The Karen Gantsho Foundation (KGF) was established in 2023 as a social investment arm of the Karen and Mandla Gantsho Family Trust.
Empowering Rural South Africa: Clean Water, Bright Futures, Sustainable Solutions.
Vision and Mission
Vision: Empowered and self-sustaining rural communities in South Africa.
Mission: To contribute to providing (a) clean drinking water (b) early childhood development infrastructure to targeted rural communities through leveraging partnerships and renewable energy technologies.
Core values: respect, partnerships, innovation, and integrity.
Value proposition: Our interventions are informed by (a) our deep family roots in the targeted rural communities and (b) our belief that beneficiaries are equal partners with us in harnessing solutions to their development needs.
What we do
Our work contributes to the attainment of the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):
- Alleviating poverty
- Using affordable clean solutions by replacing unreliable diesel generator based energy systems with solar energy for sustainable access to clean drinking water.
- Using innovation to develop and build infrastructure for early Childhood Development Centres.
- Securing and leveraging strategic public and private partnerships.
- Leveraging local knowledge from social partners and beneficiaries to engender ownership and sustainability of solutions.
Let’s make things better together by committing to sustainable practices that benefit communities and the environment.
Our Team
Dr Karen Angela Gantsho
Ms Hyxoniah Nontle Antoinette Jaxa
Mr Frank Cassim
Mr Luvuyo Mooi
Dr Mandla SV Gantsho
Scaling-up Solar Power for Clean Water
In the Emalahleni Municipality, Eastern Cape, South Africa there are 165 water schemes across all 17 wards in the region. 63 of these are powered by electricity, while 102 rely on borehole extraction systems powered by unreliable diesel engines.
The KGF aims to establish public/private partnerships to replace the unsustainable diesel-powered water systems with solar-powered generation, ensuring reliable access to clean drinking water in the affected rural villages.
The envisioned social impact is to improve the quality of life by providing access to clean water for drinking and subsistence farming irrigation purposes.