Ubuntu Ground celebrates first ‘brew-thday’
The local youth empowerment initiative and income generation project has been serving a cup of the good stuff to the Highway community for a year now!
IT has been 365 days since the Hillcrest AIDS Centre Trust (HACT) launched its social enterprise project, Ubuntu Ground Cafe, and celebrated the milestone with partners friends and customers.
With concerns over job losses and the negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on local economies, initiatives that focus on job creation and retention are needed more than ever.
The café was set-up to tackle youth unemployment one cappuccino at a time.
The NGO’s CEO, Candace Davidson, said, “Ubuntu Ground is not your average coffee shop. It’s a force for positive change and youth empowerment. With the help of Container World, the Old Mutual Foundation and our corporate B-BBEE partners, Ubuntu is giving local unemployed young people the confidence, skills and training they need to secure meaningful employment. This café’s story really does mean so much more than excellent coffee!”
One of its five trainees, 23-year-old, NokuKhanya Shange, successfully completed the project’s first round of 12-month work experience placements and said the past year has been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for her.
“This time last year, before I started at Ubuntu Ground, I was just sitting at home with no job and no hope for my future. My life has changed and I have learnt so much since then,” she said.
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In addition to offering local youth practical skills development and intensive mentorship through its barista and hospitality training programme, the project is helping to generate sustainable income for HACT’s 24-bed Respite Unit, which provides free medical care and treatment to children and adults suffering from advanced stages of AIDS or terminal cancer.
Sandy Watt, Container World’s CSI manager said, “The Ubuntu Ground Café initiative is providing relevant and realistic training directly to young people in our neighbourhoods. We are delighted to be supporting this innovative initiative and would like to congratulate the HACT team for their continued insight and determination during these challenging times.”
The project will soon welcome its 2021 trainees who will begin their placement with an intensive five-day barista training course with the project’s business mentor, World Barista Champ and owner of Lineage Coffee, Craig Charity.
“Any local corporates that want to improve their SED, skills spend or enterprise development components of their B-BBEE scorecards, through supporting the Ubuntu Ground Café initiative, can contact us,” said HACT’s marketing and fundraising manager, Claire Hodgkinson.
Contact HACT on 031 765 5866 or email hactbiz@hillaids.org.za.
Caxton Local Media Covid-19 reporting
