Dion Rapakgadi
Nominee's Province:
Gauteng
Age:
26
Project Name/Description:
Co-founder: Orange Farm Academy
The Orange Farm Academy was launched in 2023 by Dion Rapakgadi and four partners to provide free Saturday classes to Grade 10 and 11 learners, especially in key subjects where learners need support to improve their marks. Rapakgadi says the idea for the academy came after he completed a leadership course. “When I came back home, I asked myself how best I could serve and impact my community. I realised that one of the main challenges affecting young people in my township is gangsterism, which is often linked to substance abuse. Orange Farm has made headlines due to gang-related violence, much of it taking place in school premises,” he explains. An ambassador of the Thuli Madonsela Foundation (ThuMa), Rapakgadi is completing his second qualification. He is also a current affairs blogger and was nominated for the FreeSA Young Leaders Awards 2025 in the Civic Leadership category. He’s an alumnus of the Young African Leaders Initiative as well. He says the academy is based on the belief that education is a credible intervention tool that can help change young lives. “We want to ensure that young people from similar backgrounds to ours get the same opportunities we had to go to school and build better lives for themselves and their communities,” says Rapakgadi.
