About

Isivivana Centre

The History of Isivivana Centre

Our Remarkable Journey from Dream to Reality

Built in the heart of Khayelitsha’s business district, Isivivana Centre stands as a testament to resilience, collaboration, and unwavering dedication. Its creation is a six-year odyssey that began against challenging odds but culminated in the realisation of a shared dream.

The journey to a completed Isivivana Centre is a six-year story, from 2010 to 2016. All those years ago, the activist organisation Equal Education began investigating the possibility of acquiring land for a new, permanent home in Khayelitsha. In 2010, EE’s Operations Manager of EE, Michelle Adler, wrote to a contact seeking advice. Michelle’s contact put her in touch with Sally Tsiliyiannis of GAPP Architects in Cape Town. This became a key relationship that underpinned the success of the project. 


By May 2011 representatives of EE, plus Sally, had met with officials of the City of Cape Town, including Andre Human, a director in the city’s property department, and were beginning to draft the concept document needed to begin a land acquisition process. 

In March 2011 EE received a note from Jamie Smiley, offering the services of his firm Platform Architecture. About six months later, in October 2011, GAPP and Platform began collaboration on the architectural process. At around the same time Donovan Brown of Brown and Barrow joined as project manager. 

 

Throughout 2012 the search for land continued, sometimes with hope but often with a sense of despair. Both privately and publicly owned land was looked at, but after promising starts each possibility fell flat. We pursued a few pieces of private land behind the Khayelitsha train station, but in the end these weren’t entirely suitable and the owner proved elusive. A new development was beginning further up the railway line in Kuyasa, where a library was being built by the city, with the possibility of an integrated office facility for various organisations. But after fairly extensive talks this opening seemed to close. Another unsuccessful initiative was an attempt to buy a site from Shawco, the student NGO at UCT, which had an educational facility in Khayelitsha’s G-section (a site that had coincidentally housed EE’s first two-roomed office in 2008). By 2010 though, EE was located on the edge of Khayelitsha next to an open plot of land, which provided yet another possibility that was explored in some detail. For most of the above the architects drew up plans and proposals, only to have them come to nought. 

The other obvious hindrance to the entire dream was an absolute lack of funds! Magically, The Atlantic Philanthropies, a New York-based foundation with a long history of giving in South Africa had been thinking along similar lines for some time about establishing a building as a hub for social justice organisations. 

In mid-2012 EE was contacted by Gerald Kraak, the South African representative of Atlantic. By October of that year an Atlantic delegation including Chris Oechsli (CEO), Martin O’Brien (VP) and Gerald met with representatives of UCT to explore purchasing the Shawco property in Khayelitsha (a possibility which wasn’t ultimately pursued).  

 By March of 2013 Gerald had drawn up terms of reference to formally kick start a much more formal and professional process, backed by Atlantic, to find land and develop a facility in Khayelitsha. The introduction read as follows:  

 “The Atlantic Philanthropies supports a number of social justice projects based in the informal settlement of Khayelitsha on the outskirts of Cape Town. These are the Treatment Action Campaign, Equal Education and the Social Justice Coalition (grantees). There is a chronic shortage of commercial office space in Khayelitsha and our grantees are working out of overcrowded, unsuitable premises. At the same time there are few centrally located spaces, close to major transport routes, where our grantees can convene meetings, hold conferences and training workshops. These are key activities. As a contribution to the longer-term sustainability of our grantees Atlantic proposes to build a multi-purpose community centre, in Khayelistha.” 

 By August 2013, almost three years after Michelle started the ball rolling, things had turned a promising corner. The team, hugely boosted by Atlantic’s backing, began engaging with the Khayelitsha Community Trust (KCT) about city-owned land over which it had development rights in the heart of Khayelitsha. In August 2013 an Expression of Interest (EOI) was submitted to KCT for acquisition of land on the corner of Walter Sisulu and Steve Biko roads. That site was also a failure—because a servitude was belatedly discovered running over it—but it was the final stepping stone to the eventual site, just a stone’s throw away.  

