Collaboration – Ubushabami

Our first “Creators club” engagement of 2026 was hosted in collaborations with Sesi Lomkhulu Foundation and boy what a fun filled edutainment day we had!

Sesi Lomkhulu Foundation was established in 2014 in the heart of Mataffin, Mbombela. An organisation rooted in community and built on a deep commitment to nurturing young girls into strong, self-assured women who rise — and bring others with them. They cater to girls aged 11–23, helping them navigate adolescence and grow into leaders.

This first session prepared for age-appropriateness and presented as a lesson coupled with an activity. The selected lessons were as follows:

Female Reproductive System (all grades)
STI & Condom use (Grade 9-11)
Body Positivity (Grade 5-8)

The girls enjoyed the sessions and did not fail to let us know – check out some feedback on our Youtube channel

We look forward to more sessions with this amazing and bright all girls cohort. Cheers to a successful 1st “Creators Club” for 2026!

Ubusha Bami futhi yimi lo – My youth and this is me! © 18 February 2026

We are so honoured to have be part of the Regional Symposium on Life Skills and Health Education hosted by Save the Children International Zambia Chipata! Our co-founder Dr Mandy Nino Mpatlanyane shared our wins and learnings as an NPC working on sexual and reproductive education at grassroot level. Such a wonderful experience with lots of learning, growing and strengthening of relationships. Here’s to doing the work we all love and care so deeply about!

Special thanks to our host and our longtime collaborator Advocates for Youth, AMAZE who sponsored our attendance

Ubusha Bami futhi yimi lo – My youth and this is me! © 28 November 2025

Our UB 1:1 Awareness Campaign is a 1-day, 1-hour talk on a Sexual and Reproductive health topic. The talk is composed of 3 components:

(i) a short talk by a representative of UB,

(ii) screening of an animation with key lessons,

(iii) an engaging conversation with the audience.

The talk is designed to be educational, entertaining and engaging. It is short

and sweet while emphasising key lessons that promote SRH and responsibility

among adolescents. This talk is often facilitated by our UB ambassadors and use AMAZE.org animation videos as a visual augmentation tool for the SRHR topic selected by the school/youth group.

Here are some FAQ:

How do I get UB to present at my school?

Simply get in touch with us via email or telephone.

How long does it take for UB to organise a presentation?

As soon as we get the go-ahead and date from the school, our team prepares to come through.

Does my school have to pay for the presentation?

Absolutely not! All presentations in this campaign are at no cost to the school.

My school needs more than a day, do you have a more comprehensive program?

Yes, yes, yes! UB has designed a 4-month program that is educational and entertaining and brings out creativity and fun in learners. It is called the Creators’ Club. Let us know you’re interested, and we will send you more info.

Ubusha Bami futhi yimi lo – My youth and this is me! © 1 April 2025

“Education comes alive and dispels awkwardness when curiosity and creativity are the foundation. That is the essences of the co-creation in UB creators’ clubs” Dr Mandy Mpatlanyane, Co-founder Ubusha Bami, futhi yimi lo! NPC.

The Creators’ Club was launched in 2024. First, it was launched as a one-day sitting called “GLOW sisters” with 20 girls (15-18yrs). A fully-fledged Club with 20 girls and boys of the same age group was later launched – this was called the BYMF Creators’ Club. The BYMF Creators’ Club ran through 2024 with engagements once a month. The success of 2024 lead to an extension of the Creators’ Club into 2025.

So how do UB Creators Clubs work?

1. A main coordinator and assigned ambassadors (peer facilitator) set up the learning space for the session. A main facilitator is a seasoned medical or research professional. An ambassador is a volunteer apart of the UB Ambassadors programme – often between the ages of 16 and 25 years.

2. The lesson for the day is introduced to the Club members. Lessons have been designed to correspond with Amaze.org material. This allows for structure, as well as visuals and animation access. Additionally, the Amaze content is publicly available which allows Club members to interact with it long after the session has passed; and have a resource to share with other peers beyond the Club.

3. A practical activity session is where Club members can get creative, innovative and engaged. Here, they can utilise any materials (crafts, digital platforms etc) to create whatever they deem fit to respond to the activity prompt. This segment develops critical thinking, research, problem-solving, creativity, deep learning and collaboration.

4.The Club is wrapped up with a reflection session as a group discussion, video and/or survey for monitoring and evaluation of effectiveness.

The Clubs can be tailored for various audiences and variable time periods. We have found that longer engagement is necessary for deep learning, trust building and community.

Likewise, spaces that can inspire creativity and interaction are best for Club sessions. Workshopping spaces are best.

Each Creators’ Club session should at minimum have the following key players and tools:

A professional coordinator,
An ambassador (Peer facilitator),
Club members,
Learning materials,
Craft materials,
And sponsors

Simple enough? Yeah, now let’s start our club – contact us if you’d like to learn more about establishing a UB Creators club at your school/youth group.

In September 2024, Ubusha Bami was honoured with the Star Award from Advocate for Youth, a social advocacy organization focused on sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR) and multimedia SRHR edutainment. This recognition enabled us to take part in dubbing ten popular SRHR animation videos into two local South African languages: siSwati and Xitsonga.

We chose these languages to best serve our current outreach communities, with most UB programs taking place in Mpumalanga, Lowveld—an area where the population primarily speaks siSwati (27.7%), isiZulu (24.1%), Xitsonga (10.4%), and isiNdebele (10.1%).

Seven young people joined as voiceover artists, working alongside Softstorm pty ltd, a small business media company based in Mpumalanga, Lowveld, which provided recording and video dubbing services.

This project not only helped us develop new skills in video dubbing but also created opportunities for youth empowerment in content creation. As we pursue further video dubbing projects, we aim to include more widely spoken South African languages and recognize the importance of making learning inclusive by adding sign language options for videos. We are also eager to expand our presentations to share relevant, culturally sensitive SRHR lessons with broader audiences. Please contact us if you would like us to present at your school or youth group.

References:

Video: https://www.youtube.com/@ubushabami
SA languages image: https://southafrica-info.com/arts-culture/the-languages-of-south-africa/