Afrika Tikkun Hosts Disability Partnership and Support Breakfast to Advance Inclusion

Afrika Tikkun brought together partners, organisations, and community stakeholders at its Disability Partnership and Support Breakfast, a lively engagement event focused on strengthening collaboration and advancing disability inclusion across South Africa.

The gathering highlighted the importance of building proactive, meaningful connections to ensure persons with disabilities are supported in practical and sustainable ways.

Lana Roy, Programme Lead of 360: Disability Inclusion at Afrika Tikkun, stressed the critical role of partnerships in driving impact. Reflecting on her research conducted four years ago, she noted that while many organisations were doing remarkable work, their efforts often went unnoticed.

“I was doing research in Soweto and found many physiotherapists supporting children with Cerebral Palsy. Less than a kilometre away, another organisation was doing similar work - yet neither knew the other existed,” said Roy.

Inspired by this discovery, Roy mapped disability-focused organisations across Gauteng and Johannesburg, revealing clusters of groups working independently but in close proximity. This reinforced the need for collaboration to amplify impact.

“We are all trying to solve different problems, but we need each other. Individually we are strong, but together we can make a difference,” she added.

Afrika Tikkun emphasised that these partnerships form the backbone of disability inclusion, ensuring that persons with disabilities receive care and support that is both sensible and practical.

Chief Ralekhudu Enterprise (CRE), one of the participants from the breakfast has extended their gratitude to Afrika Tikkun for the opportunity, as well as all individuals, organisations, government departments, and NGOs who showed up with commitment and vision. At CRE, they believe empowerment is not a promise, rather it is work done with hands, hearts, and collaboration. Echoing the key message from the breakfast, they emphasised on the importance of continuing to stand together, to build, to restore dignity, and to empower more persons with disabilities across communities.

Afrika Tikkun's Cradle-to-Career model not only demonstrates that sustainable changes happen when children are supported holistically from early childhood through school, but have also included children and youth with disabilities. Afrika Tikkun knows that real impact is made from partnerships in helping their beneficiaries.

ABOUT AFRIKA TIKKUN

Afrika Tikkun is a non-profit organisation dedicated to transforming the lives of children and youth in South Africa. For over 30 years, it has helped communities break the cycle of poverty by providing access to education, healthcare, nutrition, skills training, and personal development.

Its pioneering 360o Cradle-to-Career model has demonstrated that sustainable change happens when children are supported holistically from early childhood through school, skills training, and employment placement. Afrika Tikkun’s work is made possible through partnerships with government, business, and civil society.

Afrika Tikkun Services (Pty) Ltd is a separate entity within the Afrika Tikkun Group, offering skills training, recruitment, job placement, and B-BBEE advisory services.

Together, these organisations bridge the gap between South Africa's youth and opportunities that will transform their futures.

www.afrikatikkun.org