Enabling
achievement.
A record of the communities we have served, the partnerships we have built, and the achievers we have helped to create.
Soshanguve ECD Centre — Phase 1 Complete
CDII partners with young entrepreneurs to build the Soshanguve Early Childhood Development Centre. Phase 1 infrastructure complete — roof, perimeter fencing, and foundations. Phase 2 open for corporate funding.
Right 2 Learn — TVET Skills Programme
Expansion of CDII's Right 2 Learn programme to include Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) pathways. Learnership placements, digital literacy coaching, and subject tutoring for youth in Tshwane and surrounding areas.
Digital Literacy Initiative — Post-Covid Recovery
CDII responds to accelerated digital exclusion following the Covid-19 pandemic. Digital skills coaching rolled out across Tshwane and KwaZulu-Natal — smartphone literacy, online job applications, and financial technology access.
Right 2 Learn — Tertiary Access Programme
Expansion of Right 2 Learn to include tertiary access support — university application assistance, NSFAS guidance, and bursary matching for qualifying learners in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.
Right 2 Learn — Adult Literacy Programme
Rollout of structured adult literacy classes in Soshanguve and Cullinan. Volunteer tutors trained and deployed. The programme addresses both reading/writing literacy and basic numeracy for adults who missed schooling opportunities.
Right 2 Learn — First Education Programme
CDII launches its first formal education programme under the Right 2 Learn pillar — school support, tutoring, and career guidance for learners in Soshanguve. The programme marks the beginning of CDII's practical community development work.
SmartCommute™ CRP Launch
CDII launches the SmartCommute™ Commuter Resilience Partnership to help employees cope with sustained 2026 cost-of-living pressure. Social Ex Gratia Payments of R550–R600/month, fixed by salary Band, to qualifying employees — a continuously available programme, administered through a dedicated Commuter Resilience Fund.
Cullinan Diamond Hub — Programme Development
CDII begins development of the Cullinan Diamond Hub (CDH) — a heritage, tourism, and skills development initiative anchored in Cullinan's mining history.
Blue Economy Enterprise Development Programme
CDII launches the Blue Economy Enterprise Development Programme — connecting coastal and inland communities to maritime economy opportunities, enterprise incubation, and skills development pathways.
Right 2 Work — SMME Incubator Cohort
CDII's Right 2 Work programme delivers a structured SMME incubation cohort for emerging black entrepreneurs. Mentoring, market access facilitation, and business development support across ten participating enterprises.
Right 2 Work — First Entrepreneur Cohort
CDII launches its first structured entrepreneurship cohort under the Right 2 Work pillar — twelve black-owned micro-enterprises supported through mentoring, market access, and basic business development training.
Right 2 Play — Youth Sport Development
CDII's Right 2 Play programme delivers structured sport and physical wellness activities for youth in under-resourced communities. Football, netball, and athletics coaching — with health education and wellness support.
Right 2 Play — Disability Sport Inclusion
CDII's Right 2 Play programme extends to disability sport — creating structured athletics, wheelchair sport, and adaptive fitness programmes for participants with physical disabilities in Tshwane.
Right 2 Play — First Community Sports Day
CDII hosts its inaugural community sports day in Cullinan — bringing together youth from Soshanguve, Refilwe, and surrounding areas for a day of football, athletics, and health awareness. The event establishes an annual programme.
Right 2 Play — Arts & Heritage Festival
CDII hosts its first structured arts and heritage community event — celebrating South Africa's cultural diversity through performance, visual art, and community storytelling. The event becomes an annual tradition.
Family Support Programme — Soshanguve
Launch of the Family Support pillar in Soshanguve — providing practical resources, guidance, and referral services to households under economic pressure. Community outreach workers trained and deployed.
Community Food Security Programme
In response to post-lockdown food insecurity, CDII coordinates community food gardens, nutrition education, and emergency household support in Soshanguve and surrounding townships.
Right 2 Live — First Human Rights Community Event
CDII marks Human Rights Day with its first formal community engagement event in Soshanguve — bringing together residents, community leaders, and CDII directors around heritage, rights awareness, and environmental stewardship.
Legacy 2 Generations: from Mandela to the next generation
On his 20th birthday, 14 January 1999, during his first West Indies tour, a young Daren Ganga received a call at his hotel: President Nelson Mandela, phoning to wish him a happy birthday and to tell him he was a role model to young people everywhere. "That phone call changed my life," he says. Years later, CDII arranged for him to hand over his West Indies touring cap to Ahmed Kathrada at the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory, and to share his story with young cricketers from Pretoria schools.
Read the full story →Access to Opportunities — Maritime Skills
CDII's Access to Opportunities programme opens pathways into the maritime and blue economy sector for previously excluded youth — port operations, marine engineering awareness, and logistics pathway education.