The next critical move Atlantic made was to secure the services of Webber Wentzel and Jill Singer. At the end of May 2013 Gerald wrote to Doron Isaacs of EE saying that he had been talking to Jill Singer “about working with you on establishing a governance structure for what will be the Khayelitsha Community Centre.” Along with Doron, Jill would become a central driving force and pivot of the project over the next three and half years.  

Jill, who retired from being a partner at Webber Wentzel but continued working with the project, began by setting up the Khayelitsha Youth & Community Centre (KYCC) Trust, to acquire the land, receive the funds, appoint the professional team, arrange for the building to be built, and then to govern and manage it.  

 Webber Wentzel provided other key personnel to the team. Odette Geldenhuys, head of pro-bono services at Webbers, was a vital addition, bringing years of organizational experience. She, Jill and Doron became the interim trustees of the KYCC Trust and the thus the locus of decisions for a few years. Mike Evans, one of Cape Town’s most respected attorneys, would provide guidance at various important moments.  

 With the land finally looking possible and the legal structure taking shape, the project team began to come together in earnest. Working with Sally at GAPP were Katlego Motene (now with Toro Agency), Ella Löb and later Hazel Momberg. On Jamie’s team at Platform was Cecile Van Loggerenberg. The quantity surveyors were MultiQS, with Gary Stevens, Paseka Ramakhula and later Mervyn Schafer. Steven Chapman of MCAS came on board to provide financial forecasting for the project. Later Vuyo Mthi joined Donovan Brown for much of the on-site project management. Rounding out the core professional team were Arup Engineers. 

The land acquisition process was complicated. The city had authorized KCT in April 2003 to undertake development of the land, concluding a Land Availability Agreement with KCT in August 2004. Thus only KCT could buy the land from the city, meaning that there had to be a double sale, first from the city to KCT and then from KCT to the new KYCC Trust. After subdivision, various internal legal opinions within the city, public notice and objections periods and finally council approval, the transfer of the land to KYCC Trust was finally achieved in 2015. The deeds office registered KYCC Trust as the owner of the land on 28 September 2015. At long last we had an empty, dusty piece of earth in central Khayelitsha. Tragically, Gerald Kraak, who had been so fundamental to the project, passed away in October 2014, and never got to see Isivivana come to fruition.    

 Throughout this period there was ongoing engagement between the project and Atlantic, with Chris Oechsli, Martin O’Brien and David Sternlieb (COO) becoming increasingly personally involved and invested. There were various rounds of submissions to the Atlantic board in 2014, 2015 and 2016. Each time there was understanding of the unfolding complexity of the project and renewed support. Moreover, based on their extensive experience with capital projects, Atlantic were critical to nudging the building’s design towards maximum synergy with the surrounding environment and community.  

 By May 2015 it was time to decide who would actually build the building. Four companies had tendered for the main contract, and their bids were evaluated based on price, timeline, black ownership, local subcontracting and local labour. Group5 was chosen because it was at the top in most of these categories, agreeing to award 20% of the entire tender value to Khayelitsha-based subcontractors (meaning a R10m economic injection into the local economy) and to employ 100% of the workers from the surrounding community

Group5 took possession of the site in June 2015 and promised they would be done within a year. Indeed, less than a year later, the city engineer awarded an occupation certificate to KYCC Trust on 1 June 2016.  

Getting to that point had been a collaborative process involving many hundreds of people. Framed in the building’s entrance are the names of the workers who spent almost a year of their lives physically constructing the centre under the direction of Group5 managers such as Rowan Benjamin and Mujahid Safi. On 14 April 2016, a function was held at the building to celebrate its near completion. Phumeza Mlungwana, General Secretary of the SJC (and a trustee of the building), and Ntuthuzo Ndzomo, Deputy General Secretary of EE, paid tribute to the workers, thanked them for their efforts, and invited them to come and enjoy the completed facility with their families.  

 The creation of Isivivana was far more than a physical process. There were multiple rounds of engagement with community members, briefings for Khayelitsha leadership structures and consultation with some of the NGOs that would be housed there.

