What a team! Edmund, Marilyn and Rene oversee the organization and many others such as Justin, Mandisa and Nandipha help to make this such an effective, energetic and creative organization.
Edmund Thwaites
When his family was moved to a township of Cape Town that was created by the apartheid government for low income colored families in the 1970s, Edmund caught “the fever” and began participating in disco and Latin-American dance competitions. He went onto become a professional dancer and performed in musicals, ballets and operas for 20 years.
In 1996 he turned his attention to community based dance projects in the townships, seeing dance as a way to get kids off the streets and to give them a better chance for the future. In 2002 he established Jikeleza. To get the kids’ attention, he would drive through the townships playing drums in the back of a pick-up truck and soon he was known as a pied piper.
Edmund’s vision and experience has helped provide many children with self-esteem, discipline and joy.
Edmund, Marilyn and Rene- a truly impressive team
Marilyn brings tremendous energy to Jikeleza, investing countless hours into fundraising, coordinating performances and overall organization. Rene has found a special niche in running the workshops that the GS Giving Circle supports and is always there to listen to and connect with the children.
Together, they each bring valued skills to Jikeleza and… a nurturing, caring spirit for all of the children in the program.
Not only have the helped the children but also others living in these communities- seeing potential and providing opportunities to people such as…
Justin
“It is strange how people walk into their destiny, I wasn’t expecting it to happen, but it came at the right time. Edmund the artistic director of the project saw me sitting in the studio watching how they dance. He then called me and asked if I wanted to clean the gutters for him. I didn’t hesitate because my hands like to be kept busy. We talked about the project and the situation in the community with regards to the factory being closed down. Edmund then offered me a cleaning job.
As time went by he discovered that I had other capabilities and he brought out the best in me. I have a passion for music and dance and that drew me to the project. It just shows that in every negative there is the potential of a positive. This was an opportunity of a lifetime and I would do anything in my power to give a child the opportunity that Edmund and Jikeleza have given me.
After having worked and assisted the project for so long my duties are now varied and I’ve much bigger responsibilities since my inception. I now have control of the Petty Cash function for all the children’s monthly bus fares and transport. I also teach the younger kids at Imizamo Yethu and choreograph for the Youth Company. I have also solely trained our Marimba Band, which is largely popular, and we always have requests to perform at corporate events and opening ceremonies.
A long way to have come since cleaning the gutters. Jikeleza has opened many doors for me, and has made me realise potential in myself I was not aware of…”
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