Why We Changed Our Name
Eighteen years ago, I embarked on a crazy yet incredible journey with an unlikely new acquaintance. Malizole “Banks” Gwaxula was a teacher in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, and I was a 21-year-old American university student. Inspired by our chance meeting in a shebeen (a township tavern) and by our passion for improving education, we came together to do what we could to make a difference in post-apartheid South Africa. We started small, distributing textbooks and supplies from Banks’s school in the townships. ‘Ubuntu Education Fund’ was the name we chose because we believed in the philosophy of ubuntu — our shared humanity despite the different worlds we came from — and in the transformative power of education.
Today, we know what it takes to break the cycle of poverty — everything, every day.
But we quickly realized that education alone wasn’t enough to help township children overcome the odds stacked against them. As we continued to work in the community, many experiences challenged us to rethink our approach. There was the mother who lost her child to AIDS and spoke up at a meeting, questioning the value of our computer centers in a community that was struggling to merely survive; the young girl traumatized by sexual abuse who showed us why tutoring wasn’t enough; the unemployed adults living in shacks who helped us realize the importance of teaching marketable job skills. The complex reality of the families living in the townships demanded we go deeper.
Today, we know what it takes to break the cycle of poverty — everything, every day.
This simple, yet radical mission is the foundation of who we are. We now know that to change the trajectory of a child’s life, you have to be there from cradle to career. Two years ago, we set out to once again rethink our approach, this time knowing that it was time for a name that represented the evolved scope of our work and our position in the community. Ubuntu Pathways embodies the true depth of what we do — create individualized pathways out of poverty for all the children that walk through our doors. For us, that means more than just education; it means healthcare, safe homes, emotional and social support, opportunities, and the people to encourage their dreams.
Ubuntu Pathways embodies the true depth of what we do — create individualized pathways out of poverty for all the children that walk through our doors.
We’ve come a long way from our start in the broom closet of Banks’s school. Our model is setting forth a new, bold vision in the development sector, an example for change-makers around the world. Now, 40 years old and with two sons of my own, I understand the commitment of raising a child, feeling more inspired than ever.
I’m excited to enter this next phase of our journey. I hope you’ll visit our new website, get to know our extraordinary community, and join us in breaking the cycle of poverty for Port Elizabeth’s disadvantaged children.
Ubuntu Education Fund is now Ubuntu Pathways. Learn more at ubuntupathways.org.
