The face behind the Jobe Foundation
A gold miner believes in giving more than anything else.
Duduza – Behind the locally known Jobe Foundation is a man who came from humble beginnings and now helps the community.
Born and bred in Duduza, Siphiwe ‘Jobe’ Sithole and 13 friends founded the foundation in May 2022. The foundation helps needy people in more ways than one.
‘Jobe’ comes from the Sithole clan names, while the cow on the logo symbolises ‘ithole’, a calf.
It is one of a few foundations which does not depend on donors because it is self-funded.
According to Sithole, the foundation started when he and its COO, Aubrey Sibaya, began funding sports tournaments, providing food parcels and donating school shoes, out of their pockets.
“This was then when our friends came together and agreed that we should have a registered foundation,” Sithole said.
He said he did not want his name associated with the foundation because he believed that when a person gave, it should be out of the goodness of their heart and not for publicity.
“I then agreed to the name Jobe Foundation because not everyone knows that ‘Jobe’ is part of the Sithole’s clan names,” he said.
During the meeting with African Reporter, Sibaya mentioned that Sithole was born a giver because he started giving when he was 11.
“He gave one of our friends who didn’t have school shoes his pair and a pair of socks. He decided he would lie at home and say he lost the pair,” Sibaya said.
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Among the good done by the foundation are:
• Tombstone unveiling for Reverend Khasa on July 21, 2022;
• Family Fun Day on November 5;
• Christmas party for the aged on December 9;
• Early childhood Christmas party on December 10;
• Renovation of toilets at Esibonelwesihle Secondary and Thakgalang Primary schools;
• Installation of electric cables at the Duduza Stadium, fixing the toilets, and putting lights in the changing rooms;
• Donation of a wheelchair to someone who needed it;
• Sponsorship of the badminton, netball and aerobics teams;
• Main sponsor of the Diski Nine-Nine soccer tournament in Duduza;
• Renovations of the Vuyo Mokoena household;
• Building a two-roomed house for a fire victim;
• Graduation gala, which was last month, and more.
“The highlight of our work in the year we have existed was the graduation gala. Not every parent can afford to travel to see their child ascend to the stage when graduating from university.
“The gala was to afford families the feel of graduation ceremonies,” Sithole said.
Sithole is a gold miner in Springs and is a philanthropist in his free time.
He believes charity begins at home, and he cannot uplift other communities when his own, Duduza, is not uplifted.
