Germiston-based self-thought photographer Bonginkosi Madondo is looking for financial help to continue hiring more young people from the area.
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He aims to empower the youth of Germiston to make a living.
The photographer offers free training to equip young photographers with skills to excel.
Madondo hails from KwaZulu-Natal but moved to Gauteng in 2021, where he found work in Germiston CBD.
To those in the community, he is known as Bonga The Photographer.
He is also a film scriptwriter, director, editor and producer, with over 30 local short movies under his belt.
At one point, he was homeless.
A family from Isipingo Hills, Durban, then took him in and gifted him a camera that eventually changed his life.
Soon he became an informal photographer at South Beach in Durban, where he was often bullied and chased away by photographers who had permits to operate in the area.
Madondo said he aims to uplift more young people and equip them with skills that will benefit their future.
“Last year in April, I moved to Gauteng. I stayed with my siblings. I rented a camera from a friend for seven months until I bought my own,” he said.
“When I had my camera, I recruited young people and thought them how to make a living with a camera.
“So far, I have 10 youngsters I’ve employed. Every day they work as photographers to feed their families. We are based at the Golden Walk Mall.
“All my training services are free. The young photographers get paid while they train. I do it for the love of my fellow South Africans.
“My vision is to decrease the stats of unemployment, starting with young people in our community. I want to run my own company or a school for photography and hire over 5 000 young people every year.
“More young people with jobs will decrease the high rate of crime. I’d like to ask the community to assist me with proper equipment to teach more young people how to be entrepreneurs using modern-day technology.”
He invited local business operators, individuals, companies and NPOs to partner with him.
“Since 2015, I have been working to expose young talent for television screens. I am proud to say I worked with Nkule Guliwe, who is now an actor in Deep City and Spha Nyembe in Skeem Saam. I worked with them from grassroots level,” said Madondo.
