In a conversation with TRUELOVE in 2014, Soweto-born Sibongile Mkhabela is among many women who hold demanding and powerful jobs in South Africa.
As the CEO of the Mandela Children’s Fund from 2001 to 2020, Sibongile oversaw the day-to-day running of the office, but most importantly, she had to see that Nelson Mandela’s legacy of taking care of children’s needs in South Africa lives on.
She continued to work hard at raising the money needed to sustain the Fund.
“Our relationship was an interesting one,” she says of working with Madiba from 1999, when she joined the Fund.
“It was one with the elder, uTata, but he was also my boss. It was like a mentoring situation all the time,” she says fondly of the late statesman, who established the Fund in 1995, driven by his love for children and the desire to end their suffering.
“I came into the organisation as programme director and later became CEO in 2001.”
The selection process for the position was a gruelling experience and no preferential treatment was given to her.
“I had the former Fund’s chairman Judge Dikgang Moseneke, interviewing me; it was tough,” she muses.
The post was put out to the world so anyone could apply, which upset Sibongile.
“I must say, my ego was bruised because I felt I was doing the job anyway. Why must I go through the process?”
But Judge Moseneke was very firm and told her she would have to go through the process if she wanted the job.
“I was so angry and only submitted my CV 10 minutes before the closing time. But I’m so glad I did because he was right. Upon reflection, Sibongile was very grateful that Judge Moseneke made her go through the process because they were able to see a range of people and decide on the very best.
“If I had been given the job on a silver platter, I’d never have felt I qualified to do it,” she says.
“Because of this I was able to hold my head high; no one was doing me a favour. I was appointed because I’m capable and competent,” she says.
Since then, Sibongile and her team of 30 have become advocates for children’s rights. She’s seen the foundation go from strength to strength and has been instrumental in overseeing some of its most impactful projects.
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The 2014 project that kept her on her toes was the building of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital in Parktown, Johannesburg.
There’ll be centres of excellence in the hospital, which include treatments like haematology-oncology and bone marrow transplant and cardiology/cardiothoracic surgery among many others. With just one other children’s hospital in South Africa, this one is very much needed.
“I actually went on site the other day and thought, ‘what have I gone and done?’,” she laughs with pride and a sense of accomplishment.
For Sibongile, there was no turning back on this multi-million-rand project, which was set to be completed in the next two years.
Sis Bongi, as she’s affectionately known, has been involved since the planning stages of the hospital − from 2009, when the University of the Witwatersrand donated the site for the hospital to be built on.
The project started to take shape under her leadership and to date, the Fund has raised more than R580 million of the R1 billion needed to complete the building.
“The completion of the hospital will be confirmation that we are capable beyond our wildest imagination. It will also mean that we will finally provide for the children the service they so rightly deserve,” she says.
Madiba’s passing in December 2013 had encouraged more people to lend a helping hand and keep the Fund going.
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“We have more friends who want to be part of the vision and who want to do that which Tata asked for: a centre of excellence for children. World icons such as Bill and Melinda Gates donated significantly to this project as a way of keeping Madiba’s legacy alive,” she adds.
On arrival at her offices in Saxonwold, Johannesburg, I was welcomed by the sound of a fire crackling in the background and pictures of smiling children on the walls.
On the left side of Sibongile’s desk hangs a portrait of Nelson Mandela, as if guiding her and giving her strength to persevere.
Her leadership approach is hands-on and she actively raises the money for the Fund to continue. She attributes this to her activist background.
Growing up at the height of the apartheid regime, she found herself at the centre of the struggle for liberation. Nonetheless, it was a colourful upbringing.
“I think the most important thing I gained by growing up at that time is a sense of connectedness, community and friendship. I felt like part of a whole,” she reminisces.
But life wasn’t easy. She took part in the 1976 uprising and got arrested and sentenced to five years in prison. After her release in 1981, she had to serve a three-year banning order.
“They restricted me in terms of where I could and couldn’t be. Most importantly, I couldn’t be in any school whatsoever,” she says.
This delayed her studies. In 1982, she got married to Ishmael Mkhabela, a well-known activist and founding chairperson of the political party AZAPO.
The couple met after she contested an initiative Ishmael was trying to promote during the struggle days. A few years later, she left to study at the University of Zululand, popularly known as Ongoye.
“I already had my three children when I enrolled at the university. My youngest was two years old at the time. I was absolutely blessed that I married my husband because very few men, not even my father, would allow their wives to go away to study for four years.
“I wanted to do law, but ended up doing social work, which I also loved. It would’ve taken me longer to do a law degree, and time was of the essence. So social work was a great platform,” she elaborates.
Her love for people and human rights are powerful motivators for Sibongile.
“I’ve always felt that the Children’s Fund is a platform for advocating the kind of society we want to create for our children to inherit. It’s what has kept me going here,” she concludes.
