Nosiphiwo Madlebe

Nominee's Province:
Eastern Cape

Age:
34

Project Name/Description:
City Harvest Food Security

More info:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nosiphiwo-madlebe-639506208/?originalSubdomain=za

Madlebe, 34, from Mdantsane, Eastern Cape, is proof that disability of the body is not disability of the mind, and that financial constraints shouldn’t kill a dream. Madlebe was born with talipes equinovarus or clubfoot, a condition where her feet are slightly twisted, forcing her to walk with a slight limp. Her mother left her in the care of her grandparents when she was three years old and died four months later after returning home 19 years later. Thankfully, her grandfather Sebenzile Madlebe, 73, introduced her to different sporting codes from a tender age. “Being restricted from playing sports made me realise there’s so much more that I could give besides being on the field,” says Madlebe, Based in Paarl, Western Cape, Madlebe is head of marketing, media and publicity for the South African Football Association (Safa) Cape Winelands and Drakenstein Local Football Association (DLFA). Also, as an accredited MySAFA administrator, she’s responsible for player registrations in the region. In 2006, she registered for a journalism diploma at Walter Sisulu University, but was forced to quit her studies in the same year due to financial constraints. But she did not put her pen down. Madlebe writes about grassroots football activities, profiling progressive athletes and hardworking administrators on the Safa Winelands website and Facebook page. This year she was crowned Cape Winelands District Sports Journalist of the Year and Western Cape Sports Journalist of the Year.