By Nontokozo Gemani
- Nkosana Mmotsa trained for three months and now runs his own delivery business and rides for Uber Eats in Tsakane.
- Antoinette Boikhutso co-founded the Khomisanani Foundation in 2021 to help Tsakane residents access skills training, job opportunities closer to home.
Nkosana Mmotsa started a motorcycle training course in January. By June, he had rented a motorcycle and was earning a living from deliveries.
He now runs his own business, Alucios Deliveries, and also works as an Uber Eats rider. “I am what I am now because of the foundation and the guidance of the staff members,” he said.
Mmotsa trained at the Khomisanani Foundation Skills Development Centre in Tsakane, co-founded in 2021 by Antoinette Boikhutso and Nkosinathi Mabunda.
Boikhutso had watched people in her community struggle to reach opportunities that were easier to find elsewhere, and wanted to change that.
The centre offers three-month courses in computer training, Code 14 driving and motorcycle training. There are no tuition fees, only a R200 registration fee.
Demand is high. In June, 220 people applied for the Code 14 course alone, while the computer course usually takes just 15 people at a time.
Boikhutso says it is hard turning people away when the centre lacks the resources for everyone. More than 150 people have completed its courses so far.
Getting here was not easy. From 2021, Boikhutso and Mabunda funded the centre themselves, and sometimes had to close it. Its first funding, from the Department of Social Development in 2025, paid for a permanent space in Tsakane Extension 17.
“Not everyone is academically gifted, and that’s where the skills we offer here come in,” Boikhutso said.
The centre also links people to training it cannot yet offer itself, such as plumbing, and hosts an annual Festival of Opportunities for the community.
Boikhutso hopes Khomisanani will need less outside funding and offer more courses in five years. She says the change she wants to see in her own community is what keeps her going.
Pictured above: Nkosana Mmotsa finished a three month motorcycle course at Tsakane’s Khomisanani Foundation in June, and now runs his delivery business and rides for Uber Eats.
Image source: Supplied
