Alumni-in-Action@Mandela

Call to Action

Enabling mental health support to GBV survivors at tertiary institutions in South Africa

Zellah Fuphe, Founder & Initial funder of Alumni-in-Action says, “What triggered the launch of A-i-A with UCT, was the murder of a female student in 2019, and seeing the negative impact it had on my co-founder, Sanda Nyoka, who at that time was a student at the institution and knew the victim.”

Once the pair had discovered the astounding negative impact that trauma and, particularly GBV, had on the completion of academic ambitions; along with the blow to the economic growth & country productivity, and the intergenerational impact of unresolved trauma, they were emboldened to advocate for survivors of GBV.

So they took up the proverbial arms through funding, and co-created a victim centred, survivor-focused approach to mitigate the risk of persistent trauma for less fortunate survivors of GBV at tertiary institutions.

Their mission is to enable mental health support to student survivors of GBV thus enabling healing and the pursuit of their dreams.

The positive impact of the project at UCT, enabled by generous donations from donors, such as the Mauberger Foundation, Citadel Philanthropy Foundation as well as scores of individuals, has led to the expansion of A-i-A services to Nelson Mandela University.

A-i-A chose to partner with Nelson Mandela University because of its progressive and innovative approach to providing support to survivors of gender-based violence, such as its deployment of technology to monitor & identify GBV hotspots. A-i-A@Mandela is a partnership based on shared values, and a strong commitment to put survivors first, bringing care, hope & compassion to survivors.

In line with our motto - Any alumni, Any community, Anywhere in the world - it is our belief that alumni everywhere can contribute to the restorative approach of supporting positive mental health initiatives such as ours.

Alumni contributions can help our communities to become more progressive and minimise the destructive impact of gender-based trauma, not only on the survivors but their families and future generations as well.
We encourage all to contribute to the A-i-A@Mandela initiative and assist survivors of gender-based violence.

All donations go directly to the university and every Rand goes towards its intended purpose – providing mental health support to survivors.

Alumni In Action Founder

Zellah Fuphe holds the position of Chief Risk and Sustainability Officer at NTT Ltd, a global role reporting to the Group CEO.

Prior to taking up this role, she was Chief Corporate Governance Officer for the Middle East and Africa region. She joined the Group in 2008, as Managing Director of Plessey South Africa, and had held various executive positions, including as Managing Director a private equity firm and as Managing Director of a wholesale distributor of petroleum products.

Zellah is a registered chartered director with the Institute of Directors South Africa. She serves on the board of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange listed Kap Industrial Holdings as an independent non-executive director and chairs Kap’s Social and Ethical Committee.

She also serves on Kap’s Audit and Risk Committee and the Nominations Committee. She has previously served as an independent non-executive director of several leading South African companies.

She is the founder and its initial funding provider of Alumni in Action (A-i-A), which provides mental health support to university student survivors of gender-based violence.