Cynthia Sindiswa Mancotywa
Environment, Agriculture and Sustainability
Nominee's Province:
Eastern Cape
Project Name/Description:
Thenjinosi Development Project and Safe House, Project Manager
Cynthia Sindiswa Mancotywa is the project manager of the Thenjinosi Development Project and Safe House in Alice, Eastern Cape. Since 2022, she has been spearheading an agricultural initiative called Backyard Gardens. This project was launched after Mancotywa noticed a troubling trend: individuals undergoing HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis treatment were defaulting on their medication because they lacked adequate food and could not take their medication on an empty stomach.
The Backyard Gardens project has had a significant impact, directly benefiting over 200 households, two churches, four old age homes, and seven child-headed families.
In honour of this year’s Mandela Day, Mancotywa organised and led a cleaning campaign in Alice, dedicated to observing Nelson Mandela’s 67 minutes of service. She is advocating for this cleaning campaign to become a weekly event to help maintain a clean environment.
“We noticed that outside their homes, they had plots that had been turned into dumping sites. We introduced vegetable gardens to them by providing seedlings, which we purchased using proceeds from our craft sales,” Mancotywa explained.
Currently, she and her team are preparing for Tree Planting Month in October. They plan to plant trees in shared spaces such as local schools, clinics, parks, crèches, and old age centres to promote environmental sustainability and enhance food security.
