Twenty-eight-year-old Kamohelo Zwane, a former chairperson of the Student Representative Council (SRC) at the Vanderbijlpark Campus of the North-West University (NWU), an honours degree holder and now an administrator on the Vanderbijlpark Campus, is on a mission to change lives.
With the launch of the Amukeleni Youth Development Organisation, Kamohelo aims to empower South Africans from all walks of life – whether formally educated or not – to pursue their dreams, reclaim lost opportunities and realise their full potential.
The first initiative of this organisation is to provide graduation regalia in the upcoming graduation season for students who cannot afford it, piloting the project on the NWU’s Vanderbijlpark Campus and then spreading the initiative to other universities such as the VUT and others across the country.
This first initiative is a symbol of his mission: a chance for every student to walk across the stage with pride and dignity, celebrating the culmination of hard work and perseverance.
Kamohelo’s story is one of resilience forged through hardship. Born to a teenage mother, he lost her at the age of four and did not meet his father until he was six. Growing up, he faced an identity crisis, yearning to know his father, who lived in another section of Katlehong, not far from his grandmother’s shack.
“My grandmother showed me where his home was. One day, I decided to go there and look for him. I slept over, and meanwhile the whole community was searching for me. A case of a missing child was opened, and the police were looking everywhere. My grandmother sighed with relief when I opened the door a day later. I told her I had gone to look for my father,” he recalls, a mix of mischief and determination in his voice.
Kamohelo’s grandmother had fled the war in Mozambique in the 1990s, bringing her two children to South Africa in search of safety. Adopted by a Zwane family, she was given a surname and embraced through a traditional ritual to become part of the family. Despite living in a small shack, she poured every ounce of love and sacrifice into raising her grandson, working as a street vendor selling fruit to ensure he never went to bed hungry. “She did not have much, but she gave me love. She raised me well,” Kamohelo says, his admiration clear.
Those early experiences – of lack, uncertainty and resilience – ignited in Kamohelo a burning determination to succeed and to help others succeed as well. Today, he channels that drive into the Amukelani Youth Development Organisation, a national initiative with a vision that goes far beyond graduation gowns. The foundation seeks to give young people a second chance in life, to nurture talent and to create opportunities where none exist.
Kamohelo envisions raising funds for promising businesses, providing bursaries for education and connecting gifted individuals with mentors and networks that can help them realise their potential. For him, it is not about charity – it is about building pathways, opening doors and empowering people to take control of their own destinies.
As a leader, Kamohelo exemplifies the values he seeks to instil in others: resilience, vision and compassion. From being the first in his family to earn a university degree to holding a leadership role at the NWU, he demonstrates that leadership is measured not just by personal success, but by the impact one has on the lives of others. “It was through the help of others that I managed to be where I am today. This is my way of giving back,” he says, a quiet determination underscoring his words.
The graduation regalia project, while simple on the surface, carries a deeper significance. It is about more than clothing – it is about recognition, dignity and the joy of achievement. Kamohelo wants every student to feel the pride and exhilaration he felt when he walked across the stage and he hopes that the act of giving back will create a ripple effect, inspiring others to do the same.
From a childhood in a shack as the grandson of a war refugee, born to a teenage mother, through struggles with identity and belonging, to becoming a university graduate, a campus student life administrator in the SRC, and a national philanthropist, Kamohelo’s story is a testament to the power of perseverance, vision and generosity.
Through the Amukelani Youth Development Organisation, he is creating a legacy of hope, opportunity and transformation – ensuring that the dreams of young South Africans are no longer limited by circumstance but fuelled by possibility.
Kamohelo Zwane is on a mission to change lives.
