader team, not only did their dreams share common themes, but they aligned with a longstanding dream held by the Jabulani board and management team. This exercise served to reinvigorate the motivation to transform these dreams into reality. The dreams that surfaced during this day centred around establishing a hub for skills acquisition, training, and learning. Rather than a traditional college, this envisioned space would serve as a platform for individuals to develop skills beyond their schooling years. Another dream involved the creation of a city-style coffee shop, offering a distinct experience and ambiance not commonly found in rural areas. Lastly, there was a desire for the establishment of a museum that would tell the rich and diverse story of the Zithulele community, honouring its people and history.
In the past, the Jabulani board and management team had similar dreams and even started seeking funding for a similar project but plans were postponed for various reasons. With a sense that the timing was now right and motivated by collective enthusiasm, plans were made and funding was sought for the centre you see now. The Christian Blind Mission generously provided the funding, leaving a legacy to the 8 years of support they gave to our Rural Ability Programme, Jabulani's community-based inclusive development programme for people with disabilities. In October 2021, construction of the Livelihoods Access Centre commenced. The term "access" encompasses both physical accessibility, particularly for individuals with disabilities, as well as referring to opportunities for advancement.
In line with Jabulani's core belief that everyone has innate potential and that society thrives when working together towards transformation, it was important to Jabulani that the name of the centre reflects its purpose and demonstrates the power of developing potential and personal capacity through livelihoods development opportunities that challenge the poverty mindset and any dependency on handouts. By maximising what people have, Jabulani also hope to encourage and support people to share their resources with others, drawing inspiration from the biblical story of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, where one person's food was multiplied to feed thousands. This led to the concept of "what is in our hands?" and from this point, suggestions for the centre's name were sought from the Jabulani team.
The group of gap year students participating in Jabulani’s 2022 Masiphakameni (let's rise) programme proposed a name with a deeply moving explanation. They stated, "long before the hospital, the NGOs, or anything we see here now, people came and planted seeds. And now we (pointing to themselves) are beneficiaries of those seeds that were planted so long ago, as well as the ones planted by the NGOs more recently." They suggested naming the centre "imbewu,"which means "seed" in isiXhosa. The Jabulani core team and board unanimously agreed that ‘Imbewu’ perfectly captures the purpose of the centre - a space where seeds of opportunities can be planted through Jabulani’s facilitation, that these seeds can be nurtured as they grow, and that their produce will hopefully be shared and have a positive impact on the wider community.
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