Mncedisi Msuthu believes the happiest people are those who give the most – especially to those who need it. And as a manager for MaGents FC and a community leader, he is helping young folks find that joy for themselves through a number of initiatives.
Msuthu’s motto is “I am ambassador for the less privileged. A kind gesture can reach a wound only compassion can heal” – and he is living by those words, and helping young people find their feet along the way.
The Cape Peninsula University of Technology-qualified microbiologist is involved in no less than three initiatives to bring positive change in the people’s socio-economic, address social issues such as poverty, better livelihood opportunities and addressing inequalities in disadvantaged communities.
“This empathy and compassion were triggered by growing up in a poverty-stricken household and village, where we would walk about 40 km to school barefoot,” Msuthu, a manager with Khayelitsha-based Magents Football Club, explains.
In addition to football, Msuthu is also involved in the Foundation of Home and Light-SA in which he works with a group of CPUT graduates to source, prepare and feed homeless people and provide holistic assistance to old age homes.
“I always teach them about sharing,” he says proudly, “and I have seen them sharing clothes, food and other items with the needy.”
He is also running the Future Boys Community Project where they buy school uniforms, clothes for struggling families and assist them with food parcels. In this initiative, Msuthu also takes the young fellows for hikings, youth debates and tours around the Mother City.
“The important social skills I would like to empower young people with are communication, cooperation, leadership, relationship-building and empathy. It’s all about teaching them the Importance of taking responsibility for their actions – and the impact of the actions they take now in determining their future.”
Msuthu, a married father of two boys, was born and bred in the Eastern Cape town of Libode. A staunch Christian, he was inspired to be a community developer by his family and his faith.
“My biological parents left us young due to poverty after my father lost his job,” he recalls. “My aunts took over in raising us and took us to school and to church. So my teachings and acts of kindness are always accompanied by the word of the Lord who gives us the ability to be able to do these things.”
Football For A Brighter Future
He moved to Cape Town to further his studies and in 2017 started a soccer team after he noticed the youth having nothing to do in his community of Makhaza.
“The game teaches kids valuable life lessons that can help them navigate through life. When you are on a soccer field, you don’t have time to wait for your coach to give you directions. You need to trust your gut, make decisions, and rely on the skills that you’ve been taught, just as in life. Kids also learn the value of good sportsmanship and how to gracefully persevere whether you win or lose.”
Community Development: A Reward In Its Own Right
The game, according to Msuthu, also teaches children important social skills.
“Soccer teaches kids about themselves and their own abilities, yes – but it also teaches them about how to work with others, recognize each other’s strengths, and work together as a team,” he says. “In football everyone learns the importance of responsibility and everyone has a role to play on the field. And if someone doesn’t do their part, the whole team suffers.”
For Msuthu, community development gives life satisfaction.
“Mahatma Gandhi said: ‘The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.’ I see the wisdom of that now, because of the change in behaviors of the young ones and when youngsters use you as a benchmark and or inspiration.”
But the work has its own challenges, of course.
“The biggest challenge most community developers face is finances, and finding reliable funding. We end up digging deep in our pockets to finance these initiatives. It is also difficult finding people who are willing to assist voluntarily, because many want remuneration from initiatives that are not making money.”
It’s even more challenging and weird when people think that he has a lot of money because of his involvement in community upliftment projects.
“I always urge them to remember the words of H. Jackson Brown Jr: ‘Remember that the happiest people are not those getting more, but those giving more.’ I’ve certainly found that to be true in my own life.”
