WeeklySA_AdminPHILANTHROPY: A new multipurpose centre in Soweto will offer meals, counselling, digital skills training and a platform for the arts, honouring a community leader who devoted her life to serving others…
By Jacob Mawela
The Stanley and Daphne Nkosi Foundation has opened the Linah Mashile Multi-Purpose Centre in Naledi Extension II, Soweto, creating a new home for community development, skills training, cultural activities and spiritual upliftment.
Residents and dignitaries gathered for the opening on Friday, October 30. Among those attending were politicians, traditional leader Chief Vhafuwi Matsila, radio presenter Sbu Leope and members of the South African acrobatics squad.
The multimillion-rand building took two years and 29 days to complete. It stands beside a clinic whose establishment was championed by Mashile, the late community leader after whom the centre is named.
Its facilities include a church, a multifunctional hall, a kitchen fitted with industrial appliances, a business hub, counselling rooms and a theatre.
Programmes will include educational activities, digital skills training, workshops, entrepreneurial development and a soup kitchen. The centre will also accommodate different churches for worship and fellowship.
According to a booklet distributed at the launch, the centre aims to provide a dedicated space for education, empowerment, spiritual upliftment and community development. Through the foundation’s support, its programmes will address practical needs, develop skills and create opportunities for younger and older residents.
The kitchen will prepare meals for community programmes and help the foundation extend food support to elderly residents and others in need. Counselling rooms will provide private spaces for guidance and emotional support.
The theatre will host performances and cultural activities while nurturing artistic talent. The church facility, known as the House of God, will accommodate services, funerals and weddings.
Together, these facilities are intended to support personal well-being, encourage participation and strengthen connections across generations.
Construction head Patrick Mokwena thanked philanthropist Daphne Mashile-Nkosi, Mashile’s daughter, for inviting him to help deliver a project intended to benefit both the surrounding neighbourhood and the wider Soweto community.
“I have had the privilege of leading a hardworking, resilient team of bricklayers and specialists working alongside engineers to bring this centre to life,” Mokwena said.
Project manager Welcome Mashinini described overseeing the development and coordinating the professionals involved as both a demanding responsibility and a privilege.
“Each decision had implications for the programme, costs, quality and the people who would eventually use the building,” Mashinini said.
He added that working under Mashile-Nkosi’s leadership had brought a clear sense of accountability.
In a message to Naledi residents, the foundation urged the community to care for the centre, protect and maintain its facilities, and make full use of the opportunities it offers.
A lifetime of service
Born in Pilgrim’s Rest, Mpumalanga, on October 31, 1930, Linah Mashile later made Soweto her home and devoted her life to serving its residents. She died on October 21, 2022, aged 91.
Her community work included campaigning for the City of Johannesburg to build the Naledi clinic, running a soup kitchen, supporting elderly residents and involving young people in arts and crafts.
The centre opened on the eve of what would have been her 96th birthday.
Lasting legacy
The Stanley and Daphne Nkosi Foundation is a nonprofit organisation established by Daphne Mashile-Nkosi and her late husband, Stanley Nkosi, to improve the lives of ordinary South Africans.
The foundation describes its vision as instilling a lasting legacy of self-worth, empowerment and sound moral values. Its mission centres on investing in initiatives that enable South Africans to lead empowered, independent lives.
Its projects include the Zakithi Nkosi Paediatric Haematology Clinic at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital, houses and libraries for disadvantaged communities, and educational bursaries.
Stanley Nkosi was an ANC underground operative who worked with Kgalema Motlanthe and Siphiwe Nyanda during the liberation struggle.
The new Naledi centre extends that legacy of service, providing a place where residents can learn, find support and develop their talents.
