Acacia Global

07/16/2024

Thursday, July 18th is Nelson Mandela International Day—a day when people are encouraged to spend at least 67 minutes doing something good for the world. The number, 67, honors the 67 years that Nelson Mandela fought for social justice, equality and democracy.

The day, celebrated on Mandela’s birthday, was inspired by a speech he gave urging the leaders of all nations to change the world for the better. He said in that 2008 speech, “It’s in your hands now.”

It is in our hands.

Join all of us at Acacia Global by doing a little bit of good in the world on Thursday, July 18, wherever you are.

12/12/2023

Our 2023 Leadership Award recipient is Mr. Maxwell Funo.

Maxwell Funo is the principal at Mkhanyiseli Primary Cchool in KTC township situated in Nyanga Cape Town, South Africa. Maxwell has been teaching at the school for 25 years and was promoted to be the principal in July 2021. He received his degree at the University of Cape Town in Education Management and Leadership Development.

Mkhanyiseli Primary School dates back to 1950, and its community has been facing the harsh realities of unemployment for years. Maxwell stated that he “strongly believes that the poor background of these learners should not be a determining factor of their destiny.” Maxell has a strong vision for the future of the school and it’s students. He is a tireless advocate to provide them with the resources needed to make their education meaningful and possible. (Acacia has helped sponsor the purchase of new computers at his school.)

Mr. Funo is very passionate about e-Learning and recently won a competition sponsored by Microsoft Partners in Learning (MSPiL) in the categories of ‘Collaboration’ and ‘Innovation in a challenging context,' representing South Africa in the Middle East in Morocco.

07/16/2023

Mandela Day is July 18, honoring the life and legacy of Nelson Mandela. We're raising money to equip Mkhanysileli Primary School's computer lab with enough computers for every student to access.

12/10/2021

December 10 is Human Rights Day. Each year on this day, we recognize a leader in the community with the Acacia Global Leadership Award. This year, with a nomination by our partners in South Africa, we have selected David Mantangana, a well-spoken, respected elder in his neighborhood, and our 2021 Leadership Award recipient.

David is a leader in building a resilient local economy in black townships at a time where there is high competition, crime and no capital to support his small business. His story of losing his job and not giving up after his retrenchment is motivation to many people. He owns a spaza shop, which are part of the traditional, local economy in black communities. They are informal grocery shops operating to serve the needs of the community in the sense that they offer basic household and grocery items. He decided to build a generational legacy of resilience, at a time when many South African spaza shops have experienced great losses in income and/or closed down.

Even though he does not make a profit, he feeds his community by periodically offering free meals to poor neighbors.

In addition, although David has no capital he strongly believes that black Africans should not give up even if it is hard. We are glad to be able to honor David Mantangana with the 2021 Acacia Global Leadership Award.

01/27/2021

Food scarcity is an on-going challenge for South Africans, made worse during the pandemic. With your support, we've been able to continue to partner with food justice advocates to create and maintain community gardens, a movement that's never been more important. In this video you'll see Vuyani Qamata, one of the leaders of the movement, a member of our Advisory Board of Directors, and the recipient of our 2018 Global Leadership Award. We are so grateful for his leadership and your support of his work.

When hard lockdown hit this year, food queues and soup kitchens sprung up to alleviate the burden of what analysts predicted would be food scarcity of biblic...

12/09/2020

We're proud to present our 2020 Global Leadership Award to Chris and Shanelle Montana, founders of Du Nord Craft Spirits and Du Nord Foundation. Du Nord Craft Spirits is located at the center of the riots that followed George Floyd’s murder, and is the nation’s first black-owned distillery. Its founders, Chris and Shanelle Montana, responded to the uprising by raising money for affected businesses and opening a food bank. A month later, the Du Nord Foundation was created to address racial inequities in the Twin Cities.

Du Nord Foundation’s three pillars include: addressing immediate food insecurity, preserving existing minority-owned businesses, and empowering communities of color through economic development. To date, the Foundation has raised nearly $800,000. The work the Du Nord Foundation is doing in Minneapolis mirrors the work Acacia Global has been supporting in communities in South Africa.

Since the inception of its Global Leadership Award, Acacia Global has recognized outstanding leadership in the sub-Saharan African countries of South Africa and Namibia. This year, for the first time, Acacia Global’s Global Leadership Award is presented to American visionaries, Chris and Shanelle Montana and the Du Nord Foundation in recognition of their inspiring leadership.

10/21/2020

MCSJ and the Community Lockdown Experience
Below is a 20 minute documentary, created by a University of Cape Town student, about community issues regarding COVID and how the community is dealing with it. MCSJ was asked to be a part of the documentary so you will hear our friend, Mandla Majola, narrate; he is also interviewed along with other members of MCSJ.

A teaching tool video helping me to understand what the lockdown means for communities in Cape Town, South Africa

08/22/2020

Thank you for joining us this morning. If you were unable to join, or wish to revisit the conversation, we've posted a video of it online.

08/22/2020

We're having a conversation this morning about the issues of COVID and racism in South Africa and the US. To donate to T. Mychael, Vuyiseka and Mandla's work: Penumbra Theater Next Generation Program https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/store/35025/alldonations/34203 and South Africa Projects: AEDC and MCSJ https://www.givemn.org/story/Acacia

100% of donations will benefit AEDC and MCSJ, programs led by Vuyiseka Dubula and Mandla Majola.