Equality Collective

✊🏾 [UPDATE] Local government advocacy means participating in the public participation processes available to us. Last week, we attended the Mbhashe Local Municipality's Mayoral Imbizo in which we discussed ongoing and upcoming service delivery projects in our communities. In attendance were the Mbhashe Councils, Municipal Manager, Ward Committees and Community Members. The objectives of the meeting were to engage with communities on current and future service delivery projects in the Mbhashe area, bridge the gap between government and the people by addressing community concerns and promote public participation. The meeting provided an opportunity for community members to give feedback on what the municipality presented versus their lived experience on the ground. We also expressed concerns around how contracts work. Community members said they have seen contractors come into the community but not finish projects - using an example of a gravel road that was fixed some years ago but no maintenance has been done on the road since then. Attending these types of engagements with our municipalities are important for public participation and accountability. Our democracy only works if we participate in it and use the democratic processes available to us to ensure our leaders hear our voices! 📢 #democracy #localgovernment #publicparticipation #municipalities #servicedelivery #activecitzenry

👏🏾 [UPDATE] Community partnership in action! The Equality Collective, and Nosintu Gwebindlala Foundation (founded by our Chief Nosintu), were on a panel at the United Nations Human Rights and Dullah Omar Institute (DOI)'s Symposium on Documentation and Dignity last week, speaking about the difficulties of our rural communities in accessing the documentation they need to claim their rights. Nosintu Gwebindlala Foundation assists people living in Elliotdale communities to get birth certificates, IDs and social grants. We partner with the Foundation in our Free Basic Electricity drive in which we register community members who qualify for free electricity. Our Access to Justice work, particularly our weekly paralegal services, assists community members to access their unemployment insurance, provident funds, and inheritance. Our Local Government and Paralegal Services Coordinator, Noluvo Mandukwini, spoke on the panel about how our work highlights the importance of documentation for dignity and human rights in our rural communities. She explained that we face many challenges, such as low literacy, high costs, and limited access to information, which makes it difficult for our communities to obtain the documents they need. Abigail Noko, Regional Representative of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, reiterated this point saying that the the rural and urban divides are very clear, with the most vulnerable being impacted disproportionately. She said inequality is both a cause and a consequence of a lack of documentation and the lack of documentation locks in inequality. We couldn't agree more and will continue to work collaboratively with Nosintu Gwebindlala Foundation to ensure our rural communities are able to access their rights. ✊🏾 For more about our Access to Justice work, visit our website here: https://lnkd.in/dKJZY5Yn #documentation #dignity #humanrights #paralegalservices #umthethotuesdays #socialprotection #community

✊🏾 [UPDATE] Last week, The Equality Collective spent three days at the 30 Years of Democracy Gathering hosted by My Vote Counts at Constitutional Hill in Johannesburg. The gathering brought together many progressive movement building organisations and entities to engage on 30 years of democracy, to critically reflect and to interrogate what it means to "reclaim our democracy from below". We were joined by comrades from Equal Education, Abahlali baseMjondolo, the Unemployed People's Movement, Black Sash, Public Service Accountability Monitor (PSAM) @Pathways Institute and more. The key takeaways from the gathering were: 1. We need to deepen the State's capacity AND build popular people's power. 2. We need to build collective power so that our democracy works for all people. 3. We need to build solidarity across progressive movements working in South Africa and strengthen an intersectional approach to our work. We left feeling inspired and connected 🙌🏾 #movementbuilding #socialjustice #civilsociety #democracy

🚰 [UPDATE] This is a big shout out to our Water Ambassadors in our Amanzi Kumntu Wonke campaign who continue to do important work for their communities! On Friday last week, our Water Ambassadors were on the ground in Tafalehashe and Mkhathazo, assessing the status of incidents along our big rural water scheme (Mncwasa Water Scheme) which were reported between May and September 2024. We categorise incidents as broken and/or leaking taps, leaking reservoirs, leaking BP tanks etc. The Water Ambassadors are a group of 32 active citizens across 40 villages that are serviced by the Mncwasa Water Scheme. Their work is to monitor the Scheme for any incidents and provide us with daily water reports which we compile and send to Amathole District Municipality (ADM). Our Water Ambassadors are working hard to ensure that all outstanding incidents are addressed by ADM so that our communities can have access to reliable and consistent water. #sijongenenamanzi #amanzikumntuwonke #waterforall #collectiveaction #activecitzenry

