Global Leadership Award Recipients
Our Global Leadership Award recognizes extraordinary leadership in South Africa. The annual award, announced on December 10th, Human Rights Day, recognizes the work and life of individuals.
The lives of community leaders are stressful, and rarely are these individuals adequately compensated. In addition to demanding careers, they often have competing demands for their time and resources. To alleviate some of these pressures, and reduce burnout, recipients of the Global Leadership Award receive $5,000.
2022 Recipient
Yolanda Lupondo, Educational Leader
Yolanda Lupondo is a school Principal at Siviwe School of Skills in Guguletu. After starting her teaching career in 1997, Yolanda received her master’s in education from the University of Stellenbosch in 2007, and she is a qualified Educational Psychologist. Yolanda Lupondo is a lifelong learner who constantly participates in professional development and always looks for opportunities for staff, teachers, parents and the community to grow and develop. With her diverse skill set she easily steps into the role of mentor and enjoys coaching others, developing the leadership of those in secondary roles. Through her leadership, she has been able to create partnerships with external organizations that are beneficial for the school and the community.
Ms Lupondo is an influencer at various levels and in various organizations, e.g. the South African Association for Special Education. She recently received a national award for Excellence in Special Needs Leadership.
Ms. Lupondo sums her leadership as “Leaders are learners too” and shared the same sentiment with this quote from Peter Senge, “A learning organization discovers how to tap people’s commitment and capacity to learn at all levels...where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire … and where people are continually learning how to learn together.”
We think Yolanda beautifully contributes to all of our goals: Learn - Earn - Lead. Congratulations!
2021 Recipient
David Mantangana, Community Business Leader
With a nomination by our partners in South Africa, we have selected David Mantangana, a well-spoken, respected elder in his neighborhood, and our 2021 Leadership Award recipient.
David is a leader in building a resilient local economy in black townships at a time where there is high competition, crime and no capital to support his small business. His story of losing his job and not giving up after his retrenchment is motivation to many people. He owns a spaza shop, which are part of the traditional, local economy in black communities. They are informal grocery shops operating to serve the needs of the community in the sense that they offer basic household and grocery items. He decided to build a generational legacy of resilience, at a time when many South African spaza shops have experienced great losses in income and/or closed down.
Even though he does not make a profit, he feeds his community by periodically offering free meals to poor neighbors. In addition, although David has no capital he strongly believes that black Africans should not give up even if it is hard. We are glad to be able to honor David Mantangana with the 2021 Acacia Global Leadership Award.
2020 Recipient
Chris and Shanelle Montana, Du Nord Foundation
Du Nord Craft Spirits is located at the center of the riots that followed George Floyd’s murder, and is the nation’s first black-owned distillery. Its founders, Chris and Shanelle Montana, responded to the uprising by raising money for affected businesses and opening a food bank. A month later, the Du Nord Foundation was created to address racial inequities in the Twin Cities.
Du Nord Foundation’s three pillars include: addressing immediate food insecurity, preserving existing minority-owned businesses, and empowering communities of color through economic development. To date, the Foundation has raised nearly $800,000. The work the Du Nord Foundation is doing in Minneapolis mirrors the work Acacia Global has been supporting in communities in South Africa.
Noxie Totoyi spent her career as a dedicated elementary school teacher and deputy principal at public schools in Guguletu, South Africa. A longtime friend to Acacia Global, Noxie assumed the role of community liaison — being the eyes and ears for Acacia Global — once she retired from teaching.
Through decades of teaching, being a leader in her faith community, and her neighborhood watch group, Noxie is well-known and greatly respected in her community. She is one of those hard working women who has always championed the rights of children and worked tirelessly to improve living conditions for everyone in her community.
2019 Recipient
Noxie Totoyi, Community Laison
2018 Recipient
Vuyani Qamata, Founder, Sinako Urban Farms
Having experienced firsthand the toll that diseases like cancer and hypertension took on his family, and seeing children suffer from hunger and malnutrition, Vuyani founded Sinako Urban Farms. Vuyani is committed to creating food forests and educating students about the importance of healthy foods and nutrition. In 2016, his efforts were awarded with recognition as the “Best School Food Garden” from South Africa’s Department of Education National School Nutrition Programme.
2017 Recipient
Mathaps Ngaka-Mtati, Community Director, Monkeybiz
Mathaps has worked tirelessly with hundreds of beaders in the townships of South Africa to support them in their work and lives. Her determination and creativity have transformed the lives of countless families in her community and brought joy to the thousands of people who have purchased original works of beaded art from Monkeybiz.
2016 Recipient
Bheki Kunene, CEO,
Mind Trix Media
Bheki was the first business leader to be recognized with our Global Leadership Award. Founder of Mind Trix Media, the first design company to be based in the township of Guguletu, South Africa, Bheki hires and trains people from the community and gives back through corporate volunteerism and philanthropy.
2015 Recipient
Vuyiseka Dubula, Founder,
Activist Centre for Education and Development
Vuyiseka, an extraordinary role model, was recognized for her efforts to mentor, support, and educate girls and women. As the former Secretary General of South Africa’s preeminent HIV/AIDS advocacy organization, the Treatment Action Campaign, Vuyiseka has dedicated her life to social justice issues. She is the 2018 recipient of the Franco-German Prize for Human Rights and the Rule of Law.
2014 Recipients
Patricia Sola and John Mafukidze, Co-Founders,
Hope Initiatives of Southern Africa (HISA)
Patricia and John are dedicated to the people who live in their community outside of Windhoek, Namibia. Visionaries in providing food and education to orphans and vulnerable children, they have transformed lives through their hard work and determination.
2013 Recipient
Mandla Majola, Founder,
Movement for Change and Social Justice
A respected and fearless advocate, Mandla has led prestigious nonprofits such as the Treatment Action Campaign and the Social Justice Coalition. His work has resulted in improved treatment for people with HIV/AIDS, reduced rates of rape and incidents of gender-based violence, and increased access to safe drinking water and cleaner sanitation in the townships of South Africa.
