Ngizwe Youth Theatre

Ngizwe Youth Theatre has been running in Noordgesig – an impoverished community in Diepkloof for the last 5 years. There are limited recreational activities or safe spaces for the youth to use after school.. Ngizwe means ‘hear me’, and that is at the heart of this community project, To give the children of this community a voice. It is a joyous space, a refuge from the harsh realities that forc

ed them to grow up long before their time. A place of play and to feel safe. The founder and director of the organisation is Tshabalira Lebakeng and the creative director, Emma Delius. The programme was started by Tshabalira Lebakeng with the initial goal of just keeping children off the streets. And Tshabalira knows how important that is. "I was born in Kwazulu Natal and lived on the streets of Durban from age 12-19, where I performed small shows on street corners to get money to survive. In 2010 after I moved to Diepkloof my own experience of homelessness, drove me to set up Ngizwe. I wanted to make sure young people had a safe space to go after school." We believe passionately that the youth in this community, need the opportunity to express themselves and create authentic stories about their lives and their community. Contact us !