Noxolo Mahlaba derives pleasure from helping others reach their full potential.
Mahlaba, 34, from Pietermaritzburg is the founder and the Director of Bloom SA Community Organisation.
She dedicates her time and efforts in addressing social ills in Edendale and surrounding areas.
Her organisation runs programmes that addresses identity development (Impande yabeNguni), mental healthcare, skills development, career guidance psychosocial support (peer support, HIV support groups), gender based violence.
She also host programmes for men and women on empowerment, and runs a clothing drive.
Mahlaba said that she was inspired the community she grew up in to engage in such work.
“I grew up in the township and there was always so much poverty around me. I felt very fortunate coming from a home where they could afford to send me to Model C schools.
“Seeing the inequality inspired to make a difference. I came up with my 20 year goal and part of that was to start an organisation that would be able to do that,” she said.
Mahlaba said that the lack of funding posed a challenge for the organisation.
“Our outreach would have been much further if we had funding. There is so much that we want to do but we sometimes find ourselves constrained in terms of what we can actually do,” she said.
Mahlaba said that it was also difficult to retain a team that were not paid for their contributions.
She said that they were able to meet the needs of the organisation through funds raised from donations, or money from their own pockets.
Mahlaba is a married and a mother of an eight-year-old daughter. She holds an Honours Degree in Psychology and a Bachelor of Social Sciences in Sociology and Psychology from the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
She plans to further her studies in Clinical Psychology, and is currently writing her memoir.
When she is not helping people in the community, Mahlaba focuses on her work in Paediatric HIV research, where she works as a study coordinator.
“I love living a purpose driven life and for me, doing this work and community work is my natural vocation. It is also very rewarding for me because it is an extension of myself.
“So when I do these things, I am able to find fulfilment, in such a way that if I do not do them, it literally makes me sick,” said Mahlaba.