Zimele Wethu Foundation

Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Community developmentPoverty & HungerChildren & YouthEmployment & SkillsTax-deductible donations

NGOFounded 2015Regional reach

Profile last updated: August 8, 2026

About

Founded in 2015, Zimele Wethu Foundation is a non-governmental organisation based in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa working on community development, poverty & hunger, children & youth +2 more.

Zimele Wethu Foundation is a registered non-profit company in South Africa with public benefit organisation status. Founded in 2015 by Dr Audrey Mukwavi Matimelo and Mr Xolani Ernest Zondi, it works with women, youth and men in rural and township communities in KwaZulu-Natal. Using the Self Help Group concept, it supports social care projects such as early childhood development, home-based care, orphan and vulnerable child care, life skills and computer schools, and economic initiatives such as enterprise development, savings groups and cooperative business formation. Its stated aim is to help communities become self-reliant rather than dependent on handouts.

Location

Pietermaritzburg, South Africa

Founded

2015

Organisation type

NGO

Legal form

Non-profit company

Focus areas

Self Help GroupsCommunity developmentWomen empowermentRural developmentKwaZulu-Natal

Languages

Causes & programmes

Causes

Community developmentPoverty & HungerChildren & YouthEmployment & SkillsGender equality

Works for

Women & GirlsYouthCommunitiesChildrenFamiliesPeople in poverty

How they work

Capacity buildingCommunity programmesAdvocacy & campaigningDirect services

Programmes

Willow fountain day-care centre

Children & Youth · South Africa

Day-care centre providing education and care for children in the community, with support for teenage mothers returning to school and elderly guardians of orphaned children.

Self Help Group concept

Community development · South Africa

Community-based approach in which women, youth and men form Self Help Groups that save money, access loans, and build cluster and federation structures for social and economic development in rural and township communities.