Zolani Mahola, a South African singer, actress, storyteller, and inspirational speaker, is a celebrated artist who has graced the same stage as music legends like Stevie Wonder and Hugh Masekela. Known for her ability to unite people through her art, she launched her solo career in 2019, transcending social, racial, and cultural divides.

Passionate about empowering children and youth, she is an ambassador for the Seachange Project, Zip Zap Circus School, Morris Isaacson Centre for Music, and the Earthchild Project. Her 2019 self-penned one-woman play, “The One Who Sings”, earned her the prestigious Fleur Du Cap award for Best Actress.

Her debut solo album, “Thetha Mama,” released in November 2021, explores themes of childhood, nature, and storytelling, earning two nominations at the 2022 South African Music Awards.

Sasha-Lee is a 26 year old Published Author, Business Owner, Model and Philanthropist. 

A Bachelor of Social Sciences Graduate with a double Major in Marketing and Psychology now also pursing her qualifications in Education. Sasha has always been passionate about education and youth development from a very young age and has actively been involved in giving back within her community.

In 2018 Sasha started Learn to Read, Learn to Lead with the aim and vision to help create a literate nation in South Africa especially amongst areas that lack resources. Learn to Read, Learn to Lead consists of children’s educational books to teach children the basics of reading, writing and counting while also addressing social issues such as bullying, child trafficking and protecting the environment.

In 2018 the first book was recognized as book of the year in Parliament at the National Youth Summit and Sasha was awarded Young Leader in Philanthropy. These books give back to two beneficiaries being the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund and the Tshwane Child Welfare Fund and Sasha is very excited about the recent partnership with Breadline Africa as well!

Breadline Africa is doing an incredible job to help develop children in poor communities and I am excited to be working with them and hoping to change the lives of many more children within South Africa.

The books from Learn to Read, Learn to Lead are featured as learning materials in schools in Delft, Western Cape, Witkoppen Primary and has been featured in Bulgaria with their department of education.

Sasha has since also been awarded the Woman of Wonder Award in August 2022, Top 50 Inspirational Woman of 2022 and Top 50 Global Inspiring Icons for 2023.

Jane Hardy, based in the UK, is an extreme cold water swimmer, and was the first English woman to swim an ice kilometre in Antarctica in February 2020.

Jane swam the Freedom Swim, a mass participation event that takes place from Robben Island to the Cape Town mainland in 2015 where she met Arafat Gatabazi, a Breadline Africa ambassador who reconnected her with Breadline Africa director, Marion Wagner after 25 years, as it turned out that they had attended university together!

Jane took the opportunity to learn more about Breadline Africa’s work, and was so impressed with the difference the organisation was making to children in under-resourced communities, that she took it upon herself to actively raise funds. Together with Arafat, she swam around the moat in the Castle of Good Hope to celebrate its 250th birthday, while raising awareness and funding for Breadline Africa and also arranged events in the UK – included sitting in an ice bath outside her local Sainsburys supermarket for Sport Relief, a fundraising arm of Comic Relief, a UK-based international funding entity. The store kindly gifted a range of basic necessities, which Jane brought on her next visit to South Africa to be distributed to one of Breadline Africa’s pre-school projects in Khayelitsha, Cape Town.

Jane’s involvement in making the world a better place is not limited to Breadline Africa and she lends her time and efforts to several environmental causes, with a strong emphasis on protecting the oceans. She rescues marine mammals for British Divers Marine Life Rescue and is involved with Pawz for Thought, a domestic animal rescue organisation.

Themba Robin is an acclaimed voice-over artist, actor, MC, and content creator, celebrated for his captivating performances in TV adverts and his ingenious portrayal of David Attenborough with a uniquely South African flair.

Beyond his comedic talents, Themba is a dedicated champion for wildlife conservation and the welfare of South African children. Through his influential platforms, he passionately spreads awareness and actively contributes to making a positive impact in the lives of those most in need.

Khanyisa JamJam is a standup comedian, writer, MC and social media influencer from Port Elizabeth, and now based in Cape Town. His daily Instagram videos offer a hilarious take on South African life, engaging a diverse, cross-cultural audience. His commentary on local and global sports has earned him the admiration of fans and sponsors alike.

He holds a Bachelor of Social Science from UCT in Politics and Economic History. JamJam is a proud South African who loves his country and believes in building a better South Africa together.

As a proudly South African young entrepreneur, speaker and business owner of a swimwear company called She Succeeds, Bianca Bezuidenhout probably looks quite familiar – and she should, as a Miss South Africa finalist and audience favourite!

She was born in Newcastle, Kwazulu Natal and matriculated in Bloemfontein in 2017. After obtaining a BA degree in Marketing Communications from AAA School of advertising in 2020, she decided to pursue a childhood dream of becoming one of the youngest contestants to make it to the top five of Miss South Africa in 2021. And being the resolute young lady that she is, that is exactly what happened.