Thando Siwisa of Classic Consulting facilitated engagement throughout the critical period. The future NGO tenants, for whom Atlantic had been motivated to provide the building in the first place, engaged directly with the design team about their needs. The consultative process also helped to solidify the ground floor components, including the hall, auditorium, restaurant, library, classroom, legal advice office and the retail space facing the street. The latter was included primarily in order to give local businesses a place to operate.  

 As the building began to rise out of the ground a transition was made to a fully constituted board of trustees. All future tenants were invited to suggest names, with Atlantic as Founder having the final say. The trustees assumed full responsibility and oversight of the building management and staff. Finally, though the building had been open since June, the grand opening was held on 14 October 2016.  

Watch: Isivivana Centre Documentary

This short and engaging documentary tells the story of Isivivana Centre, sharing some of the history that has shaped Khayelitsha and interviewing key stakeholders in the creation of this community hub.

Meaning of Isivivana

“Isivivana” is an isiXhosa word meaning cairn – a mound of stones, pebbles or rocks piled up to create a landmark.

 

As Professor Zakes Mda explained at the official opening of Isivivana Centre, cairns can be found throughout the Eastern Cape, created by the Khoikoi to mark strategic sacred places and crossroads. Over time the size and scale of these cairns grew because as travellers passed, they would add their own stones to the cairn for good luck. The Xhosa people adopted the practice of adding a stone to the pile as they passed it by to invoke good fortune.

Pile of wishes

The first person to suggest this name for the Centre was Brenda Skelenge, a Khayelitsha resident who went on to become the first proprietor of Café Isivivana. Brenda said for her the word translated to “pile of wishes”.

 

The name was put forward to Atlantic Philanthropies who agreed that it perfectly encapsulated the spirit of the Centre as a place that is the product of many people adding their own stones to create a remarkable landmark. These stones signify struggles and dreams and mark a crossroads for organisations that have waged campaigns for social and economic justice for many years, creating a landmark for another generation of activists.

 

The Centre also sits at a figurative crossroads for Khayelitsha as it fights to emerge from an apartheid past as a dormitory township far from the city centre, into a new present where a full civic life is asserted and achieved even in the face of continued exclusion. The Centre is a place for all comers to build their own pile of wishes as they join movements, learn and collaborate, read in the library, enjoy good food, watch insightful films, receive sound legal advice, or meet with friends. Over the years Isivivana has been steadily built on the dreams of the past to create a steadfast landmark for today, and for future generations.

The KYCC Trust

Isivivana Centre is owned and managed by the Khayelitsha Youth & Community Centre (KYCC) Trust, with Trust Registration No. IT021933/2014(C). The Founder of the Trust is the Atlantic Philanthropies. The Trust is a registered Public Benefit Organisation (PBO) with PBO number 930048392, and its Trust Deed requires that Beneficiaries and tenants must also be PBOs. The Trust Deed allows for a maximum of nine Trustees.

The vast majority of funding has been provided by the Atlantic Philanthropies, a foundation that has provided funding over many years to social justice organisations, universities, medical facilities, research institutions, welfare services and other projects in countries including Australia, Bermuda, Cuba, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, South Africa, the United States and Vietnam.

 

Atlantic had supported social movements in Khayelitsha for a number of years including the Treatment Action Campaign, Equal Education and the Social Justice Coalition. As part of its strategic spend-down Atlantic decided to provide a building, a permanent home for these organisations. This grew into a project to provide space for a wider group of organisations and to provide more general community facilities on the ground floor.

 

Atlantic provided the funding with which the KYCC Trust acquired the land and constructed the building. Atlantic has provided an additional endowment which (together with rental income from long-term tenants and venue hiring) will provide for certain maintenance and long-term capital refurbishment

 

The Harry Crossley Foundation has provided funding for the books at the Centre’s Library, which is open to the public on a membership basis. The funding has enabled the Centre to purchase a fantastic collection of literature, in English and isiXhosa.

 

The Bertha Foundation, which has a strong interest in human rights and documentary film, is providing the funding for the Centre’s film programme. In recognition of this the Centre’s Movie House, the first dedicated cinema in Khayelitsha, is known as the Bertha Movie House.

 

The Trust’s auditor is Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC).

Scroll to Top