LEARN1

What does it mean to be a social innovator?

To me, I think being a social innovator is about not succ**bing to your circ**stances. To take charge of the innate ability within all of us to reach out and help our fellow humankind and channel this energy into making the world a better place for all.

No one is a victim of circ**stance, we are only victims of our own mental constructs.

A social innovator rises beyond these challenges, he/she seeks to understand why things are the way they are, why things are always done the way they are, why people always behave and percieve things the way they do, and then turns these views and perceptions upside-down, challanging people, organizations and governments to change, to develop and to grow. They are trendsetters, they develop new technologies, they come up with ideas that seem crazy at first, but later on turn out to be the right ones!

In my research about being a social innovator, I have come accross this AMAZING intiative in South Africa (my homeland) called Gogo Getters (run by an organization called LoveLife). With this initiative, they are training the elderly grandparents to look after and care for the orphan kids and grandkids of their children and childrens' children. This is a valuable tool, and a socially innovative concept, where the once 'useless' and aging are now empowered to care for these kids (often the orphans of HIV/AIDS parents, some have HIV/AIDS themselves) and help them access social welfare grants from the government.

It is this spirit of 'Ubuntu' and togetherness that has allowed these often illeterate, uneducated grandparents to not only bring a new purpose to their lives, but to enable such children the full opportunity to a bright and happier future. In South Africa we have a saying, 'A community is only as strong as the children it raises'. These are grannies with a mission, a mission to change society! True Social Innovators!

I have attached an excerpt from an article published on the LoveLife.org.za website to showcase this incredible initiative, and the impact it has had on the community.

Gogo’s rule!
2009-09-11

Gogo, granny, makhulu... Whatever you call your gran, young folks agree that these ladies can be real lifesavers. By: Kerryn Krige and Esther Etkin

Lucia Ngobeni (55) is one determined gogo. For the past 25 years, she’s been looking after children who’ve been orphaned and abandoned, and today looks after 29 children at her homestead just outside Orange Farm, Gauteng, Her ‘kids’ range in age from five months old to a posse of teens, all studying hard for their Matric exams and sometimes driving her crazy, just like any other adolescents trying to figure stuff out. “When a girl turns 16, life suddenly becomes so complicated,” says gogo Lucia. “All I can hope is that I’ve given her a strong sense of right and wrong.”

But doing the right thing is precisely what gets this gogo up in the morning – that, and a lot of willpower. Gogo Lucia didn’t always look after children. She used to sell offal on the side of the road in Soweto. That’s when she met two children who’d been sleeping in the street. She took them in and the rest, as they say, is history. With no formal funding, she’s built and runs an entire household, where she feeds nearly 70 children, looks after 29, and works with a small team to care for and train these young people. “We love gogo because she took us from the streets, and gave us not only a home, but also her heart,” says Nthuseng Magamu (16).

And as soon as you meet gogo Lucia, you understand why she’s so good at being a grandma to so many. It’s downright impossible to say no to the lady – a quality she’s used to persuade the communities around her to give back. She’s also helped by equally tough and determined women: Housemother Lindi Dlamini (39) and carer Angeline Jali (77), who’s better known as gogo Ma Darling

Together, the gogos provide the children with “care, support and structure, so that they can grow well”. But growing up “well” isn’t just a matter of being cleaned and clothed for gogo Lucia – it’s also about pushing her kids to go far in life. “The biggest success I can hope for the children is that they pass Grade 12, and that they know what it is that they want to do. To get education is the most important thing that they can have, followed by knowing what to do with that education.”

Gogo Lucia is a goGogetter, who participates in loveLife’s goGogetter programme.

loveLife’s goGogetters

loveLife, along with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, are harnessing the power of grandmothers across South Africa. Knowing that for years gogos have been caring for children in need, particularly AIDS-orphaned youth, loveLife is working with them to provide ongoing support, guidance, skills development and stipends so they’re even more of a force to reckon with! It’s a movement of gogos who are making sure young people have food to eat, stay in school, have access to grants, are safe from violence and abuse and have a sense of belonging – never to feel alone again. For more info about loveLife’s goGogetter programme, visit www.lovelife.org.za or phone the goGogetter helpline on 0800 121 500.

Why we love our gogos

UNCUT wanted to know why you guys love your grandparents, and what you’ve always wanted to tell them:

“When social workers took us away from our stepmother, who wasn’t looking after us right, they brought us to gogo Lucia. She took us all in – my brother, my sister and me – and she helped us when we were in need. It’s good to be here with gogo. It’s good that we’re all here together.” – Nyatsa Morako (16)

“Grandparents remind us about our rituals and traditions so that we never forget. I think it’s time we did something. We need to show our gogos that we care. Give them a rest. Do something.” – Flo Moloi (21)

“Each day I realise how much my gogo has taught me. I don’t realise it in obvious ways – it’s not like, ‘Wow! That was Lesson 500 from the Gogo Book!’ It’s more subtle – she has taught me how to cope, how to be, how to behave, how to deal with difficult situations and how to care for others. I’m not quite sure how you ever say thank you to someone for giving you so much.” – Eddie Mokoena (19)

“Gogo has taught me how to behave around people, especially boys. She’s taught me to have respect. But must importantly, she has taught me to have integrity.” – Nokubonga Phungula (19)