Creseldah is a brand that is synonymous with social entrepreneurship and philanthropy across Mpumalanga Province, from community members to regional local economic development stakeholders. This entity represents over 15 years of experience in innovative social entrepreneurship with measurable returns on investments.
Creseldah is a social entrepreneurship and philanthropy practitioner with 15 years of active participation in community development pioneering multiple social projects that are sustainable effecting positive and measurable change in communities across Mpumalanga and Limpopo. She’s regarded as Mother Theresa of Bushbuckridge – a title put on her because of her selflessness and authentic social support she provides to the community. Now social entrepreneurs and corporate social investment officials have a , Creseldah, think tank from which to procure thought leadership expertise on how to build a sustainable nonprofit organization/social enterprise and on how to make a worthwhile corporate social investment, respectively.
Creseldah’s Story
In 2003 the journey of hope begun for the youth across Bushbuckridge after the visionary, Mrs. Creseldah Ndlovu, heeded the call of the soul to be the help she once needed. Born from a single parented household, at the age of 16 she assumed the role of parent to her siblings as her mother’s working schedule allowed her to only come home once every 3 months. The responsibility increased as she had to juggle schoolwork, family and social engagements. What this experience, of being a teen mother to her siblings, did to her is that it made her more responsible and developed her into a proactive teenager, then. Or as she would describe it – it made her streetwise. This is because she was not raised with a silver spoon in the mouth. At that tender age of 16, she pursued a job opportunity at a local salon to make ends meet. One of the gut-wrenching challenges she faced is that, regardless of the fact that she was a responsible, proactive and focused teenager, growing up in a deep rural remote area limited her access to opportunities due to lack of resources and information.
Out of compassion, as a woman who is not afraid to show people her heart, in 2005 she got into community development work with one vision – to contribute to the eradication of poverty within rural areas by cultivating the culture of education amongst young people. She heeded this call because she knew that there are lots of teen Creseldahs out there, and as an epitome of possibility and as someone who understands the pain and struggle that those other Creseldahs are going through, she wants to create enabling environments for them to not get drowned in those circumstances – she wants to be the help she wishes she had. So, 2005 marked the beginning of Creseldah as a community development practitioner she started by opening an orphanage centre , Yesu I Hosi Projects, in the local area of Croquetlawn which has more than 500 beneficiaries and 30 employees. and 15 graduates for Child & Youth Care Workers under ISIBINDI program. And it is still fully operational, on a daily basis, to date, 15 years later! After the orphanage centre, she went on to launch Creseldah Education Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded on ethos to alleviate poverty through education. The organization provides Educational and Career Development Support to multiple schools around Mpumalanga through Extra Lessons (both school and out-of-school curriculum), Motivational Talks Drive, Career Expo, University Applications & Registrations, and charity drives to keep them in school. And in 2017 she launched Girls Academy, a division of Creseldah Education Foundation launched to restore dignity, light and belonging back into the teen mom whilst in parallel fighting against teenage pregnancy. The tactical vision of Girls Academy is to get teenage pregnancy to zero in villages across Bushbuckridge and expand. In 2019 a Social Enterprise, Clothing & Textile CefPads has been launched as part of sustainability and economic development.
Her Impact
