‘Sistahood’s’ Nandipha wants to help brothers too

HER family left the Eastern Cape when she was 10 years old for a better life in Cape Town and at the time she could not speak a word of English.

But this did not deter Nandipha Breakfast from achieving her goals and inspiring other young women to do the same.

The Imizamo Yethu resident’s luck and life changed when a 19-year-old British tourist who was touched by her story managed to secure her a scholarship that allowed her to attend Camps Bay High School.

“I first attended the Moravian Primary school in our area and I remember us being 60 kids in one classroom. My mom was not working and she had three children to support. She would sell vegetables on the street to feed us,” she said.

Today, Breakfast is putting her education to good use in Imizamo Yethu, where she started an organisation called Sistahood.

“For many young girls in my community, drugs or prostitution are sometimes the only options available to them. Sistahood aims to empower young women and offer them different choices,” she said.

Sistahood has been running for 10 years and has 30 female participants, but Breakfast has a dream of starting a Brotherhood as well.

“Men are still special and they need to work with us,” said the auxiliary social worker, who has received many accolades for her community work.

Breakfast was quick to point out that she would not have been able to achieve what she had without the help of her community and “sistas” in Imizamo Yethu, Phiweka Buka and Thuliswa Nobenxe.

NANDIPHA BREAKFAST