The Good Work Foundation

Sometimes leadership comes full circle.

Fortune Mathebula first came to Good Work Foundation at the age of 14.

As a young learner from Justicia village, GWF became a place where he could build his computer skills, grow his confidence in English and begin imagining what might be possible for his future. Years later, Fortune is now an educator investing in the next generation of young people from his own community.

One lesson from his journey has stayed with him: “When someone invests in your life, you have a responsibility to invest in others.”

For Fortune, leadership is about honesty, integrity, self-awareness and using his own story to help others believe more is possible for theirs.

From learner to teacher and from receiving opportunity to creating it for others. That’s leadership in action.

Six campuses. Six communities. Six extraordinary people helping hold it all together.

Meet the campus managers who lead our teams, nurture young minds and turn GWF's vision into something real every day:

Marcia Pungulimwe
Yingisani Khoza
Milla van Wyk
Jane Ngwenyama
Phumlo Mkasi
Lutricia Manzini

Behind every thriving campus is a leader creating the conditions for others to do their best work.

Today we're celebrating ours. 💗

“The best leaders see themselves as students, not teachers.”

GWF's beloved Gogo Mo has spent a lifetime learning, listening and sharing what she knows with others. As a mentor in our Leadership Programme, she reminds our young leaders that curiosity is not something we grow out of.

It is part of how we grow.

Read Gogo Mo's thoughts on leadership, learning and the wisdom that comes from staying curious: https://bit.ly/gogomo

Leadership doesn't always begin with a title. Sometimes it begins with noticing something that isn't right and deciding to do something about it.

GWF alumna Accolade Ubisi, now a digital and multimedia practitioner at SANParks, noticed people dumping waste beside a stream used by her community.

So she fenced it off and instead of simply confronting people who continued dumping there, she spoke to them about why protecting the water mattered. Accolade also serves on her community water committee and helps young women with university applications.

This is what leadership can look like: seeing what is needed and choosing to act.

Read more here: https://bit.ly/4yT3sQX

At Good Work Foundation, leadership isn't about a title. It's about how you show up for the people around you.

It's the graduate who comes back to support the next generation and "pays it forward". The teacher who inspires young people in a school. The colleague who serves their community after hours. The young person who decides to take ownership of their future.

Our October newsletter is dedicated to the many forms leadership takes across the GWF family.

Meet some of the extraordinary people who remind us that everyone can be a leader.

👉 Read the full newsletter via the link in our bio or https://email.flowsa.com/t/y-e-fijljht-djilyktutj-jr/.

What happens when people don't feel able to speak? And what does that mean for leadership?

Professor Megan Reitz recently joined GWF's Leadership Programme cohort for a session on "Speaking Truth to Power", exploring voice, power and what helps people feel heard. Afterwards, we asked Megan what had struck her about GWF. Her answer delights us: “GWF is about rare, thoughtful leadership.”

Read more from Megan here: https://bit.ly/4hHW30V

Today, on Heritage Day, we celebrate the myriad languages, traditions, stories and communities that shape us.

Yesterday, our campuses came together ahead of Heritage Day to celebrate the extraordinary diversity within the GWF family. And goodness, was it extraordinary! The music, food, dancing, incredible outfits - our team brought the South African spirit alive.

From Mpumalanga to the Free State, our campuses may look different, speak different languages and carry different traditions, but we share a belief in the power of education, community and possibility.

Happy Heritage Day, South Africa. 🇿🇦

Tourism creates incredible experiences for travellers and it also creates life-long careers.

Across the Greater Kruger region, young people from rural communities are building careers in lodges, hotels and hospitality businesses, often just a short distance from the villages where they grew up.

At GWF, our Hospitality Academy helps young people make that journey from education into the workplace, building practical skills, confidence and an understanding of what excellent hospitality looks like.

Here, our Hospitality Academy students have prepared coffees for a large group of visitors to our Hazyview campus. Well done to them for keeping up our reputation for the "best coffee in the Lowveld"!

As Tourism Month comes to a close, we're celebrating the young people building their futures in one of South Africa's most important industries.

Gold, and a standing ovation.

On Thursday, 27 August 2026, the Good Work Foundation Choir walked away with a Gold at the Nelspruit Eisteddfod Theatre Choir Competition, delivering a performance of "Mahlalela" that had the crowd cheering along in a standing ovation.

The choir was born in 2016, brought together by choir master and conductor Ses' Lerato Maile, and made up of GWF staff members from campuses across the organisation. In the weeks before the competition, they practiced tirelessly around their normal working hours, fitting rehearsals into already full days.

After years of performing together, from early shows at Kruger National Park in Skukuza to graduation ceremonies on every campus, this Gold marks their first competition win.

Lerato's reaction said it all: "I am blessed."

Congratulations to Ses' Lerato Maile and every member of the GWF Choir.

Read more: https://www.goodworkfoundation.org/our-why/our-stories/gwf-choir-gold

Artificial intelligence can feel like something out of a science fiction film, but for young people in GWF's AI Acceleration Programme, it is becoming a practical, everyday skill.

The programme received 318 applications, with 312 of those coming from GWF alumni wanting to build on the skills they already gained.

Learners in the programme are gaining hands on experience with AI fundamentals, prompt engineering and responsible AI use, alongside workplace readiness and digital marketing skills.

As Alumni Support Network Coordinator Fumani Khosa puts it: "A young person sitting in a rural community should be able to see themselves as a participant in the digital economy, not someone watching it happen from a distance."

Through Alumni Connect, that support continues well beyond the five days, keeping graduates linked to employment, mentorship and further learning opportunities.

As Sanele Mkhabela, a Bridging Year Academy alumni, shared: "The AI Acceleration programme was very educational and now I have the confidence to be part of the future."

Read more here: https://www.goodworkfoundation.org/our-why/our-stories/ai-skills-programme-rural-youth