CDII Founded — 13 November 2012
Community Development Initiatives International NPC is incorporated on 13 November 2012 in Tshwane, Gauteng under the Companies Act 71 of 2008. Registration No. 2012/201981/08. Founded by Mapula Tlhagale, Louw Allan, and Adv. Don Leffler with a mandate to identify need, enable opportunity, and create achievers across South Africa.
B-BBEE Level 1 Verified
CDII achieves and maintains B-BBEE Level 1 Contributor status — the highest possible B-BBEE rating. This enables contributing corporates to maximise their SED scorecard points under Statement 500 (Generic) and Statement 605 (QSE).
SARS PBO Registration — PBO 930 041 456
CDII receives formal SARS registration as a Public Benefit Organisation — PBO 930 041 456. This enables the organisation to receive tax-efficient donations and issue formal receipts to contributors, significantly expanding fundraising capacity.
We MiND Foundation — Brand Launch
CDII launches the We MiND Foundation brand — creating a public-facing identity for its community development programmes. "We are enablers of achievement" is adopted as the defining tagline, capturing the organisation's philosophy of building capacity rather than creating dependency.
We MiND Foundation — First Corporate Partnerships
We MiND Foundation formalises its first corporate B-BBEE SED partnerships — enabling businesses to meet their Socio-Economic Development scorecard obligations through structured, documented and verifiable CDII programmes.
s18A Authorisation — Tax-Deductible Donations
CDII receives formal SARS authorisation as an s18A Public Benefit Organisation — enabling donors to claim tax deductions on qualifying contributions. A milestone that significantly expands corporate funding capacity.
International Partnership — Ambassador Programme
CDII establishes its international ambassador network — formalising remote mentoring, international partnership facilitation, and knowledge transfer through We MiND Foundation's global reach.
We MiND Foundation Website Launch
Launch of wemindfoundation.co.za as the public platform for CDII's programmes, donor engagement, and community reporting. A comprehensive digital presence covering all five pillars.
POPIA Registration — Information Regulator
CDII registers as a Responsible Party under the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013. IR Registration No. 2025-008244. Information Officer: Louw Allan. Deputy IO: Adv. Don Leffler.
Legacy 2 Generations: from Mandela to the next generation
In January 1999, nineteen-year-old Daren Ganga was on his first tour with the West Indies cricket team: the youngest player in the squad, and part of the first West Indies side to tour a democratic South Africa.
14 January 1999 was his twentieth birthday. He recalls birthday wishes flashing across the scoreboard. That evening, back in his hotel room, the phone rang. "Mr. Ganga," said the operator, "I have the President on the line to you." Assuming it was a cricket board president, he answered casually. The soft-spoken voice on the other end was President Nelson Mandela.
Madiba wished him a happy birthday, congratulated him as the youngest member of the touring team, and welcomed the team to South Africa. He spoke of how the people of South Africa had followed West Indies cricket and drawn hope and inspiration from it. He encouraged the young batsman in his career, and told him he was a role model to young people everywhere. Moments after the call, there was a knock at the door: a table of cake, ice cream and champagne, the President's surprise.
"Ladies and gentlemen, that phone call changed my life," Ganga later said. It showed him that, as a sportsman and public figure, he could play a positive and meaningful role in the lives of young people simply by showing concern, appreciation and compassion for them. He went on to captain Trinidad and Tobago, founded the Daren Ganga Foundation to mentor young people, and was appointed a Sports Ambassador for Trinidad and Tobago.
Years later, on a return visit to South Africa, CDII organised a press conference in Johannesburg at which Ganga told his story and presented his maroon West Indies touring cap from the 1998/99 series in gratitude to Madiba. CDII then arranged for him to visit the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory, where he formally handed over the cap. It was received by Ahmed Kathrada, founding trustee of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, lifelong comrade of Mandela, and himself a symbol of the struggle for freedom and non-racialism. His Excellency Harry Partap, High Commissioner of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago to South Africa, was also present.
Ganga also shared the story with young cricketers from Pretoria schools. They held the framed cap, listened, and one of them spoke in reply: a chain of inspiration passing from one generation to the next. Ganga signed his written account and presented it to CDII, which keeps it as a treasured memento.
Legacy 2 Generations exists so that stories and artefacts like this are not lost, but passed forward, connecting the values of humility, courage and service that Madiba embodied with the young South Africans who will carry them on.
Add your chapter to this story.
Whether you fund a project, volunteer your skills, or participate in SmartCommute™ — your contribution becomes part of CDII's record of enabling achievement. Everything is documented. Every contribution counts.