Active citizenry doesn’t begin with a programme. It begins with people who care about where they live, and with creating spaces where they can find one another, build trust and start imagining what they could do together. From there, ideas can become action, networks can grow and citizen-led initiatives can take root. That spirit sits at the heart of what we do, and a group of women in Klapmuts, just outside Stellenbosch, is showing us what it can look like on the ground.
In just a few months, the Klapmuts Women’s Club has grown from a new gathering of local women into a connected network that is increasingly taking action in the community. The Club is one of a growing national network of Clubs, all part of Ranyaka’s broader framework.
In Klapmuts, this work is funded by Nedbank as part of its Proud of My Town programme, for which Ranyaka is the implementing agent. Nedbank’s involvement has extended beyond financial support, with Nedbank team members also participating in Club sessions and activities alongside the women.
THE ICEBREAKER AT THE FIRST CLUB SESSION IGNITED ENERGY AND CONNECTION INSTANTLY
A space to connect, learn and grow
When 39 women from Klapmuts gathered for a Club session earlier this year, there was already plenty of energy, experience and creativity in the room. Many of these women were already active in their community. What the Club offered was a neutral space to connect, discover one another’s strengths and begin exploring what they could do together.
The early sessions focused as much on the women themselves as on their community.
They explored wellbeing and self-care, spoke about gender-based violence and participated in personal growth activities that invited them to think about what had shaped them, the support systems in their lives, things they needed to let go of and areas in which they wanted to grow.
For Club member Dora De Jager, that sense of connection has been deeply personal. “The Club became family to me at a time when I was tired and felt alone. The Club gave me hope. What is special is the love. Nobody judges. Everyone understands. We laugh together, we cry together, we pray together.”
She says the experience has helped her grow stronger and shown her that she can “thrive, not just survive.”
‘A HAT THAT IS NOT A HAT’ WAS ONE OF THE FUN THEMES FOR A WORK SESSION HOSTED AT THE COCREATE HUB, DEMONSTRATING THE MANY HATS THAT WOMEN WEAR IN SOCIETY AND THE ROLE THEY PLAY IN SHAPING THEIR COMMUNITIES
BRAINSTORMING WHAT IT MEANS TO COCREATE A PRODUCTIVE PLACE
Opportunities have also opened up beyond the Club. The women have attended networking and personal growth sessions beyond the Club, connecting them with a wider network of women from different organisations and walks of life. Other opportunities have included conversations around trauma and plans to introduce self-defence training, while a walking group is now taking shape as the women look at their own health and wellbeing.
The WhatsApp group, meanwhile, has become a hive of activity. The women have designed their own Club logo and T-shirts and are exploring ways to raise the money to produce them themselves. It has been inspiring to watch that sense of ownership grow.
For Club member Michelle Maluqua, the value of the Club lies both in what it has meant to her personally and in what the women are able to do together. “The Club is my happy space. I love the energy that each lady brings. I have grown so much by being part of the Club,” she says. “The Club has helped me change in so many good ways, not just for myself, but for our community as well.”
CLUB MEMBERS SHARE THEIR IDEAS THROUGH INTERACTIVE ACTIVITIES AT CLUB SESSIONS
From the start, Club conversations have also asked the women to look beyond themselves and identify needs and opportunities in Klapmuts. And they haven’t wasted much time.
Ranyaka team members and four Nedbank volunteers attended both the Club launch and the second Club meeting, taking part in discussions as the women began identifying what they wanted to do together and where they could make a difference in their community.
Club member Susanna van Wyk sums up that growing sense of collective agency simply: “We as women can make a very big difference in Klapmuts.”
During a Club meeting in late March, the women raised a concern about children being at home during the approaching school holidays while their parents were at work. Within a week, they had turned that concern into a holiday programme for up to 200 children.
The initiative was entirely women-led. Club members came up with the idea, planned it, designed and distributed their own promotional material, mobilised participants and ran the day themselves. The programme included sport, reading, educational activities, waste awareness, girls’ hygiene, GBV awareness and career-related activities.
Ranyaka and Nedbank team members joined them on the day and joined in the activities. One particular sack race moment has already earned a permanent place in our video archives. Purdey, we saw that shortcut!
THE NEWLY ESTABLISHED CLUB PLANNED A HOLIDAY PROGRAMME FOR THE CHILDREN OF KLAPMUTS WITHIN A WEEK AND ON YOUTH DAY 2026, THEY HOSTED A COMMUNITY CLEAN-UP WITH EAGER YOUNG VOLUNTEERS COMING ON BOARD
From ideas to action
A month later, the women mobilised again. On an icy cold May morning, 14 Club members mobilised 52 children for a community clean-up near the Klapmuts Fire Brigade and sports ground. By the time they finished, they had collected 100 bags of rubbish.
Nedbank and Stellenbosch Municipality provided the refuse bags and a local business donated oranges for the children. The women organised the rest.
