About Us
Introduction and Back ground
Shekinah Legacy Foundation (SLF) is a registered Non-profit Organisation in terms of the Non-Profit Organisation Act, 1997 in South Africa. The registration number is 283-078 NPO.
The Shekinah Legacy Foundation is a lived experience organisation resulting from a succumb to mental health complications.
The Foundation is turning this pain into a purpose and this loss into a lesson by bringing awareness on mental health, creating a safe space for youth and their parents or guardians and amplifying hope.
By fostering honest conversations about mental health challenges that include but are not limited to suicide in families, the church and society at large, the SLF hopes to remove shame and stigma that forces the youth to hide their pain and not speak up about their well-being or lack thereof.
With keen interest in music and desire to support upcoming artists from Shekinah himself who the Foundation seeks to support talented young people who want to break into this industry, navigate and conquer the difficulties that come with being budding musicians, poets, rappers among others. The SLF is a barrier between people battling suicidal thoughts and the act of suicide through individual and group therapy.
Lastly, the Foundation advocates for policy development, changes, and implementation on mental health issues in South Africa and beyond, in partnership with relevant stakeholders in government, state, media, civil society, academia, and private sector.
The Foundation achieves this through its own capacity as well as in collaboration with other like-minded partners who are committed to being safe non-judgmental spaces for youth to turn to amidst mental crises.
vision & mission
Our Vision
A dynamic movement empowering the youth to attain mental well-being and quality of life while using their gifts and talents to the maximum.
Our Mission
Working to achieve the highest possible level of mental well-being for young people.
Our Core Values
SLF is guided by four core values that are acronymic as RUDO and explained as follows.
RESILIENCE – the process and outcome of successfully adapting to challenging life experiences. The ability to adjust to external and internal mental, emotional, and behavioural demands. Our history, culture, and religion demand that we are constantly resilient and fight our way through life. Amidst this, social media stands as a frenzy that contributes to the self-isolating need to always be perfect.
In the name of resilience, we have the youth, who are the biggest consumers of social media, navigating the demands society places on them without outlets to stop and say, ‘no more, at least for a second.’ For lack of safe spaces to turn to and take a break, recharge, be encouraged and supported, there is a substantial number of young people, as seen in the rising number of deaths by suicide, suffering in silence, as they figure out where they belong in our society. With that, the Shekinah Legacy Foundation acknowledges that being resilient can be a good thing.
But we also know that it is draining to have to be strong all the time. We seek to be a safe space for young people without the capacity to be resilient any further. We want to normalise asking for a helping hand, depending on others, and not always having it together.
UBUNTU Humanity. I am because you are. Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu. We can directly link the idea of toxic resilience to our fast-paced society that limits the idea of success to self-sufficient and individual achievements. With that, the Shekinah Legacy Foundation seeks to revive the humanity spirit and interconnectedness in communities.
The SLF encourages the youth to shift away from the growing phenomenon of individuality that holds personal obligation to a higher standard while forgetting the greater good that comes from community and peer support.
In safe communities that foster the spirit of Ubuntu, people can be fountains that pour into each other and lean on each other. The Foundation is a safe space where the youth can turn to when seeking understanding, community, companionship, support, and healing.
DILIGENCE – Also known as perseverance, work ethic, commitment, drive, and passion, a sense of urgency, effort, or resourcefulness. A community that demands success from a child but does nothing to aid the child’s success fails the child. A community that preaches what it does not practice cannot lead its children to the greatness it promises them. For our youth’s sake, The Shekinah Legacy Foundation seeks to teach the youth to embody diligence while practicing it through nurturing ways that maximize rewards without depleting mental health. While our children grow into young adults with a great work ethic, a sense of urgency for their goals, pursue their passions, use resources at their disposal to persevere in their journeys, the SLF seeks to be a space where the youth can observe and learn about diligence through actions that don’t dismiss the importance of prioritising a healthy mental state.
OBEDIENCE – submissive to the restraint or command of authority. Many African cultures expect young people to submit to their elders’ authority without question. While this norm upholds respect between the youth and elders, it is necessary that elders are a safe space for the youth to express themselves and have input on their lives. Obedience should leave room for the youth to be able to see the world as it makes sense to them, especially where mental health is concerned. As the Shekinah Legacy Foundation, we are a safe understanding space to the youth conflicted with their own views and the reality versus the authority they have to submit to.
Our Target Population
This is particularly those conflicted with the stigma and expectations that may come with being close to ministry.
-Children of executives in the corporate, government and civil society spaces.
-Children from vulnerable communities- rural and informal settlements.
Young and upcoming musicians facing challenges in the entertainment industry and in need of support and assistance with making and selling their music.
-Young adults facing mental challenges and are at risk of suicide