Michelle Riley Jones
Non-Profit Founder and Executive Director in Washington, DC
My organization, Project YES Africa, was established by eight friends who traveled to South Africa on vacation in 2013.
In addition to visiting key sights and experiencing various cultural events across the country, we planned a one-time service day to make a contribution in a township. Led by a local resident and tour guide, we visited a pre-school in the Khayelitsha township outside of Cape Town and delivered much needed educational supplies for the children and staff.
From the moment of our arrival, we were struck by the patchwork of unsafe and dilapidated structures, lack of basic supplies and over-crowded conditions. We found two staff persons and over 50 pre-school children eager to learn in two tiny rooms. What astonished us the most, however, was the indomitable hope and spirit of the staff and children. They exhibited grace and appreciation in spite of their circumstances.
The children sang for us. The centre director, Nokwanda, proudly demonstrated their scholastic abilities and spoke with pride about the important services the pre-school provides for families in the community.
As we prepared to leave the pre-school, we presented Nokwanda with the supplies brought from the U.S., while simultaneously coming to the realization that much more could be done to support the children in the pre-school.
By the end of our vacation, we collectively agreed that we could and must do more to address not only the needs of that pre-school, but as many children across South Africa as possible — and thus Project YES Africa was born.
As new challenges and needs arise, we will continue to strive to realize our mission of improving the development and education of school-aged children in South Africa.