SALM TEAM 
A conversation with Claudette van Zyl, Eastern Cape Coordinator for the Safer South Africa Foundation.
When we talk about safety in South Africa, our minds often turn to police, prisons, and crime statistics. But true safety is about much more—it is about dignity, belonging, opportunity, and community. And it takes women leaders to remind us of that.
For Ms. Claudette van Zyl, Regional Coordinator for the Eastern Cape at the Safer South Africa Foundation (SSAF), safety is not a distant policy matter. It is lived. It is rooted in resilience. It is modeled daily in how women lead, nurture, and redefine what it means for young people to thrive.
Raised in Buffalo Flats, East London—a community shaped by apartheid removals—Ms Claudette grew up watching her parents serve as business owners and municipal councillors, deeply embedded in grassroots struggles. “My parents lived for the community,” she reflects. “I suppose that’s where I inherited my own passion to serve.”
Her journey took her into social work, correctional services, and ultimately senior leadership within the prison system, where she oversaw rehabilitation and reintegration programmes. Yet, in retirement, she chose not to slow down. Instead, she reinvested her wisdom into South Africa’s youth through SSAF.
Women Leading Differently
Women like Ms Claudette embody a different kind of leadership—one that is holistic, relational, and deeply grounded in community care. “Safety is not just about policing. It’s about dismantling systemic barriers, addressing socio-economic struggles, and being present at grassroots level,” she says.
Her leadership style is simple but profound: role modeling, mentoring, and being accessible. Learners know they can approach her about bullying or addiction. Parents seek her counsel. Communities knock on her door, often literally, for advice about navigating life after a loved one is arrested. She responds not with bureaucracy, but with humanity.
This is what sets women leaders apart: they do not just occupy positions of authority; they become the “go-to faces” of the community. They show that safety is not imposed—it is built.
Empowering Youth Voices
Through SSAF’s Communities and Justice and Youth for a Safer South Africa Debates programmes, Ms Claudette sees this as a platform where young people find their voices. Debate, she notes, is not just about winning arguments—it is about shaping critical thinkers, future leaders, and citizens who can imagine a safer country.
“Our youth is our future,” she insists. “As women leaders, we must mentor, motivate, and support young people—especially young women—to rise above their circumstances and shine.”
It is no coincidence that SSAF’s work blends safety with education. For women leaders like Ms Claudette, education is the ultimate form of protection. It keeps young people engaged, hopeful, and prepared to resist the traps of crime, substance abuse, and disillusionment.
The Female Advantage in Safety Leadership
What do women bring to safety leadership? Empathy. Multi-tasking. The ability to listen in stillness and problem-solve under pressure. Ms Claudette tells a story of a recent community fundraiser where a crisis in the kitchen almost derailed the day. While others panicked, she quietly improvised and led the team to a simple solution. “In your quietness, God speaks to you,” she says. “That is how women lead, we bring calm to chaos.”
South Africa desperately needs this kind of leadership. Safety cannot be achieved by force alone. It must be nurtured through resilience, compassion, and creativity—the very qualities women embody.
A Call to Young Women
To the “young Claudettes” of today, her message is clear: “Never let where you come from define who you are. Rise above your circumstances. You are enough. And your presence can make a difference—even in male-dominated spaces.”
She challenges women leaders to make themselves visible, accessible, and supportive—to be the trailblazers that dismantle stereotypes and light the path for others.
At SSAF, this philosophy is not theory—it is practice. Whether it’s engaging school learners or hosting youth debates, women leaders within the Foundation prove daily that safety is not an abstract goal. It is a lived reality, shaped by relationships, role models, and resilience.
Because, as Ms Claudette’s life shows us, safety in South Africa will not be redefined from above.
It will be redefined at the grassroots, one young life at a time.
By Seri Kumalo
