Khulisa Social Solutions' partnership with Professor Thuli Madonsela and the Thuli Madonsela Foundation aims to significantly and sustainably reduce the number of South Africans entwined in the poverty cycle through improving access to social justice in communities across South Africa.
On the World Day of Social Justice, Madonsela will be taking part in a collaborative community event titled ‘Walk in My Shoes’ at the venue of official event partner the Women’s Jail at Constitution Hill, supported by Stellenbosch University Law School. The event will provide a platform, based on interactive storytelling, to promote dialogue around relevant social justice issues. The dialogue, facilitated by Madonsela, will focus on ensuring that, through commitment to community development, ‘no one will be left behind’.
The event aims to provide an opportunity for marginalised voices to be heard, including underprivileged school-going children, ex-offenders, members of the LGBT community, domestic violence and rape survivors, victims of xenophobia, community members from Kliptown and the homeless, both rural and urban.
With the five core pillars of the Thuli Madonsela Foundation being democracy dialogues, access to information, advocacy, research and training, Madonsela aims to encourage citizens, government, businesses and like-minded organisations to provide resources, incentives and information that will prove crucial for communities to have a strong articulated voice in their progress towards improving the lives of those around them. This, in turn, will help government and development agencies (NGO sector) to listen, and to act upon the feedback they receive.
Ultimately, we seek to achieve measurable and sustainable improvement in communal and individual life in South Africa through addressing social injustices within communities partly by holding government and service providers accountable. Given Madonsela’s seven-year role as former South African public protector (2009-2016), she truly understands the pivotal need for the various sectors (public, private and NGO) to work together in order to give the people a voice and ensure the prosperity of South Africa’s socio-economic ecosystem.
PJ Powers has recorded a new single titled "Take a Walk in My Shoes" which she will be performing at the event. In addition to her award-winning music career, PJ is also known for her anti-Apartheid activist role where she was given the name Thandeka (‘The Loved One’) during a performance in Soweto during the height of Apartheid. She has also been the global ambassador for Khulisa over the past 18 months. PJ’s commitment to and belief in Khulisa Social Solutions has led her to invest a percentage of all her income to help further Khulisa’s social justice impact.
In addition, the Walk in My Shoes campaign seeks to establish an ongoing global movement of Social Justice Champions whereby it appeals to South Africans and non-South Africans who have a vested interest in South Africa, regardless of where they reside, to play their part. Those living outside of South Africa are encouraged to take part in activities set out by the campaign, engage in meaningful conversations with those around them about issues highlighted by this campaign, attend or organise events in their local area which support this campaign’s objectives and most importantly to realise that each and every one of them, as individuals, have an enormous untapped potential to effecting positive change for South Africa.
Khulisa and the Thuli Madonsela Foundation are also calling on local and international celebrities, artists, business leaders, commercial and consumer brands, and other influencers to use their social standing to champion the campaign.
Following the Walk in My Shoes campaign launch, the partnership between Khulisa and the Thuli Madonsela Foundation will primarily focus on holistic education through Khulisa’s three-phase process which will be rolled out nationally.
