A former student leader at North-West University (NWU) is launching a new charity to help young South Africans overcome poverty and reach their full potential. Kamohelo Zwane, who is 28 years old and a former SRC Chairperson, has started the Amukeleni Youth Development Organisation to provide support for both educated and unskilled youth across the country.

The first project of the new foundation will focus on the upcoming graduation season. Zwane plans to provide graduates a chance for every student to walk across the stage with pride and dignity, celebrating the culmination of hard work and perseverance.

The project will begin at the NWU Vanderbijlpark Campus before expanding to other universities. For Zwane, this initiative is about ensuring every student can walk across the stage with pride and dignity regardless of their financial situation.

Zwane’s story is one of resilience forged through hardship. Born to a teenage mother who passed away when he was only four, Zwane was raised by his grandmother in a small shack in Katlehong. His grandmother had originally fled the war in Mozambique in the 1990s and worked as a street vendor to provide for him. Zwane recalls that while they had very little, his grandmother gave him the love and guidance he needed to succeed.

Today, he channels that drive into the Amukelani Youth Development Organisation, a national initiative with a vision that goes far beyond graduation gowns. The foundation seeks to give young people a second chance in life, to nurture talent, and to create opportunities where none exist. Zwane envisions raising funds for promising businesses, providing bursaries for education, and connecting gifted individuals with mentors and networks that can help them realise their potential. For him, it is not about charity, it is about building pathways, opening doors, and empowering people to take control of their own destinies.

As a leader, Zwane exemplifies the values he seeks to instil in others: resilience, vision, and compassion. From being the first in his family to earn a university degree to holding a leadership role at the NWU, he demonstrates that leadership is measured not just by personal success but by the impact one has on the lives of others. “It was through the help of others that I managed to be where I am today. This is my way of giving back,” he says, a quiet determination underscoring his words.

The graduation regalia project, while simple on the surface, carries a deeper significance. It is about more than clothing – it is about recognition, dignity, and the joy of achievement. Zwane wants every student to feel the pride and exhilaration he felt when he walked across the stage, and he hopes that the act of giving back will create a ripple effect, inspiring others to do the same.

From a childhood in a shack as the grandson of a war refugee, born to a teenage mother, through struggles with identity and belonging, to becoming a university graduate, a campus student life administrator in the SRC, and a national philanthropist, Zwane’s story is a testament to the power of perseverance, vision, and generosity.

Through the Amukelani Youth Development Organisation, he is creating a legacy of hope, opportunity, and transformation – ensuring that the dreams of young South Africans are no longer limited by circumstance but fuelled by possibility.