About us · Est. 2007
To accompany — it’s in our name.
Phelezela is isiZulu for “to accompany”. For twenty years we have walked alongside the children of Pietermaritzburg — warm jersey by warm jersey.
Our story
A non-profit organisation called Phelezela COOL (Children of Our Land) was launched on the 9th of February 2007 at the Parents of Our Nation function, hosted by The Education, Culture and Welfare Foundation of Pietermaritzburg.
The main goal in the founding of this organisation is to focus the strength and energy of its members in providing charitable assistance to indigent children, as well as to other organisations supporting children.
Phelezela was duly constituted and a Management Committee elected at its Inaugural Meeting held on the 25th of April 2007. Our constitution was adopted at this meeting and a Management Committee was elected to drive the organisation forward — an extremely motivated team determined to make a difference to the lives of children in South Africa.
You can read our Constitution (PDF).
Our objectives
- To care for the welfare of children in South Africa so that they may cope adequately with the challenges of development and life;
- To provide schooling and related assistance to indigent children;
- To motivate the youth of South Africa and to empower them to cope with the challenges of life;
- To promote unity, peaceful co-existence and mutual respect among all South Africans;
- To encourage all South Africans to participate and contribute to poverty alleviation and eradication programs;
- To work in collaboration with other organisations with similar aims and objectives;
- To conduct and operate financial assistance, subsidy programmes and projects to achieve the objectives of the organisation, and to co-operate with other associations conducting such programmes;
- To provide and make available funds by way of loans, grants, donations, bursaries, scholarships or gifts, for the benefit of those the organisation is intended to serve.
Beyond the Jersey Project
While school jerseys are our flagship, our members’ work has grown wider over two decades:
- Donation of school uniforms to underprivileged children;
- Soccer and netball kits for primary schools;
- Food hampers to indigent families;
- Education bursaries to deserving learners;
- Blankets to Pietermaritzburg Child Welfare and to families in the Willowfontein area;
- Donations to Gods Glory for their annual feeding scheme.
Management Committee
| Role | Name |
|---|---|
| President | Mr. V.T. Pillay |
| Vice President | Mr. Ilan Lax |
| Vice President | Mr. J.K. Padayachee |
| Secretaries | Mr. L. Chengiah · Mr. K. Pillay |
| Treasurers | Mr. N. Moodley · Ms. L. Ngcobo |
| Public Relations Officers | Mr. N. Chetty · Mr. M. Ramphal |