“WE LIFT AS WE RISE”

Happy Feet Youth Project is a NPO founded in 2007 by Siviwe Mbinda in an effort to provide a safe after school environment for the children of his community. Through Siviwe’s work as a tourist guide in Langa, he saw an opportunity to further develop the mentor relationship he had with a small group of children. He paired responsible tourism and gumboots dance together as a catalyst to enable psychosocial and concrete benefits for the children.

Siviwe Mbinda established a program which empowers the children through gumboots and traditional dance to be confident and disciplined in achieving their goals both on and off the stage. The participants are required to balance their school work, participation in the Happy Feet activities, as well as how they carry themselves within the community. Siviwe Mbinda is being assisted by his near and dear ones to help him run the program.

The program includes over 100 boys and girls ages 3-22. Through dedication and hard work Happy Feet has performed at conferences, traditional ceremonies, hotels, universities, dance competitions, museums, and in parliament. The funding Happy Feet receives goes towards uniforms, traditional instruments, nutritious meals made in our very own soup kitchen, school fees and material support, and also Happy Feet outings and functions.

OUR MISSION

Our mission is to improve educational opportunities and to encourage healthy lifestyles for our children. We want to be able to offer scholarships to all Happy Feet members to attend great schools for better education. We also want to be able to provide healthy meals every day to the more than 150 children living in the area of where the members of Happy Feet stay and where we Happy Feet training garage is located.

Additional to this we want to have the opportunity to go to different events to perform and arrange outings and travels. This shows our children the opportunities around us and helps develop a better world-view. It also help the children to express themselves in a positive way.