Wahida Tolbert Mbatha had always questioned the fact that black children from the townships 'had to be considered a genius in order to be lucky enough' to get private education. Now, she and her husband run a private school for township children.

Tolbert Mbatha was a middle school humanities teacher and an after-school programme coordinator in the US for seven years and completed the Global School Leadership Fellowship with the Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP). However, she had no experience in the South African education system, so she set about researching and learning about the private and public education system to understand what her contribution would be.

Today, Tolbert Mbatha and her husband, Thulani Mbatha, are the co-founders of Kgololo Academy, established in 2015 and based in the densely populated Alexandra township in Johannesburg. Thulani Mbatha is from Alexandra and so it was the perfect fit. The primary school offers a private school tuition at fees that are subsidised so that parents in the area can afford it.

The Alexandra Methodist Church allowed them to set up on its premises and they began with just 39 children, which has grown to more than 200. They now have a second campus...