We hosted a WORKPLACE ENVIRONMENT WORKSHOP for 124 youth members from Atteridgeville in collaboration with Councillor Dudu Majola from Ward 63 and TK Magodielo (previous Councillor). Thula from Harambee/Tshepo-1-Million shared the importance of a flawless, suitable and fitting CV without grammar and spelling errors. Maria Day taught the attendees how to conduct themselves during an interview and about professionalism in the workplace to name but a few.

Regular Work Readiness Workshops are hosted on Thursdays at Nkomo Village in the Workspace area on the first floor. These workshops are attended by community members and topics discussed include: “Structuring a CV; interview skills and tips; do’s and don'ts in the workplace; registering on the department of Labour Work Seekers data base, together with life skills and career counseling support services. This wonderful initiative is in collaboration with Pheliridge, Department of Labour, SARS, FNB and CIPC.

35 Businessmen and businesswomen of Atteridgeville joined the Supplier Development workshop on 17 March 2022. During the Supplier Development workshop, two Quantity Surveyors; Comfort Moepi and Andrea Shrives, taught them about the relevance of pricing, tendering for projects, the required documentation for the construction industry, responsibilities and so much more. A Safety Consultant, Carla Botha, warned them about the security risks involved on a construction site. The local construction workers had the opportunity to share their thoughts with the audience.

An Extraordinary Pheli Expo was hosted at Nkomo Village on the 22 & 23rd of April 2022. Local Atteridgeville entrepreneurs/ Hustlers as well as representatives from Government Departments, NGO's and Educational Institutions inspired the more than 400 scholars that came from 4 different high schools close to Nkomo Village. Advocate Bopape (SkeemSaam) and the Pheli Creative Pushers together with "She and the boys" added some celebrity sparkle to this memorable event. This expo was organised by Nkomo Centre Management and 13 other volunteers from the local business community in Atteridgeville.

4 Jewels of Atteridgeville artists were selected to assist with the Community Wall handprints at Mnandi during Heritage day celebrations. The mural project at Mnandi Shopping Centre was an outflow of the Arts Competition held at Nkomo Village. Six of the finalists, under supervision of Kholzen Projects, were responsible for the design and implementation of the murals. Safari Investments assisted Kholzen Projects with enterprise development during the implementation of the murals at Mnandi Shopping Centre. Each artist received R3 500 for their hard work. We received positive feedback not only from the community but also from the Department of Arts and Culture as well as Councillor TK.

This project inspired the implementation of the Department of Arts and Culture’s murals to be completed on the remainder of the Mnandi Wall. The artists of Atteridgeville had the opportunity to forward their portfolios to the Project Manager where 3 Atteridgeville artists were selected to assist artists appointed by the Department. This is a tremendous opportunity to work alongside some of the best mural artists in SA!

The Jewels of Atteridgeville programme has been extended in 2021 to accommodate various workshops and to partner with various other organisations to host seminars, roundtables and opportunities to benefit the broader community of Atteridgeville. Safari Investments and the Idea Collective formed a partnership with the vision to build a community of empowered educators. Maria and Jade Day from the Idea Collective had a session with teachers on the importance of empathy and creative thinking for educators. They guided them through the steps of play education and being creative facilitators. We were amazed by the creative games they developed in just a few hours. Similar workshops will be extended to the teachers of primary schools around Safari’s shopping centres.

The Robotics 4 Kidz event was launched by Afreeka at Nkomo Village on 18 October 2021. This project exposes school pupils to career options and opportunities in the fields of science, technology, engineering and maths.It engages young people in various problemsolvingexercises that involve building, programming and operating robots. Speakers at the launch were Kgotso Maja from strategy and development company Wallstreet Afreeka, Former Gauteng health MEC Dr Gwen Ramokgopa, Chief Executive Officer of the South African Robotics Club and Tsholanang Mofokeng.

1. On 28 August 2021, 10 finalists of the Arts Competition attended a workshop at Nkomo Village presented by Tania Swarts. She shared creative ideas on idea generation when starting an art concept. These brainstorming ideas, research and techniques will assist students in the process of conceptualizing the mural at Mnandi Shopping Centre

2. Safari together with the Department of Arts Culture and Sport, hosted a first ever Arts Exhibition at Nkomo Village from 27 September to 10 October 2021. This exhibition was only for Atteridgeville artists. Bodwa’s art works were sold out after the second day! There were a number of requests for family portraits and other art work that will create job opportunities after the exhibition. This event was covered not only in the local newspapers but also gave publicity to the artists of Atteridgeville in the Sowetan.

3. The winners of the Arts Competition were announced at the Nkomo Carnival in October and the occasion also celebrated the opening of the Arts Exhibition.

1. The YWAM Nationbuilders hosted a Youth Development Leadership roundtable at Nkomo Village. 25 participants attended the event on 28 August 2021. This is a values based leadership training program that gives a framework for personal development while also acknowledging responsibility to contribute towards the common good in society through advancing the Sustainable Development Goals.

2. This event was followed up by a Responsible Leadership Roundtable Intensive where Safari sponsored the Idea Collective to present a Creative Thinking Workshop. The Responsible Leadership Roundtables Intensive is an 8 week entrepreneurship training that looks at redefining success in business by offering an alternative to financial capitalism to motivate sustainable development in Africa. YWAM Nationbuilders guide participants to identify their purpose, and help them develop multi-stakeholder business models as vehicles for the social and environmental impact they intend to bring. 14 participants attended this initiative.

