Our Roots:
The Ntshulisa Foundation is a collaborative effort that grew from the “freelance” volunteer initiatives of the organisation’s director, Karissa Samuel.

In 2002 Karissa began organizing an annual Christmas party for various Orphanages around the country.

These events have steadily grown over the years to include several orphanages in Gauteng and the Western Cape.

The parties began with 30 toddlers from the Ethembeni Salvation Army Orphanage and have grown to ±400 children from 2-12yrs old.

In 2009 Karissa decided to incorporate a Section 21 company to continue and expand this work throughout the year. And thus the Ntshulisa Foundation was born.

Logo Inspiration:
The name “Ntshulisa” means “cause to grow" in the Xhosa language. This is the founding principle on which the foundation was established.

In the words of the designer, Artel Bam (Amadeus Artworks – facebook)
“The idea behind the logo is a seedling plant that grows a leaf and a burst of flowers to insinuate the African continent.”

The logo encapsulates the story of growth, natural growth, from seedling to flowering blossom. The seedling shows our South African roots and the flowering plant symbolizes our Pan-African outlook and approach.

Like Africa, the flowering seedling in the logo is a Diaspora of different types of flowers and leaves that are separate but come together to form something larger than the sum of its parts. This extends to our belief that individuality and group effort can be complimentary.

This is in keeping with the South African spirit of Ubuntu which says “A person cannot be a person without people.”

By leaving the flowers at the edge of the logo uncolored, we are challenging you. It's as if the logo is saying "You colour them in. Add your contribution to the organisation. We all have something to offer."

Why Ntshulisa?
NTSHULISA has always aimed to empower, change and develop society by working with orphans and underprivileged youth. With a goal-orientated approach to creating opportunities to cause growth, our main focus has now been divided into three areas; namely:

• Social Action Network
• Experiential Growth Programs and Workshops
• Mentorship Program

In a Nutshell:
The desire to establish such this Foundation was fuelled by a need to have an institution that will be able to recruit and channel the energies of young adults towards positive development by addressing the educational and social challenges faced by underprivileged youth. From its inception, NTSHULISA was always a youth driven initiative.