Nomveliso Mbanga

Indigenous knowledge is the foundation, not an add-on.

My journey with young people began long before Mayine had a name, in community theatre, drama and sport. I have always held the same conviction: young people do not need to be fixed. They need to be remembered. For more than 15 years I have worked professionally with teenagers, their parents and the schools around them, and I created the Nomveliso Mbanga Teencoaching™ methodology to carry that conviction into every programme Mayine offers.

I have always loved the informality of learning found in indigenous knowledge and practice. Knowledge is passed on through relationship, story, ritual and responsibility. Young people learn who they are and where they come from before they are asked what they want to become. I find a purity in that way of learning, and I have made it my work to honour it within modern life rather than set it aside.

I have never seen this as being in opposition to formal education. My work is deliberately positioned in support of it. Every camp, coaching programme and parent session is designed to help young people succeed academically and move confidently into high school, tertiary study and work. Indigenous knowledge gives them identity and grounding; formal education gives them qualifications and pathways. My role is to build the bridge between the two.

My own expertise was built mostly through practice rather than formal qualifications. I have always chosen to present myself as I am, and to let the work speak for me. I understand both ways of learning from the inside.

Institutions around the world are making room for indigenous knowledge. I believe the African continent has even greater scope to bring indigenous knowledge and formal education together, without diminishing either.

"The local knowledge that has been passed on orally from generation to generation is a vital part of a nation's heritage. In South Africa indigenous knowledge has massive potential for research, development, innovation and social cohesion."

Naledi Pandor, then Minister of Science and Technology, 27 February 2015