Zeenat Isaacs from Colorado Park stands to be nationally recognised for her work in the upliftment of locals.
She is a nominee in the 2024 DearSA Young Leaders Awards, which aims to recognise the significant contributions of young South Africans to their communities and the country as a whole, across five categories.
The awards were open to nominations between December 2023 and January 2024.
“An email was sent to me to announce I was up for this National Award and was nominated out of the many South Africans doing great work in South Africa,” Isaacs said.
Main focus
She is one of 17 nominees in the Sports, Environment and Culture category.
“My organisation Sm-art – Supporting Mentorship Through Art, grows and beautifies communities in need. We run various workshops, programmes and projects deeply rooted in the arts. We practise environmental and health awareness and we also offer yoga, sports and self defence training.”
The main focus of the organisation is on visual arts. Currently, Sm-art offers art as a form of healing at no-fee schools, organisations and early childhood development centres in rural and urban areas.
“These areas are mainly in impoverished parts,” Isaacs said. “We target so-called vulnerable groups. Coming from Mitchells Plain myself, growing up being faced with the same daily challenges, I wondered how diffrent it would be if we had the opportunities that more privileged people had. As time went on . . . I noticed the increased need for proper after-school programmes in these under-resourced areas.”
Giving back
After years of working behind the scenes, most often never even being mentioned yet being directly responsible for the assistance and upliftment of other, just being nominated means a lot, she said.
“It would, however, feel good, be heart-warming and great to win the award because it will then in turn enable me to give back more to the communities in need, especially when it comes to me feeding and clothing the needy.”
The award will be given to a candidate based on 50% public vote and 50% selection from the panel of judges.
Locals can vote for Isaacs on the DearSA website until the end of April. Visit https://dears.africa/young-leaders-awards-2024/ and find her in the Sports, Environment and Culture category.
