Thandeka Mbethe Joins OMF Board.

We welcome one of our new board members; Thandeka Mbethe, a philanthropist that has helped communities create platforms for themselves and for their people to construct their dreams.

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Thandeka prides herself as a mother to her five girls and nurtured them into powerful young women and has found motherhood to be her most important hat even though she confidently wears many.

Family is not a word that Thandeka associates with lightly; it is a principle, a culture and a belief system that has helped Thandeka forge an illustrious career in care — be it the daily needs of those in her immediate family, or her many charitable pursuits. Be it within her vast network of successful people or seen through the heavy books of the list of companies she oversees.

Thandeka has been passionate about the role of a matriarch, a maternal lightning rod of hope, there to help her family and other families ignite their own fires, build their own dreams and conquer them.

Through this core belief, Thandeka has created a sustainable future for thousands. Born in rural KZN, in the seemingly unyielding environment of Nongoma. But beneath the salty sea and rugged earth lay a Diamond waiting to be unearthed — Thandeka Mncwango Mbethe. Coming to Johannesburg to polish her jewel, Thandeka returned to her hometown a shining example of a strong, independent, humble and caring woman.

A proud product of the old KEEP School Program at Mlokothwa High School, Thandeka has traversed the bounds of her own environment, she has overcome the enclosures set around black women by society, and she has done this with a flair for haute couture, a penchant for interior design, and an overwhelming love for people.

Obtaining her Bachelor’s in Physiotherapy helped Thandeka perfect the fundamentals of caring, a core component of her business philosophy. After completing her PDHT (UP) and then her PDBM (UNISA), a Diploma in Logotherapy (Viktor Frankl Institute) and most recently, a qualification in Social Entrepreneurship (GIBS) — she raised a family, built an empire and traveled the world seeking out innovations to bring back home to her businesses in her beloved South Africa — the place she feels is the world’s cradle of creativity.