Khumbulani Cele
Nominee's Province:
Eastern Cape
Age:
35
Project Name/Description:
Born in Mtunzini, KwaZulu-Natal, Khumbulani Cele grew up in a community where learning differences were not understood and misjudged. Today, he stands as a dedicated educator, and founder of Yours and Mine Inclusive Education — a grassroots initiative transforming the way communities understand and respond to learning disabilities. He recalls a pivotal moment early in his teaching career — a learner who, despite obvious intelligence and curiosity, kept falling short in assessments. After digging deeper, he discovered the child had undiagnosed dyslexia. There were no formal systems in place to help. “That moment lit something in me,” he explains. “I realised I couldn’t keep watching this happen. I had to be part of the solution.” That spark gave rise to Yours and Mine Inclusive Education, which began as a passion project in 2020 and was formally registered in 2023 after Cele won a pitch competition hosted by the Trevor Noah Foundation and the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI). The recognition — and accompanying grant — allowed him to turn his vision into a structured, scalable initiative that could reach more children. Yours and Mine provides early screening for learning disabilities, trains teachers on inclusive classroom practices, supports parents through workshops, and develops tailored learning materials. The impact has been profound. “We’ve helped children regain their confidence and reconnect with learning. Parents feel seen and supported. Teachers now respond with patience and strategy instead of judgment,” he says. One of his proudest achievements is witnessing the shift in perception — when schools and parents stop seeing struggling learners as “lazy” or “problematic” and start recognising their unique needs and potential. “If they don’t learn the way we teach,” Cele often says, “maybe we should teach the way they learn.” Working in rural areas with limited resources forced Cele to get creative — leveraging online tools, forming cross-regional partnerships, and funding much of the early work from his own pocket. In fact, he still reinvests 25% of his salary into the organisation to help sustain its growth. Cele’s journey has shown him just how resourceful and resilient he can be — and how much power there is in small, consistent acts of service. “Our communities are strong,” he says. “Often, all they need is someone to start the conversation.” Cele is helping rewrite the narrative — one child, one classroom, and one community at a time.
