We have an exciting portfolio of project partners. To learn more about them, please view our Annual Report and navigate your way around our map. Stay up to date with the latest events on our blog, where we regularly share news from our project partners.
Visiting our project partners
MEET OUR PROJECT PARTNERS
Axium Education
Axium Education is an education-focused non-profit based in Zithulele in the rural Eastern Cape, dedicated to raising student achievement across rural school communities. The organisation works through a multi-tiered approach supporting learners, schools, and educators: delivering early-grade literacy and numeracy through its Nobalisa community-mentor programme, providing structured maths and science support for senior grades (Ekukhuleni and Masakhane), and guiding high school graduates through tertiary transitions, bursaries, and career pathways (Pathways).
Bulungula Incubator
Operating along the remote Wild Coast of the Eastern Cape, the Bulungula Incubator partners with local communities to alleviate rural poverty through an integrated “Pre-conception to Career” continuum. Its interventions span maternal, prenatal, and lifelong primary healthcare; home-based and centre-based early childhood development (ages 0–6); foundational and secondary education (including Bulungula College); after-school and digital learning programmes; and vocational training paired with sustainable livelihoods in agriculture and enterprise.
Hatch
The Hatch Foundation is a Cape Town-based non-profit organisation that supports vulnerable new mothers and newborns to ensure every child gets an equal and healthy start in life. The organisation assembles and delivers comprehensive Hatch Bags containing at least 16 essential newborn items—including baby clothing, warm fleecy blankets, toiletries, postpartum supplies for the mother, a handmade sensory toy, and a Book Dash early-learning book—distributed directly through public maternity obstetric units and grassroots community antenatal partners across Cape Town.
Ikhaya Labantwana / Sustainable Coffee Bay
Ikhaya Labantwana Montessori (ILM) was our very first official Kamvalethu Project Partner in 2015 and is a project of Sustainable Coffee Bay (SCB). Established as the first dedicated pre-school in the area, it has grown into a respected centre of quality early learning. Their approach extends beyond classroom education to include nutrition, support for primary caregivers, parent education and holistic child development. Over time, ILM has also organically developed into a resource and learning hub for other ECD practitioners and centres in the region, enabling SCB to share knowledge, strengthen teacher capacity and contribute to improving ECD quality beyond the children directly enrolled at ILM.
LifeMatters
Headquartered in Cape Town, The LifeMatters Foundation partners with under-resourced public primary schools to mitigate the South African education crisis and curb dropout rates. The organisation takes a holistic development approach combining academic support with psychosocial care, deploying structured, in-school literacy and numeracy tutoring programmes for lower grades alongside life skills mentoring, counselling services, and family support to help children stay in school and realise their potential.
The Otto Foundation
The Otto Foundation is a Cape Town-based public benefit organisation committed to deepening a culture of reading and improving early childhood literacy in inner-city communities. Focusing primarily on a cluster of partner schools in District Six, the foundation designs, transforms, and manages vibrant, well-resourced school libraries, produces and curates contextually relevant storybooks, and runs structured reading sessions, paired reading-buddy programmes, and literacy events to inspire a lifelong love of reading.
Surf4Life
Based in Strand, Surf4Life is a grassroots community initiative that harnesses the power of the ocean and board riding to mentor vulnerable children and youth. Built on its core R.I.D.E. values—Respect, Independence, Determination, and Enthusiasm—the organisation partners with established children's homes, welfare organisations, and community centres (such as the Pebbles Project and Hope and Light Orphanage) to offer regular surf coaching, life mentorship, and healthy, constructive recreational outlets.
Ngoko Montessori
Ngoko Montessori operates in the village of Mapuzi, near Coffee Bay in the Eastern Cape. They accommodate local children aged 2, 5 to 6 years. The team at Ngoko Montessori are dedicated to nurturing the development of children through a prepared environment that fosters independence and a lifelong love of learning. They aim to guide every child to reach their full potential academically, socially and emotionally.
The WavePoint Foundation
Based in Jeffreys Bay, the WavePoint Foundation supports local youth and families through practical community outreach. Its core initiatives include the Surf Leadership Initiative, which builds character and confidence through wave riding; Wave Point Gardens, a food sustainability project where children grow household vegetables; a Music School providing instrument and production training; and Kick, Push, Move (K.P.M.), a skateboarding outreach programme. Kamvalethu co-funds the foundation's after-school programme, where qualified teachers and volunteers provide homework support for participating children.
PROJECT PARTNER MAP
KIND WORDS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Rejane Woodroffe
Director, Bulungula Incubator
“Kamvalethu is a deep thinking funding organisation that genuinely works in partnership with grassroots based community organisations. We have always felt that our work in our communities is appreciated and supported. Interpersonal interactions with Kamvalethu are always filled with warmth and respect.”
Craig Paxton
Executive Director, Axium Education NPC
“Something that stands out about Kamvalethu is the level at which they engage with the work we are doing. Their offering and support as a partner is really unique. From sharing resources and opportunities to making on-site visits, they are really invested in the sustainability and growth of our organisation. We have really appreciated the personal approach they bring to this partnership and their willingness to learn together with us.”
Cath Young
Operations Manager, Jabulani Rural Health Foundation
“Something that stands out about Kamvalethu is the level at which they engage with the work we are doing. Their offering and support as a partner is really unique. From sharing resources and opportunities to making on-site visits, they are really invested in the sustainability and growth of our organisation. We have really appreciated the personal approach they bring to this partnership and their willingness to learn together with us.”