Johanna Pieterse grew up in Klapmuts and plans to return to her roots. She admits that she initially attended a Club session out of curiosity, unsure whether she would join. What changed her mind was seeing the women in action.
“What won me over was not the meeting with the ladies, but what they do in their community. They even clean the streets.”
She describes the women as hands-on, with different members stepping forward to lead when their particular strengths are needed. “It makes me proud when I see what each one does and with how much passion they do it, not waiting on others.”
THE JARS OF HOPE PROJECT IS ONGOING – REACHING OUT TO THE ELDERLY IN THE COMMUNITY
Looking out for the elderly
Another need that emerged through the Club’s discussions, including conversations with participating Nedbank team members, was support for elderly residents, particularly those who spend much of their day alone. Together, they began exploring what meaningful support could look like. Rather than assuming what was needed, the women began going from house to house to identify elderly residents who might benefit from additional support.
They also decided to launch a food drive, collecting empty coffee and other glass jars from one another and the wider community, along with dry ingredients such as rice, lentils, peas, beans and mielie meal. Together, they assembled 50 food jars and delivered them door-to-door to elderly residents in Klapmuts.
That journey is only beginning. Their efforts have already attracted additional support, with another local initiative donating prepared food jars for the women to distribute, and the Club is exploring further ways to reach and support elderly residents.
Then, in August, their growing ability to mobilise was tested in circumstances nobody would have wished for.
WHEN DISASTER STRUCK, IT WAS ALL HANDS ON DECK, WITH CLUB MEMBERS HELPING TO SORT CLOTHING AND DISTRIBUTE FOOD AND OTHER ITEMS TO HOUSEHOLDS AFFECTED BY A FIRE IN MANDELA CITY
When Klapmuts needed extra hands
A devastating fire swept through Mandela City, destroying 97 homes and affecting 221 people.
As Stellenbosch Municipality coordinated the disaster response, seven women from the Club stepped in to help. This wasn’t a quick morning of volunteering.
Piles of donated clothing arrived at the Klapmuts Multipurpose Centre. Club members spent long hours sorting through it alongside Michelle Maluqua, who is both a municipal representative and a member of the Club. Families who had lost their homes came to collect blankets, clothing, baby food and other donated supplies.
On some evenings, long rows of tables were set up outside the centre as people from Mandela City queued for assistance. The women staffed the tables and distributed what was available.
Behind the scenes, their WhatsApp group buzzed. Polls went out asking who was available and women put up their hands for shifts. It was active citizenry unfolding in front of us.
While the women were mobilising on the ground, relationships elsewhere in the Klapmuts network were also unlocking resources for the response. Just days before the fire, Ranyaka had met with Stellenbosch Bridge to explore opportunities for future collaboration in Klapmuts. Following the fire, Stellenbosch Bridge facilitated a donation of 6,480 ready-to-cook, nutritious meals from Rise Against Hunger to Ranyaka.
Rather than distributing the food independently, Ranyaka channelled the donation to Stellenbosch Municipality, where it was incorporated into the official disaster response and distributed to affected families alongside other relief supplies.
ENERGY, CREATIVITY AND A PASSION FOR THEIR COMMUNITY – THAT IS THE KLAPMUTS THRIVE WOMEN’S CLUB
Creating the conditions for people to act
“Strong communities start with people who care enough to act. That’s what the women of Klapmuts have done. They saw where help was needed and stepped forward to support children, care for older people and strengthen their community. That’s the heart of Proud of My Town: people coming together, trusting one another, and taking action on what matters to them.” – Jehaan Anthony (Head: Staff Volunteerism and Advocacy at Nedbank’s Social Impact Unit)
The Klapmuts Women’s Club is one of a growing number of Clubs that Ranyaka is establishing across the country – all taking shape around different interests and needs. Elsewhere, Clubs are bringing together entrepreneurs, ECD practitioners, young people and other groups who benefit from learning, connecting and growing together.
Across all of these Clubs, the value lies not only in the sessions themselves, but in the relationships, confidence, new networks and collective capacity that can develop over time. In Klapmuts, we are seeing one expression of that through the women’s growing involvement in citizen-led initiatives.
‘WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A WOMAN OF POWER?’ – ONE OF THE MONTHLY SESSIONS HOSTED THIS YEAR
The person with the idea finds the person who knows how to make it happen. Someone with a community connection meets someone with a particular skill. People who may already be doing good work individually discover others who care about the same things.
That kind of connection can unlock agency, and we are seeing it happen in Klapmuts. Increasingly, the ideas are coming from the women. They are deciding what matters to them, organising themselves, finding partners and resources, and getting on with it. And that is exactly what we want.
Our role isn’t to control everything a Club does. We want to intentionally create spaces where people can connect, be strengthened and equipped, and increasingly take ownership of what happens next. The energy, ideas and commitment belong to the women. The Club gives members a place to find one another and put that collective energy to work.
Their journey is still young. We’re excited to see where they take it next.
For more information about Ranyaka, the work we do and ways to get involved, please contact us by clicking here.