At Safari we are passionate about local creative talent. Our Nkomo Village shopping centre in Atterigeville has become known as a place for the local community to showcase and develop their amazing creative skills. Local artists were yet again encouraged by our most recent arts competition launched. Three categories were opened for entries, and 15 entrants were selected to attend an art workshop at Nkomo Village on 14 November 2020. Marina Wibraham, a Johannesburg based artist, shared wonderful insight in a lecture about composition and demonstrated how to use the arrangement of elements to create balance. She demonstrated how to pull the eye across a painting to emphasize the story. The excited finalists now have the opportunity to improve their art work and resubmit before 5 December 2020. This is only one of many platforms and opportunities initiated by Safari Investments to find and develop creative talent and skills within our local communities.

The fantastic finalists of our 2022 Art Competition attended a workshop presented by Pretoria based artist, Tania Swarts, on the 28th of January 2023. We expected 16 artists to attend but were delighted that 24 artists showed up. The workshop focused on art therapy and introduced participants to new art techniques. Amazing art pieces were produced. After a special lunch time prepared by a local gourmet chef our winners of the 2022 Art Competition were announced and the Arts Exhibition was formally opened in the central court of Nkomo Village. A local artist Neo Leballo was appointed as curator. True to the Safari spirit, where events or competitions usually lead to opportunities, two of the artists Neo Leballo and Bodwa Kuzqayo asked for permission to do portraits on request right there at the exhibition. The positive response from shoppers were overwhelming and these artists went beyond themselves to make it a special occasion for everyone. Neo's feedback at the closing of this exhibition: " Most of the shoppers were saying they wish we could be at Nkomo everyday because they love what we're doing and they will support us".

Safari Investments partnered with The Idea Collective and the HM Pitje Foundation to initiate a special performance by Creative Arts for the Youth in Atteridgeville (CAYA) at the very first Afrika Design Day hosted by PADI (Pan African Design Institute). CAYA is an Atteridgeville string orchestra funded by 2 retired teachers. Here they had the opportunity to meet people from the USA, Canada, Jordan, Lithuania, Lebanon, Zimbabwe, Nigeria and other countries. CAYA also got exposure to an audience that will be able to create more future opportunities for them. Via our partnership with Pheli FM we arranged an interview on the local Radio station with a listeners base of approximately 76,000. They shared their experience with the Pheli listeners. We are so excited to see our partnership with organisations like HM Pitje Foundation and The Idea Collective reaching great heights for the benefit of our communities.

Caya 10th Year Anniversary - View PDF (497kb)

Safari Investments formed a partnership with the HM Pitje Foundation with the mission to grow the Art and Craft economy in our community by creating training and entrepreneurship opportunities for the youth of Atteridgeville. The first workshop was presented by hand-picked art mentors including South African artist Giggs Kgole - a “globally recognised powerhouse (2019 Mail & Guardian 200 Young South Africa)” His work has been exhibited at the Cannes Film Festival. 70 people joined this seminar and learned from:

The winners were

• Giggs Kgole why you cannot be JUST mediocre. Giggs shared his amazing story, raised by his grandmother in a township in Limpopo without funds to attend High School. Through dedication and hard work he gained matric and is now studying and working in Rome, Italy and France.
• Alice Tindall from Alice Tindall Textiles shared insights about branding and pricing artwork.
• Nomaza Nongquanga Coupez from Undiscovered Canvas in France shared her deep knowledge of the business world in the Arts industry. She was amazed with the talent in Atteridgeville and wants to work with a couple of local artists.

We thank Le’Ashma Lounge who sponsored lunch for the attendees. This day was an amazing experience and the artists did not want to leave. We had to wrap up the session at 6pm after which a couple of artists still couldn’t leave!

Nkomo Village, launched an arts competition to encourage and assist local artists. Amazing talent and creative skills were discovered among the upcoming artists of Atteridgeville. Artworks were entered in three categories and the winners were announced last week. They received a cash prize as well as an invitation to join an arts road trip to galleries and alike in Johannesburg.

The winners were

1. Category 13 – 15: Azwifaneli Nekhavhambe
2. Category 16 – 18: Ofentse Letshwene
3. Category 19+: Sifiso Sibiya
4. Due to the large 19+ category we also selected a 2nd and 3rd place
• Second: Alane Khoza
• Third place: Polelo Huma
• Judges Merit Award: Lina Malahlela

Anne-Marie Kruger (from Safari) and Marina Wibraham from Encaustry accompanied the artists on the excursion where they had the opportunity to visit various art galleries including Gallery MOMO, Everard Read Gallery and SMAC Gallery. They were briefed on the ins and outs of an art gallery, exposed to different forms of art and introduced to the works of Lionel Smith and more.

Candice Allison, the director of the Bag Factory in New Town went out of her way to take the artists on a much appreciated tour of a lifetime. The artists had the privilege to meet world renowned artists such as Thonton Kabeya and Candice Walker, to name a few. The trip was very inspirational and the artists reckon that they’re ready to conquer the world with their new art supplies purchased at Herbert Evans.

We are proud that our three centres in Atteridgeville (Nkomo Village, Atlyn, and Mnandi) have become known as central places where schools and community members can exhibit their talents like choir performances and art exhibitions. We took hands with the AttSaul Arts and Culture Forum who identified and enrolled 16 artists that assist school teachers with mentorship and with art workshops for the community. With the help of Marina Wibraham, Safari will facilitate these workshops on a regular basis to empower the arts community of Atteridgeville.

The Department of Education is supporting this initiative and is in negotiation to see how they can fit the program into the curriculum for the Grade 8’s and 9’s to encourage participation.

Check this article out: Together with some local entrepreneurs in Atteridgeville Safari is also actively encouraging the youth of Atteridgeville to participate in performing arts categories such as dancing, singing, poetry and instrumental preformances. We are hosting an annual talent search competition that provides potential performers with a platform to display their talents on a regular basis at our Atlyn and Mnandi centres.

Atteridgeville and the Arts
Some of the Finalists: 2019