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What We Do

The easiest way to explain what C4L does is to unpack the 4 "L"s:

  • Leadership
  • Livelihoods
  • Lobbying
  • Literati

Each of these 4 Ls is summarized on its own page.  These 4 pages can be found by clicking on the side bar, to open a pull-down menu, then click on the page title.

There is a variance from one year to another (in terms of proportions) based on resource flows.  But we keep C4L programming within these confines.  The biggest volumes of all have been related to Livelihoods.

Over the past 2 years, resource flows have been drying up.  Part of this that the Covid-induced unemployment levels in South Africa.  There is less spill-over from Donors for social investment.

In part, this economic malaise is because of "State Capture".  This is the all-encompassing term for Malpractice or Malfeasence.  These are broader words for 3 distinct issues - waste, corruption and patronage.

Baptism by fire

At provincial level, C4L has had a high profile in the "citizen revolt" that has made a LOT of noise about these issues.  C4L's particular space is Mpumalanga, so its target has been provincial government.  Somewhat tongue-in-cheek this has added a fifth "L" to our reputation - Litigation!

This is causing a re-mix in terms of support for C4L because some income streams have dried up.  Especially those from provincial government.  However, we believe that as Covid ends, and as the Triumphalists are brought to book, the economy will revive, and we will find new sources to keep C4L going forward.

C4L is optimistic in 2022.  But its focus has shifted - to sustainable livelihoods.  The disaster that we are now confronting is unemployment.

Strategic Focus

At C4L, the focus for over a decade has been building the capacity of Youth.  In South Africa that usually means young people under 35 years of age.  Our emphasis has been on youth from 18 - 28.  C4L also has also had a special focus on youth-led organizations (nonprofits and cooperatives).

C4L's roots are in Disaster Management, for example after the Mozambique Floods in 2000.  In a way, the disasters have become bigger and more challenging:

  • HIV and AID pandemic
  • Global warming (i.e. climate change)
  • State Capture
  • Unemployment

Modes of response have included Development Programming (training or human development) and Advocacy (public engagement).

Our efforts in advocacy were clearly punching above our weight, taking on waste, corruption and patronage in goverment.  C4L has been called "the mouse that roared".

But in 2022, with more citizens in the work force out-of-work than the number who have jobs, unemployment has moved into place as our top priority.  Sustainable livelihoods is now top priority, although State Capture was probably the number one cause of economic collapse, and thus it was incumbant on us to oppose it vociferously.

Samples of C4L's Advocacy

We invite you to visit our blog sites, which are one on-going example of our efforts at Advocacy: