Not a handout. A hand up.
Kitso Lesedi Youth Development
Kitso Lesedi Youth Development (KLYD) is a community-based non-profit organisation founded in 2008 by a group of young people committed to addressing the challenges facing youth in South Africa.
KLYD was established to create opportunities for young people and disadvantaged communities through skills development, youth empowerment, entrepreneurship, food security and community development programmes.
In 2014, KLYD began receiving funding from the Gauteng Department of Social Development, supporting the organisation's programmes and community initiatives. This partnership has continued from 2014 to date, enabling KLYD to expand its programmes and strengthen its contribution to communities across Gauteng.
Over the years, KLYD has empowered youth, women and men through practical and market-relevant programmes, including computer skills, management and entrepreneurship, artisan skills, youth development and community nutrition.
We work together with government, schools, community stakeholders and other partners to identify community needs, develop practical solutions and create opportunities that promote self-reliance, employment, entrepreneurship and sustainable livelihoods.
Our Commitment
We remain committed to empowering people, developing skills, creating opportunities and building stronger, more sustainable communities.
A Gauteng where every young person has a skill in their hands.
We picture a generation that isn't waiting to be hired — it's building, fixing, wiring and running things itself.
Train young people in real skills, then walk with them into real work.
Through hands-on skills training, mentorship, referral support and an exit plan built around each person, not a certificate.
Our five-step model
Identify
We meet the person and understand their real situation and need.
Equip
Life skills, ICT, business or a hands-on skill — matched to them.
Guide
Ongoing mentorship through the length of their training.
Connect
Referral to the right employer, apprenticeship or service.
Empower
A trainee who's employed, self-employed, or moving forward.
Growing Hope with Transnet
For Mandela Day 2026, we partnered with Transnet to bring young people together for a meaningful day of learning, service and community development.
The youth participated in a practical gardening workshop, learning how to start and maintain a garden, prepare soil and sow seeds. As part of the 67 Minutes for Mandela initiative, the young people put their new skills into action by planting seeds in our community garden.
The day was about more than gardening. It was about empowering youth, promoting food sustainability and planting seeds of hope for a stronger community.
We are grateful to Transnet for partnering with us and helping turn the spirit of Mandela Day into meaningful action.
Nourishing Communities, Connecting People
Every weekday, our doors open with one simple purpose: to make a meaningful difference in the lives of people in our community.
Through our CNDC programme, supported by the Gauteng Department of Social Development, we provide daily meals to 250 people, Monday to Friday — helping fight hunger while creating a place where people feel supported and valued.
But our work goes beyond a meal. Through our Service Blitz programmes, we bring government departments, public services and private-sector partners together under one roof, connecting communities with the services, information and opportunities they need.
We don't just feed people — we connect, empower and build stronger communities.