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Dr. Thandi Ndlovu

Dr. Thandi Ndlovu was born in the sprawling townships of Soweto and schooled at Orlando High School. She obtained academic excellence and participated in various student organizations, including the Student’s Christian Movement – of which she was a Founding Member. At the height of the Soweto Student’s Uprising in 1976 she was serving as the Administrative Secretary of the Student’s Representative Council (SRC) at the University of Fort Hare. She was forced to abandon her Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree as a direct result of the oppression that followed. She spent the next couple of years in training within the ranks of Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), the African National Congress (ANC) Military Wing. In 1976 she was part of the contingent of MK cadres who were posted to Novo Catengue, a military training camp in the South of Angola. She served within MK as a Senior Political Commissioner, charged with running a Literacy and Education Programme – among the one thousand odd new MK recruits. She also served as a Commander. Although, at that point, not medically trained, she was appointed a Medical Officer, working under the guidance of the Chief Medical Officer responsible for overseeing the health needs of the soldiers.

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In 1978 she was sent to the then Union Soviet Republics (USSR) for further training. Upon completion, she was sent in 1979, to the ANC headquarters in Lusaka, served the ANC in various capacities, including Administrative Secretary of the Women’s Section. In 1984 she enrolled with the University of Zambia, completing a BSc (Human Biology) and MBchB degrees.

Upon returning to South Africa after the un-banning of political movements and the return of exiles, she ran a private medical practice in Orange Farm, an informal settlement South of Johannesburg, for five years. Dr. Thandi was the Sole Private Practitioner, and delivered medical services covering a population of over 200 000 people.

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In 1997 Dr. Ndlovu began the Motheo Construction Group. In a little over 16 years Motheo has built over 66 000 homes and finds its offices and impact reaching far and wide throughout South Africa.

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Dr. Ndlovu is a women of many accomplishments, chairing the Wine and various other councils throughout South Africa. Her most recent accomplishments include summiting point Lenana, Mount Kenya, Base Camp Everest and Uhuru Peak, Mount Kilimanjaro. Dr. Thandi is also the most recent (2013) winner of the Business Women of the Year Award, by the Business Women's Association of South Africa. She received recognition as the Woman of Substance 2017 by the African Woman Chartered Accountants Association, She is the recipient of the Black Excellence Title, 2019 by Golf and Beyond. She is the mother of six and an avid golfer.

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In the midst of her full life and active career, Dr. Thandi stand on these, her words:

 

 “To live my life to the fullest, and experience each day as if it were my last, knowing that nothing is impossible if you put your mind to it! To make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate than I am! To touch each soul that I encounter as I journey through life with compassion, dignity, humility and respect, in the full knowledge that – irrespective of our circumstances – we are all made in the image of God.” Dr. Thandi Ndlovu

 

Dr. Thandi is a women that fully embraces compassion, dignity and respect for all. Her foundation is merely an extension of what she already does and of who she already is. The foundation offers her and her colleagues the opportunity to strategically channel their good works.

 

SUMMIT FOR HOPE

Thandi and a team of hikers (15 in all) climbed to the highest point in Africa, Uhuru Peak, Mount Kilimanjaro in a Summit for Hope. This hike was fully self sponsored by the climbers, and the proceeds of the fundraising drive ALL went towards the students and their studies. The administrator, accountant and everyone involved with the Foundation did it on a pro bono basis.The team successfully raised R410,000.

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