Thusangwaneno is a non-profit organisation and registered with The Department of Social Development. The organisation’s focus is on education and making it more accessible to everyone.
“The foundation was started in 2015 when I realised that most students do not have registration and tuition fees. It resonated with my own experience as I also went through the same challenges and with the help of my community I managed to be at university. I feel this project is a way of giving back into the community,” he says.
“I did not know how to raise funds, so I went to the traffic lights alone to ask for donations from motorists. I made R100 000 and subsequently more volunteers started to join in the programme. We have assisted registration and tuition fees”
Through the years, Thusangwaneno has managed to raise millions. It has assisted more than 500 students with registration and tuition fees, donated seven mini-libraries, and countless laptops. It has also assisted more than 150 students with learners and drivers licenses. The foundation has also covered books of learners for more than 300 schools in South Africa and painted seven schools.
Dr Molepo’s work has been recognized by the Parliament of South Africa, and the Presidency awarded him for his compassionate work as he made an immense contribution in the community. In 2020, he was ranked 42nd of the 100 most influential young South Africans by Avance Media and took the third position under the education category.
His career kick started as a student assistant and later became a tutor at the Tshwane University of Technology.
“I worked for six months as an administrator for NSFAS then worked as a postgraduate officer. I worked as a lecturer and was promoted to a senior lecturer and programme leader for municipal management at North West University. The journey was perforated with hard work and determination.”
He joined the University of Mpumalaga in 2020 as a senior lecturer for Public Administration and later as a programme leader for Bachelor of Administration.
Dr Molepo has a Doctoral Degree in Public Affairs and some of his achievements include presenting research papers at both national and international conferences. He has also published scientific papers in numerous accredited and non-accredited journals; both national and international.
He is the Executive Director of the South African Association of Public Administration and Management (SAAPAM) whose mission is to encourage and promote good governance and effective service delivery through the advancement of professionalism, scholarship and practice in public administration and management.
@ Story by Lisa Thabethe. Pictures supplied.