From prison to business school
Reformed gang general’s NPO now pays it forward with programmes for at-risk youth
We often hear stories about rags to riches, but Welcome Witbooi’s story follows a slightly different trajectory: the 39-year old from Valhalla Park on the Cape Flats joined the 28s gang at the age of 17 after being found guilty of attempted murder, and quickly rose through the ranks to become the highest ranking member of one of the most feared gangs in Pollsmoor, considered one of the toughest prisons in the world. But this is not where his story ends.
Today, Witbooi is the founder and director of the Bright Spark Foundation, an NPO established as a beacon to inspire change, remove barriers that separate people and restore hope. He says it is geared towards and operates from a place of love, complete transparency, and passion. The organisation works with at-risk youth from communities affected by gang violence, substance abuse and poverty.
He is currently working towards an MBA at Henley Business School, but as with most things in his life, is not following the traditional route. For many professionals, getting an MBA seems like the next logical step to advancing their career, but Witbooi only considered this after being offered the opportunity to do an Association of Change
Management Professionals qualification (ACMP). “This is an advanced certificate in management practice, and I’m currently busy with my ADMP, which is an Advanced Diploma In Management Practice,” he explains.
His journey is a testament to the many roads that lead to a single destination. In a time where it feels like opportunities are few and far between, Witbooi knows it is important to showcase success stories from people who did not follow the traditional route.
He says the ACMP serves as an independent and trusted source of professional excellence, and advocates to create a thriving change community. The ADMP seeks to enable high-performing practitioners who are regularly promoted without the relevant background in managing systems or leading others, and is designed for experienced professionals wanting to progress their business acumen and personal mastery.
Witbooi wouldn’t have it any other way: “From an educational perspective, I believe it’s much better than studying a standard degree at a regular university. Because I’m running the charity foundation, this has been a great opportunity for me to explore how I can implement some kind of business dynamics to the organisation, and see whether it would be feasible or more impactful to run Bright Spark as a business.”
He takes pride in the skills he gained and
is currently putting to use to create better campaigns, stronger relationships and better communication practices, and in the knowledge of what financials should look like and what will be needed to fulfil the goals of his NPO. “I’m still trying to adapt what I’m learning into the NPO space,” he says. “But I can already see it working wonders.”
Witbooi has now set his sights on attaining his MBA, which he believes will empower him and the aspirations of the Bright Spark Foundation a foundation that aims to offer young people the opportunities that he never had. Near the end of his prison sentence, he decided not only to further his education and redirect his life, but also to lift as he rises and offer that same opportunity to young people in communities like the one he grew up in.
He says his studies help him on the road to selfmastery and self-betterment: “The reason why I’m doing these courses is because of where I come from - from street gangs to prison gangs to stepping away from that lifestyle and putting my
life back together in the right way. This learning approach is great because I’m now able to learn many other things about my character, and about the youth upliftment work that I do.”
And his enrollment and efforts towards an MBA make for a promising future. Professionals who graduate with an MBA will learn business fundamentals such as leadership, communication, and critical thinking and analytical skills that help build leadership skills, including networking, student conferences, and advanced student projects. In Witbooi’s case, he hopes this qualification will contribute towards the skills and knowledge to build his life and cement his journey, from a life of crime to one with a focus on nation building and community enrichment.
He looks forward to expanding the work of the Bright Spark Foundation through his newfound skills, and he knows the impact of his learning will not stop with him, but will ripple outwards to benefit the communities he works in, and the country as a whole.