It is said that It is your reaction to adversity, not the adversity itself, that determines how your life’s story will develop.
Charlotte and Sydwell are living proof of this saying. Charlotte and Sydwell Mavimbela lost their baby girl in 2020. In wanting to ensure that she is never forgotten, they started a foundation and named it Cebolenkosi, their little girl’s name. Cebolenkosi means God’s plan. The foundation aims to help people in need. Be it a burnt house that needs rebuilding or girl children in need of sanitary wear for them to attend school, Cebolenkosi steps in to assist. We had the pleasure of sitting down with Charlotte and asked her a few questions, this is what she had to say:
How did you start the foundation:
My husband and I have always helped whenever we saw a need. We would buy food parcels for the elderly people from our church and community. After I got retrenched in 2021 I saw it fit that I should officially do what I always wanted to do. I have always dreamt of having a foundation and we thought we should use the name of our late daughter Cebolenkosi to keep her memory alive.
Why the foundation?
We feel we need to help each other as people. We believe that sharing is caring. With the COVID pandemic and all that is happening because of the pandemic many people have lost their jobs, businesses have gone under and many have lost loved ones. We are here to help any way we can. We want to touch people’s lives in a positive way, we want to give hope and to be a reminder that there is a purpose for their lives. We have been doing this and felt the need to now officialise it.
Tell us about your foundation:
We help people who are less fortunate by giving groceries and food parcels or any help needed.
We do hygiene pack (pads and toiletries) drives & give to school girls.
We partnered with Miss Boksburg finalist Puseletso Manyelo with giving hygiene packs to more than 30 teenagers from the community of Ramaphosa Informal Settlement in Ekurhuleni Gauteng.
We collect previously loved clothes and take it to safety shelters once a month. We also give to disadvantaged communities.
We go to schools and give motivational talks when there is Career days. Here we partner with other professionals to motivate and inspire the learners.
Do you think African’s are natural givers?
We were raised in big families where sharing was normal. Ubuntu (humanity) is in us, we can’t enjoy food or anything when your sister or brother is in need. We were taught that charity begins at home and we carry that with us. Wherever we are, if there’s a need, we will definitely reach out and help.
What kind of work does the foundation do?
We do school shoes drives and give to those school kids who are in need. We have had soup kitchens, where we were able to feed more than 200 people. This was done in partnering with Shoprite. One of our neighbours lost everything when his house caught fire, we asked for assistance from our family, friends and community. We were able to help with the rebuilding of the house with the assistance of a funder.
What drives you?
What drives me is helping other people, to be an answer to one’s prayer. To be used as a vessel to show kindness to humanity.
Who is funding you?
We are self-funded. We sometimes get help from family members, friends and community.

Who do you run the foundation with?
I always work with my two sons if they are not at school. My parents, sister, neighbours and friends always volunteer to assist me whenever they are available.
What challenges have you encountered in running the foundation?
The major challenges are not having enough resources to assist as we would like to. We sometimes have to reduce the number of people to assist because we don’t have enough money to pay them or funders to assist.
What are your plans for the future.
On the 29th of January (2022) we will be hosting a school shoes drive, will have an aerobics marathon at Elspark sports ground.
The entrance fee is a pair of school shoes.
We will also have an underwear drive for girls and toiletries drive for boys.
We are also partnering with social workers & health care workers to teach youth about life, drug & alcohol abuse.