Sibongile (Bongi) Mkhabela, a social worker by profession and an activist by orientation, is the Chief Executive Officer of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund as well as the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital Trust, an initiative of the Children’s Fund.
At the helm of Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, she has been instrumental in growing its endowment to ensure its sustainability and in captaining the navigation of its strategic direction taking it beyond the borders of South Africa. A fellow of both the Rockefeller Foundation, as well as Duke University, Bongi has also previously completed her postgraduate Business Management studies with Wits Business
School. She serves, among others, on the boards of Barloworld, a global company, where she serves as Chairperson of the Ethics and Transformation Committee; Nedbank Wealth Foundation; Global Philanthropy Alliance; and is former Chairperson and current Trustee of Black Sash, a human rights organisation emphasising social security and protection of society’s most vulnerable, particularly women and children.
Bongi is a recipient of The National Order of Luthuli (Silver), awarded by the President of South Africa, Mr Cyril Ramaphosa this year (2018). This was in recognition of her fight against apartheid, including the role played in the 1976 student uprising; her continued work in social justice as well as her excellent contribution to the wellbeing of South Africa’s children.
