The Justice Desk

Over the past 8 years, The Justice Desk has grown exponentially and has impacted the lives of over 1,4 million people. Our human rights projects have advanced and accelerated the fight in ending gender-based violence (GBV), trafficking in persons, children’s rights violations and other human rights violations. We have shown continuous commitment to equipping and empowering everyday people to become their own change-makers and everyday activists. Currently, we are on the cusp of expanding our reach to even further communities and countries! With the aid of the Elevate Prize, we will be able to amplify the impact we are currently having in South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe’s most vulnerable and underserved communities. Particularly, we will be able to provide even more human rights trainings, disseminate more educational materials, and invite more young people into our projects (such as The Mbokodo Club which provides empowerment workshops to young girl survivors of rape and GBV, The Ntsika yeThemba Project which empowers young boys to become champions for ending GBV and toxic masculinity, and the Youth Ambassadors Project which equips children to protect their rights and the rights of others). 

I am the founder and CEO of The Justice Desk. We are a youth led, award-winning international human rights NGO that empowers everyday people to become change-makers and activists. As a young girl, I met and worked alongside countless people, many of whom remained in situations of extreme poverty – despite being guaranteed a better future after the apartheid regime. I realised that charity work was a short term solution to a much bigger issue: systemic injustice. I began TJD because I realised that if we truly wanted equality in our world; then fundamental human rights and the destruction of systemic injustice was where we needed to begin.

At TJD we believe in the power of everyday activism and are passionate about building a world where equality and justice are not just surface-level words, but rather lived realities. We are proud South Africans who believe in the power of youth and their ability to make human rights a reality in a country still divided by unimaginable levels of inequality.

We have witnessed the incredible difference that can be made when an empowered person leads their own change, and achieving this mission is what we work towards each and every day. 

We believe that community members themselves know what their most pressing issues are and how to solve them. However, due to poverty, inequality and Africa’s history of colonisation and apartheid; not all people have access to the same skills, knowledge, tools and resources to implement their solutions. That is where we come in! TJD empowers and equips everyday people to understand and defend their human rights, in order to lead their own change, and build safer communities for all.

A lack of awareness of human rights is resulting in the exploitation of those most vulnerable causing issues like poverty, child abuse, human trafficking and gender-based violence. To respond to this, we run the following projects: The Mbokodo Club Project empowers girl survivors of rape & GBV in township communities. The Ntsika yeThemba Project empowers young boys without fathers to reject toxic-masculinity, gangs, and become women’s rights defenders. The Youth Ambassador’s Project empowers children in 45 schools across 5 countries to stand up for the rights of children in their schools and communities. We also lobby at grassroots & national levels, as well as to The United Nations. Our African context-specific educational materials and trainings are also globally recognised.

We believe that the true experts on what the issues are and how to solve them are the community members themselves. Through our work we empower local people to drive their own change. This means that any action taken is community owned, driven and supported – making it much more sustainable and likely to succeed. We use a multi-lensed results-based community development approach where the heroes are involved in the design, implementation & post-implementation of all projects.

Our team are never afraid to do difficult work or challenge controversial topics. We are challenging the status quo, because that is where systemic injustice lies. We openly identify and disrupt systems of oppression which still ensure that only the privileged thrive.

By empowering local people, especially children and youth – we are disrupting the incorrect narrative that only adults, people in positions of power and “saints” can make a difference. True change happens in the everyday actions of a single person, and how they choose to live their lives. By empowering those individuals we are showing the world the power that a single person has, and the change that can happen when they are empowered enough to use it.

We hope to empower, educate and equip a global society, so that all humanity may enjoy the full realization of their Human Rights. 

To create a world where every child, woman, man and person has knowledge of and access to their rights and freedoms. We want to create platforms for the voices of those most vulnerable to be heard so that they can lead their own positive change.  

Our Ntsika project creates dialogue between young men about transformative positive masculinity. Our Mbokodo club project supports and equips young girls as leaders and our YA project is creating a wave of change in the ways in which the girl child is viewed in society.  

TJD are creating a movement of positive social and political change and it’s because we have realized something very important: everyone has a part to play in bringing about change. Therefore, everyone can and should be everyday activists! We are making advocacy accessible by educating people on their worth, capabilities and the responsibility we all have to create a world that upholds human rights for all! 

As a result, our work has already impacted the lives of over 1,4 million people and we have just begun!