About the Founder

Founder’s History And Vision

Born in the rural Eastern Cape, South Africa, Ndileka spent two decades tending to her community as an intensive care nurse. A growing need to address social injustices led her to establish her rural upliftment organization in 2012: The Thembekile Mandela Foundation – named for her late father. The foundation proudly upholds Ndileka’s grandfather Nelson Mandela’s revolutionary legacy, empowering the country through education, health, and development initiatives.

Ndileka’s activism is driven by the legacy of the South African apartheid, but also deep pain as a woman.

In 2017, she shared her own story of surviving rape, breaking societal taboos to advocate for survivors of sexual violence, and sparking a fierce commitment to social justice. Through her foundation, she has worked tirelessly to combat gender-based violence, address period poverty, and support women in crisis. During the COVID-19 lockdowns, she mobilized resources and awareness for women trapped in abusive environments, using social media as a lifeline.

“The climate apartheid is already here.”

Climate change has revealed destructive global inequalities, as the Global South, indigenous and rural communities, women and youth feel the brunt of extreme weather, storms, violence, and displacement. Evoking memories of the horrors of apartheid, Ndileka drew on her grandfather’s legacy to begin her advocacy for a just future for the planet and all its people.

She has been vocal about the disproportionate impact of climate change on marginalized communities, particularly in Africa, using her foundation to champion sustainable agriculture, education, and health programs that uplift rural communities. Ndileka continues to frame sustainability not as a luxury, but as a necessity for survival, just as her grandfather advocated for human dignity urging systemic change that addresses both human and environmental needs.

Her advocacy reached global prominence at COP28 in Dubai, where she delivered a powerful condemnation of "climate apartheid."

Ndileka drew attention to the injustices of climate change, emphasizing how the wealthiest nations—those most responsible for pollution—exploit the resources of the Global South while leaving the poorest to bear the consequences. Shining a light on the systemic inequalities perpetuated by the climate crisis, she urged wealthy nations to take immediate responsibility and decisive action.

Through her powerful voice, Ndileka not only honors the memory of her beloved grandfather but redefines it

She champions justice in the most critical battlegrounds of our time: climate equity, gender rights, and the empowerment of the forgotten and voiceless