LIVING in big cities inspired Chuma Dulaze, the founder and director of the Rural Empowerment Foundation, to uplift young people by introducing various programmes at Mandileni locality in Mount Frere.
Dulaze confirmed that he had started in his birthplace because he saw that young people were struggling to fulfil their dreams. According to him, growing up in Cape Town and Johannesburg made him aware of the significant differences between rural and urban areas.
“Through this initiative, I aim to bridge the gap between the two so that youth from rural areas have the same opportunities as those in urban areas,” he said.
“We focus on uplifting the lives of people in this area by supporting education, sport, arts, and culture. I also realised that many young people struggle to find jobs because their CVs are not properly structured. As a result, in June, we will be hosting a three-day workshop to equip them with skills in CV writing, interview preparation, and more,” Dulaze added.
He also confirmed that last year, they assisted matriculants with university applications. Most of the time, he funds the initiative from his own pocket or seeks donations. In addition to supporting learners, the foundation provides training for talented individuals in filmmaking, art, music, and acting.
Dulaze further mentioned that they are currently working on a film titled Lizalise, which is produced by Double Light Media. He confirmed that there were two groups, learners from senior secondary school and pre-matric, who were introduced to filmmaking as a career.
“We were focusing on those who are interested in the career of filmmaking but had nowhere to look. We provided a platform for them to hone and test their filmmaking skills.”
He confirmed that the film Lizalise does not fall under his foundation, but it is a collaboration between filmmakers from the Alfred Nzo region and himself.
“I am a filmmaker by profession, so I was hired in a personal capacity to be the director of the film. Part of the agreement was to include a learning component in the shooting of the film.
“That is where my foundation and the learners come in. It became a collaboration between my foundation and the filmmakers; we facilitated the training and transferring of skills. Learners from senior secondary schools got introduced to filmmaking as a career.”
