We won’t end GBV without collaboration – and hope

Business schools are places of formal learning, but on Sunday, 1 December, the Henley Business School campus in Johannesburg erupted into a playground as children and young people from vulnerable communities in Johannesburg turned out to play and celebrate small wins against gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) in their communities. 

‘Henley is not your typical business school. Its slogan that I fell in love with six years ago is about building people who build the businesses that build Africa, and this is what we saw today,’ says Welcome Witbooi, the founder and director of the BrightSpark Foundation SA and instigator-in-chief of the event.

‘It’s not just the work we do in business; it’s about the heart of people – and seeing people grow.’

The people showcasing their growth on Sunday were young women and men from gang-ridden communities in Johannesburg, who shared stories of how the BrightSpark Foundation SA, in collaboration with Henley Business School and others, has helped create a safe space for youth and a place where they can gain vital basic life skills.

From dope to hope

 A former gang leader himself and current student at Henley, Witbooi likes to say he went from a ‘dealer in dope’ to a ‘dealer in hope’.

‘At its core, the work we do is about giving youth a sense that the world is bigger than they had imagined and to help them choose a different path for themselves. They learn not to dwell on what has happened to them but instead look to what is possible.’

 ‘One of the key ways to break the cycle of poverty and violence is by giving people reason to hope,’ says Jon Foster-Pedley, dean and director of Henley Business School. ‘This can be as simple as the basic practice of humanity, listening and recognising the challenges that people experience and offering them tools and support for reimagining their lives. To see themselves in bigger spaces.

‘We’re honoured to be able to extend the work we do with young people and with children through our support for the BrightSpark Foundation SA. We are all part of one solution to an intractable problem that we are all facing.’

The power of play

Speaking at the event on Sunday, the British entrepreneur and Chancellor of the University of Reading, Paul Lindley OBE, who is in South Africa to preside over Henley’s graduation ceremonies this week, said that spending the afternoon with an inspiring group of children had reminded him of the limitless potential of human beings and the hope and optimism for a better future that young people always bring – ‘something we can lose sight of when things get difficult.’

‘To build a great society , you have to start with children,’ adds Lindley, who has worked in the space of children’s advocacy for more than 30 years. ‘Given that children are 100% of our future, we must ensure that each of them has the opportunity to become the person they have the potential to be. In my book Raising the Nation, I lay down the challenge that if the goal of a society was to ensure all of its children could thrive, what would we do differently? Part of my answer is we can help all children play more. That’s where we learn the cognitive, collaborative, communication, creative and self regulation skills that are so vital to a successful life.’

 Lindley adds that in South Africa, as in the UK, opportunities for children to play are sadly decreasing, which makes interventions that encourage more play all the more vital. In the UK, he leads the Raising the Nation Play Commission, to provide the British government with a framework to adopt a national Play Strategy.

 ‘Nelson Mandela once said that the keenest revelation of a society’s soul is in the way it treats its children. A philosophy that so many of us are failing to follow at the moment. The BrightSpark Foundation is an inspirational exception. Like Welcome, I believe that play is the key that can help unlock better childhoods, even the most traumatic ones, and open up a better future for us all.’

Three Rs to change to drive positive change

 The work of the BrightSpark Foundation SA and its founder, Welcome Witbooi, embodies three elements that Lindley says he has found to be key for those working to change things for the better, whether in business, communities or government: relationships, resources and recognition. These are his three Rs that can deliver transformational change.

‘You can change things if you build relationships. On our own, we don’t have all the answers. You also need resources, be that money, people and partners, or data, to show decision-makers what is working to lobby for change. And the last thing you need is recognition of the small steps that we take to make a difference, especially when facing seemingly massive challenges.

‘When we are dealing with issues like GBVF, it can feel to many that the enormity of the challenge can make it pointless to start the journey – but we’ve got to start – and we need to recognise and celebrate those first small steps.’

Welcome Witbooi agrees that it’s the small acts of kindness and love and the everyday deeds of ordinary people that can keep the darkness at bay.

‘Stories about children dying at the hands of gang violence abound in South Africa, especially during the 16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence. But there are stories of hope, too, and today, this is what we heard – and saw,’ says Witbooi.

 ‘It may be really painful to listen to these stories, but it’s also inspiring to see how these young people embody hope that change is possible when we work together.’

The BrightSpark Foundation SA launched a Child Safety Policy on 25 November that can be accessed via Welcome WItbooi's LinkedIn page.