Civic Education Profile for Fumayo Mabitsela: How a passion for the arts led to a young Limpopo-born activist becoming a ward councillor

Meet Fumayo Caiphus Mabitsela a member of our network who comes from Limpopo, Tzaneeen, one of the country’s most underdeveloped Provinces yet rich with human and natural resources. Fumayo comes from a township that houses the story of forced removals of its primary inhabitants by the apartheid government.

He shares his story from a rural upbringing to becoming a trusted community leader, activist and ward councillor.

“We are one of two townships under Greater Tzaneen. I find myself living here and still a subject to many structural challenges, 60 years after the first residents were forcefully removed from (Tshaneng, Masakeng and Phusela) by the former government in 1963”.

Fumayo fondly recalls the memories of attending his junior primary school Kgahara, senior primary at Lenyenye and matriculating at Phusela High school. For Fumayo, school provided a shared space of community amongst his peers and it planted a seed for an interest in creative arts and an escape from the tough reality of living in rural Limpopo.

“I got into community development and activism when I received an invite from one of my friends in high school at the age of (15). This invite opened a door that has seen my trajectory in community development become a light for my community.”

Grassroots of activism

“My early memory and entrance into activism and community development were through loveLife programmes held at Lenyenye youth centre with a friend in early 2002. After attending all face-to-face programmes, I joined a stage performance group where we focused on the use of drama, dance and poetry to entertain young people and educate them on social ills through the arts. I had the responsibility of leading the drama division. We used art as a tool to empower and unite young people on social challenges we all are subjects of.”

Fumayo also notes how the entry into community development was accompanied by several challenges and setbacks.

Challenges in the journey

“There was a point where our art programme could not be funded. This meant that we were excluded from several other programs and year-end trips but this did not deter us, we were committed to this cause. We then started to organise gigs, such as dancing at shops and local events, for ourselves including a competition in our municipality that we ended up winning trophies and money.

Fumayo details how after a long engagement with the leadership of the Lenyenye Youth centre and still not meeting their demands for funding they ended up moving out. At this moment, we got an opportunity to dance while renowned PSL team City Pillars was playing at Nkowankowa stadium. And this exposed us to bigger audience and we started networking with other groups of the same interest.

Turning Point

A turn of tables for Fumayo and his crew was when they were later convinced to go back to the Youth centre by its new management. This was ground-breaking and an avenue that opened wide the net of possibilities for us. Close to this time, I was fortunate to be a Peer educator at the centre and forwarded to serve in the ward representing NGOs and I also served in one of the municipal cluster sports committees. I also became the chairperson of the Lenyenye Arsenal football club and served in the SGB and crèche committees.

Joining ACTIVATE! Change Drivers

“I heard about ACTIVATE! In 2012 at Lenyenye Youth centre while other young people were applying, I was keen to apply however my 2012 application was unsuccessful but I tried again the following year and things worked in my favour and I was accepted.”

Fumayo notes how from the time he joined the network his approach to life challenges changed.

“I saw significant improvement to my teamwork and my skill and posture for politics developed quite significantly as the network provided me an opportunity to network and to organise myself within a cohort of like-minded young people who wanted to see change in their communities.”

From ACTIVATE! my political and community life became more defined. I gained the respect, confidence and trust of my peers and community. I received many acknowledgements from stakeholders I had encountered through the network and within my township.

Fumayo emphasizes how the development of communities and organisations requires the investment of vast stakeholders who can collaborate and empower youth voices to be used strategically to advance community development.

After completing the programme I was resolute in encouraging other young people to join the programme to be equipped with the knowledge, skills and connections that I had gained.

Following this, Fumayo says he was approached by several individuals to stand as a ward councillor.

“This felt like a full circle moment, as prior to ACTIVATE! I had served on the ward committee in my township for eight years since 2009. In 2017 three years after the ACTIVATE! Change Drivers programme, I was appointed to the Department of social development and in 2019 I was one of the selected activators to form part of the accredited Certificate in Community Development Course. The course promoted community development and stakeholder engagement for positive community problem-solving.

