Dr Rethabile Mashale Sonibare
Nominee's Province:
Western Cape
Project Name/Description:
Molo Mhlaba School
Dr Rethabile Mashale Sonibare, 36, is the co-founder and director of Molo Mhlaba Schools, a non-profit organization providing low-fee, independent education to girls in Khayelitsha township in the Western Cape, using the unique iSTEAM (innovation, science, technology, engineering, arts/design, and math) curriculum. The first and only campus so far, it opened its doors in 2018 to 112 girls from the community. “Education has opened up so many doors and opportunities for me as a black woman working and living in the townships,” Sonibare says. “Had I not had the foundational education I received in primary and high school, I doubt I would have had the pathway to university that I had.” Sonibare describes herself as a passionate and driven person who is on a mission to shine her light in her little corner of the world. As a member of her community of Khayelitsha, she is “also deeply rooted in social justice and the need to bring development and a better tomorrow to society’s most vulnerable – young girls”. She humbly emphasizes that the presence of the school has manifested the long-term goal of having a truly community-led school that serves the women and girls. And, so far, 21 employment opportunities have been created for the women of Khayelitsha.
