About Us
Masoleng Rising is a South African non-profit organization dedicated to supporting children in the Matatiele Municipality, within the Alfred Nzo District.
Masoleng Rising
Masoleng Rising: Where Compassion Becomes Action
Masoleng Rising is more than an initiative, it’s a movement rooted in love, led by lived experience, and driven by the belief that small acts of kindness can transform lives and entire communities.
Founded by Ntjantja Ned, Masoleng Rising was born from a moment of quiet generosity: a stranger offering her a pencil when she had none. That small gesture lit a fire in a young girl from the village of Ma in the Eastern Cape, a fire that now fuels an entire mission. For Ntjantja, that pencil wasn’t just a tool; it was a doorway to possibility. It taught her a lesson she’s carried ever since: when you see someone in need, do something.
Masoleng Rising empowers rural communities, especially young women and children, through sustainable Early Childhood Development, mentorship, and skills-building programs. But what sets us apart is how we do it: not through charity, but through shared responsibility. We believe in the power of the village, in holding hands across generations, sharing strengths, and building a future where no one is left behind.
Our impact isn’t measured only in school readiness or new classrooms. It’s seen in daughters who return to teach in their villages, mothers who become community leaders, and children who now believe they belong in the world of books, ideas, and dreams.
At Masoleng Rising, success means creating ripples, acts of kindness that echo across families, across villages, and into the future.
Join us. Help us build a world where every child has a chance, every mother has support, and every village rises, one pencil, one act of kindness at a time.
Supported 300,000 children.
Opened 6 new ECD centres.
Serving over 170 ECD children.
Our Story
The village is not just the heart of African culture, it is where the soul of uBuntu lives. It teaches us that we are because of others, that true strength is found in our ability to lift each other up. In the village, compassion is a way of life, and raising a child is a shared responsibility.
This is where our children are born, where their first words are spoken, and where their roots run deep. Yet, only 3 in 10 children in these communities have access to Early Childhood Development (ECD). That means too many are left without the nurturing start they deserve, not because they lack potential, but because the support isn’t yet in place.
In the village, children grow in the safety of their mother tongue, the language of their ancestors, identity, and belonging. We know that when children learn in their home language, they understand more, think more critically, and feel more seen.
Across the country, villages are rich with untapped resources, fertile land, clean water, abundant sun, and, most importantly, people with skills, knowledge, and purpose that often go unrecognized and unsupported.
To be part of a village is more than geography. It is a commitment, to contribute, to care, and to carry each other forward. At Masoleng Rising, we believe that building up a child means building up the village. And in doing so, we build a future where no one is left behind.
Focusing on the village therefore ensures that the model and its programs are sustainable and scalable.
Our Mission & Vision
At Masoleng Rising, we believe that “It takes a Village to Raise a Child.” This timeless African principle is not just a motto, it’s a way of life that shapes our approach to Early Childhood Development (ECD).
Our vision is carried forward by Ntjantja Ned, whose life experience and deep-rooted commitment to community serve as a guiding light for our work. Her belief in the power of small interventions, like the right pencil at the right time, embodies our mission to remove the obstacles standing between children and their potential.
Through Ntjantja’s leadership and the strength of our collective, we focus on building sustainable infrastructure and empowering young parents, especially mothers, so they can become active participants in their children’s development.
Our programs are grounded in the village mindset: creating supportive environments where children are nurtured, school-ready, and equipped for lifelong learning.
Our mission therefore is to leave no child behind, preparing approximately 300,000 children across the Alfred Nzo District to read for meaning by Grade 3.
Our Team
Meet the passionate individuals leading our mission:
A diverse group of community builders, educators, and local leaders all dedicated to changing lives for the better.
Ntjantja Ned – Director of Masoleng Rising
I would like to share with you the story of a little girl, and a punmoveable is a story about life. It is a story about the many obstacles that we meet along our paths, the ones that stand in between our talents and our tomorrows.
Such obstacles are often unnavigable, not for the lack of ability, but because of a lack of tools, support, or opportunity.
These obstacles, in my experience, are very often neither big nor unmoveable. In fact, many, many times I have seen how something as small as the “right pencil given at the right time” can help someone write their way around a vast mountain and into a bright and prosperous future.
This story, the pencil, set me on the path to become who I am today. It has shaped me and inspires my mission to serve humanity and pay it forward in everything I do.
Relebohile Moletsane – Professor
Professor and JL Dube Chair in Rural Education at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
Areas of expertise include rural education and development, gender and education and girlhood studies. Co-editor (with Claudia Mitchell and Ann Smith) of a 2012 book, Was I Something I Wore? Dress, Identify, and Materiality.
Cape Town: HSRC Press. 2012 winner of the Distinguished Women in Science: Social Sciences and Humanities Award (South African National Department of Science and Technology), a 2014 Echinda Global Scholar at Brookings Institution’s Centre for Universal Education, and 2015 New Voices Fellow of the Aspen Institute.
Bianca Bozzone – Management Consultant
Bianca is a social innovator and has held multiple leadership positions across the for-profit and non-profit sectors giving her unique insights into the complex ecosystem of business, government and social sectors.
She has a depth of experience with innovative startups, having established and led an Enterprise Incubator focused on kickstarting townships-based enterprises to increase access to pre-school education, kickstarted an early learning social franchise, and implemented a step up programme in a youth accelerator.
She spent a decade at a family office, managing and building a portfolio contributing to inclusive and sustainable solutions and innovations across sectors.