I later joined the Civic Education programme offered by ACTIVATE! which gave me direct opportunity to engage young people on critical issues such as democracy, governance and active citizenship. Very importantly were the tools gained in understanding local government, what structures and instruments are in place for communities to utilise for various issues including what the role of youth is in building our community.

This course gave me language, sharp perspective and experience on the ground to merge knowledge with passion for uplifting communities. Later I found my voice and confidence in mainstream politics and in 2021 I became a ward councillor in the Greater Tzaneen Municipality.

For Fumayo, becoming a ward councillor in 2019 affirmed his call into community development, but it also exposed him to further challenges.

“What I find is that young ward councillors are very disrespected, because of our age. We are often questioned on whether or not we have the skill or capacity to address the many challenges our communities face such as unemployment, potholes, water scarcity, lack of soccer fields and the cleaning of illegal dumping.”

These problems plague Fumayo’s community and sometimes transcend the jurisdiction of ward councillors, but this has never stopped him.

Growth through ACTIVATE!

“Through the information I learnt at ACTIVATE! including the Civic Education Programme, I am now confident in my role as a ward councillor in terms of what I can assist with; who to hold accountable for what, and how to go about ensuring that the problems we face are addressed.”

Together with other youth councillors in my municipality, we convene stakeholder meetings before hosting community public meetings. We have created a community WhatsApp group for service delivery updates and are always encouraging young people to volunteer and form part of community activities. We have also created a community unemployment database.

Where challenges have arisen beyond our call of duty, we have not hesitated to escalate matters. Right now we are still engaging with other government departments to give us permission to use their space to practise the arts and continue with our performances.

With the knowledge and experience from Activate programmes and my continued participation in the ward committee, I continued to work with other stakeholders in organising community events such as: community dialogues, school debates, mountain hiking, GBV events including the donation of school uniforms and celebrating teachers’ day in our high schools.

What I realised once I became a ward counsellor was that as a young person and a youth activist, things are not as easy to accomplish as I had initially thought. It is only until you are inside the system that you will realise the level of commitment and resilience required from you and those you work with for things to change. Secondly; titles don’t work in this space but the evidence of a functional community does. Our peers don’t care much about your title when addressing you and you have to learn to be calm in managing conflict and addressing angry citizens who have lost faith and do not trust that you can and will as a public representative do the right things based on their lived experiences.”

The good that has come from Fumayo being a ward councillor

• Since being a ward councillor myself and working within a collective of other young councillors, we have managed to work with local businesses to assist with the creation of job opportunities. I have also made myself accessible to the community through an active presence in diverse methods of communication so that no one is excluded or left out. It really does take a village and commitment to see change.
• At least 90% of our residents are now able to get water from their taps 4 or 5 days a week. We are working on improving this even further.
• The poorest of the poor are recommended for job opportunities and not overlooked because of their lack of connections or education.
• More than 40 young people were placed in leadership and Nalibali reading programmes.
• We continuously report back to the community to regain their trust and include them in decision-making.
• Knowledge co-sharing amongst our youth. Being a ward councillor has helped to enlighten other young people to understand their role in their respective focuses on interest. And leading the civic education workshop back home has also enabled the youth in my community to know and understand who they can partner with in addressing particular challenges that they face which includes me as a councillor; gaining a better grasp of the different spheres of government and their responsibilities. With more peers being informed and involved, a lot more can be done together to shape the development of our community and steer citizens away from violent protests as a means to communicate their frustrations.

My role is to work with different levels of stakeholders to promote positive change within our spaces and to continue with my mission of giving back. Right now I am mentoring young political activists because in this current political climate, we must all be committed to doing what is right and providing quality and services in the promotion of accountability.

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Connect with Fumayo Caiphus Mabitsela:
Email fmambitsele@gmail.com
Number 071 554 8859
Facebook: Fumayo Caiphus Mabitsela
Twitter: @Fumayo
Instagram: Fumayooo