In addition to her business, Bianca is a Zumba dance instructor, taking the opportunity to bring people together through dance and in celebration of health, fitness and unity. Through her passion for community work, she is a youth ambassador for several community projects and lives out her passion and mission to move South Africa forward, faster.

She sums herself up in three words: Faithful, compassionate, purposeful.

Amakou Telar is a professional model, actress, peace activist, and influential figure dedicated to serving humanity. She is a social and peaceful individual who strives to spread peace, love, kindness, and happiness wherever she goes. Filled with zeal, Amakou is passionate about living life to the fullest and making a positive impact on others.

Committed to sponsoring and supporting the less fortunate across Africa, Amakou is devoted to her mission. Her reliability, leadership, and teamwork make her a standout advocate for those in need. Through her work, she consistently demonstrates her dedication to creating a better world.

Antoinette was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo and relocated to South Africa in 1994, fleeing from one of the most impoverished and war-torn countries in the world. Throughout her journey, she has been deeply involved with children in South Africa. She worked for Debate Mate UK while pursuing her degree in London and dedicated over 3 years to working for the Johannesburg-based charity Voice To Echo. Unfortunately, their work was affected by the pandemic, prompting their move to Cape Town. Antoinette’s passion lies in making a positive impact and assisting children in need.

James Bloom is a teenager from New York City and a dual USA / South African citizen.  Together with his brother Colin (also a Breadline Africa Ambassador) he co-founded Libraries for Literacy to provide greater access to books and improve literacy in South Africa. To date they have established 5 libraries at schools in South Africa (3 in partnership with Breadline Africa).

James is also the founder of African Folktales for Kids. Frustrated by the scarcity of African language children’s books, he merged his interest in folktales with his passion for literacy to create a series of early-reader folktales in African languages. So far, he has authored five African folktales that are each available in Zulu, Xhosa, Xitsonga Sepedi and English (with Sotho and Tswana versions in the works).

In collaboration with Breadline Africa, James is partnering with OneSight South Africa to provide free eyesight testing and glasses to students at the schools where he has established libraries.

Since 2018, James has taught free after-school classes to underprivileged kids at the Washington Heights Y. Each summer he returns to the South African libraries he’s established to teach literacy and promote a culture of book borrowing. In 2023 James and his brother Colin presented at the World Literacy Summit at Oxford University.

Colin Bloom is a young New Yorker and a dual USA / South African citizen. In 2023 he attended the African Leadership Academy in Johannesburg and was also named as a winner of the International Literacy Association’s global 30 Under 30 award. Together with his brother James (also a Breadline Africa Ambassador) he co-founded Libraries for Literacy.

In 2018 Colin and James were walking down a grocery store aisle in South Africa when they noticed that all the packaged food had pictures of what was inside. They were used to packages that just had the name of the food, such as “Campbell’s Tomato Soup”. When they asked their dad why all the food had pictures, he explained that many people in South Africa could not read. Believing that literacy is a fundamental human right, they founded Libraries for Literacy to provide greater access to books and improve literacy in South Africa. To date they have established 5 libraries at schools in South Africa (3 in partnership with Breadline Africa).

Colin is attending Harvard University.

Douglas Bragdon earned a master’s degree in English at West Virginia University in 1981, and then began a successful career with the Federal Government.  In 2008, he formed a small company to provide engineering and management services to the Government and during the course of 2021, retired from all government work and sold the company.  

As Douglas began to contemplate a restful retirement, he began to write funding proposals for local non-profit organizations in the human services sector. The organisations he supports care for foster children, provide mentorship for inner-city youth, support those with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and encourage young people to explore science and technology education. 

In addition to a successful ‘second career’ as a grant-writer, having written and coordinated the submission of grant proposals for six non-profit organisations, Douglas has served as a volunteer, advisor, and board member for various non-profit groups.

He says: “While there are many worthy and underfunded causes within the US, I believe there is also a recognition among some of us that the needs may be even greater in other regions of the world – and there is an accompanying willingness to help.”

Arafat Gatabazi is a an open-water swimmer and philanthropist. He uses his passion for swimming to raise funds for various charity organisations in South Africa. He is known for his endurance and determination, having completed several challenging swims, including the swim from Robben Island, swimming around Robben Island, and swimming around Cape Point. In 2014, he was honored with the Swimmer of the Year award by the Cape Long Distance Swimming Association.

In addition to his swimming achievements, Arafat is also an experienced project manager in the Edtech industry. He has been working in the field for eight years and has a wealth of experience in both software development and project management. Currently, he is a project manager for a leading Edtech company and in his role, he helps his team deliver impactful and innovative educational experiences that attract, engage, and retain students. He does this by working collaboratively with faculty and subject matter experts to create customised learning solutions for leading universities.

Arafat is a long-standing supporter of Breadline Africa and shares the organisation’s enthusiasm for supporting early childhood development initiatives in impoverished communities around the country – so much so that he has combined this with his passion for open-water swimming to raise much-needed funds for Breadline Africa’s projects.