📰 [READ] It's a story about resilience and unity in the face of violence — standing strong in the Eastern Cape village of Nqileni. Read this article below from our Director, Tess Peacock, as she recalls her personal experience of the night Directors and Founders of the Bulungula Incubator in Nqileni Village were assaulted and kidnapped, and the community's incredible collective response to ensure they were brought back home. Read the article here: https://lnkd.in/d8tuEeJK "Thanks to the bravery of Sonwabile Futu, the Bulungula Incubator security guard who escaped and raised the alarm, our local iBhodi (headman) was alerted that they had been kidnapped. Within minutes, with support from community leaders, Jalamba Traditional Council head Nkosi Vuyani Gwebindlala, and local councillors Lungisa Mahobe, Phumelele Methu and Phumzile Msaro, the entire community mobilised. Every taxi driver, spaza shop owner and the local businesspeople sprang into action, shutting down roads to stop the perpetrators from escaping. Anyone with a vehicle was out, determined to find Dave and Rejane and block every possible exit. At the hospital (Madwaleni), those same community members – taxi drivers and spaza shop owners – were there to ensure Dave and Rejane were safe. Amid the trauma and chaos, I remember messaging a friend: 'There’s so much beauty in the inhumanity,'" she writes. #community #collectiveaction #resilience #unity

💚 A team strategy retreat like no other! When the Equality Collective had it's first official hiring round in 2022, we started with a small start-up team of five. Two years later, we have grown to a full house of nine team members - bringing on our most recent hire, Sibonelo Nongcula , as our Head of Programmes. Stay tuned for her official introduction 😉 This strategy retreat felt like a pivotal moment for the organisation as we slowly transition out of the start-up phase. We are taking shape in all spheres including our structure, sustainability, strategy, impact and culture. Our community-embeddedness model also came alive during this retreat (swipe to see what we mean) in a way we have never experienced before. Our community took a stand again violent crime plaguing our villages, claiming their right to safety and security, and we were there to support in the ways that we could ✊ This was a transformative experience for the team and the organisation - crystalising this idea of collective power and access to justice in our rural communities. We left the retreat clearer than ever on our vision, mission and purpose, renewed in our commitment to a just and caring society. Needless to say - it was a retreat like no other! Our hearts are full ❤️ Tshepo Mantjé Alana Potter Tess Peacock Tinotenda Muringani Kudrat Virk Zoë Postman #socialjustice #ruraljustice #community #collectiveaction #agency #change #justice #love #accountability #autonomy #SubstantiveEquality #Collaboration #Excellence

📰 [PRESS RELEASE] Rural communities march to Elliotdale Police Station demanding urgent action against violent crimes Xhorha Mouth Administrative Area, Eastern Cape – On Thursday, 5 September 2024, over 350 residents from Xhorha Mouth villages in the former Transkei marched to Elliotdale Police Station demanding urgent action from the South African Police Service (SAPS) to deal with the recent surge in violent crimes plaguing our communities. In recent years, Xhorha Mouth has seen a significant increase in criminal activities, including assault, burglaries, hijackings, kidnappings, and extortion. These incidents, and the absence of arrests, have stripped the community from their safety and peace of mind. “The residents of Xhora Mouth live in fear; criminals from outside our villages come here to commit crimes over and over again, and in all of these cases no one is arrested. We don't see any police coming here to protect us,” said Headman, Ntsikelelo Mbangasini. In a memorandum handed over to Elliotdale SAPS at the march, the community cited several disturbing incidents such as the recent violent attack on the founders of the Bulungula Backpackers Lodge and Bulungula Incubator, who were brutally assaulted and extorted in their home. Other incidents include the hijacking and kidnapping of a woman and her son earlier this year, burglary of the Health Point Clinic and burglary of the Bulungula Backpackers Lodge. Our urgent demands to SAPS were as follows: 1. Fast-track the construction of a police station at Tafalehashe. 2. Establish a satellite police station in Folokhwe Village. 3. Deploy a police vehicle to Nqileni Village for regular patrols and coordination with the Community Policing Forum. 4. Arrest perpetrators involved in recent criminal activities. The memorandum was signed by Chief of the Jalamba Traditional Council, Zwelikhanyile Gwebindlala, Headman Ntsikelelo Mbangasini on behalf of the Traditional Board, Ward 28 Councillor, Phumzile Msaro, Ward 19 Councillor, Phumelele Metu, Principal of the Bulungula College, Siyabulela Matshayana, Board Member of the Bulungula Incubator, Lindile Mthiyo, Manager of the Bulungula Backpackers Lodge, Andiswa Tshayiso, Director of The Equality Collective, Tess Peacock, and Director of Viva Con Agua South Africa , Ajay Paul. It was received and signed on 5 September 2024 by Captain C.S Mngeniso from Elliotdale Police Station who promised to send it to the Eastern Cape Provincial Commissioner and Mthatha Police Station’s Investigation Unit. The community asked for a response from SAPS by no later than 20 September 2024 and called for urgent intervention before the situation escalates any further. We were encouraged to see a police van patrolling our villages on Friday night, 6 September 2024, and we hope to see this continue. To arrange media interviews, please contact: Clayton Morar | clayton.morar@gmail.com | 074 194 1766 [END]

💜[UPDATE] Five days, six workshops across three schools, three organisations and two villages, with a total of over 500 participants! Our Gender-Based Violence and Violence Prevention workshops last week were a huge success and we couldn't more proud of our community for open-heartedly accepting and participating in a much needed conversation to address all forms of violence in our villages. We covered the following themes in the workshops: - Gender sensitivity and bullying - Consent - Rape and reporting - Domestic violence - Obstetric violence - Protection orders and how to file for a protection order - Tech based reporting mechanisms - Community action Thank you to GRIT - Gender Rights in Tech (Formerly Kwanele South Africa), Masimanyane Women's Rights International, Centre for Applied Legal Studies and Women's Ikhwelo Network for making the trip down to the deep rural Eastern Cape, where access to justice remains a challenge, and sharing your expertise and resources with our communities. We also had great support from our leadership, including our Chief and ward councillors, who attended the workshops and expressed their interest in having more conversations and action plans to implement the tools and knowledge we learnt through the workshops. We stood together in our vision of safe and caring communities for all who live in it. We said - No Violence, No Fear! Now, the work begins 💪🏽 #GBV #WomensMonth #WomensRights #ChildrensRights #ViolencePrevention #AlcoholAbuse #NoViolenceNoFear

☑ We support Real Reform for ECD in calling on the Department of Basic Education (DBE) to implement a tried and tested national ECD nutrition programme that addresses the concerning levels of malnutrition and stunting in our young children. We are encouraged to see nutrition provisioning on the DBE's agenda, but we urge the DBE to pilot a programme first to ensure we test various implementation models suited for ECD centres. We need to get this right for the sake of our young children. Check out the full press release below 👇 #GrowOurNation #FeedOurFuture

Only 34 out of 257 local municipalities received a clean audit in the 2022/23 financial year. In the wake of another disheartening Auditor-General report, the challenge of making local government work feels more pressing than ever. We operate within one of the most poorly performing district municipalities, Amathole. With an alarming underspend and only 29% of its targets met, the situation is dire. However, where others have turned to litigation against ADM with minimal success, we’ve taken a different approach. Over the past four years, we’ve successfully raised R31.5 million (through national conditional grants) and made tangible progress in improving the performance of our regional water scheme. How did we achieve this? I believe one key factor is cultivating an informed, patient, yet relentless active citizenry. By providing technical support and building strong relationships, we work to foster greater accountability and responsiveness in local governance. Want to learn more about our efforts? Join us tomorrow morning at 8 am.