When women lead,
communities rise.
Stand with women, young people and communities across South Africa as they claim their rights and build a fairer future.
Give to ActionAid South Africa
A monthly debit order is the most powerful way to back long-term, community-led change.
Your monthly gift goes straight to community-led work for rights and justice.Four fights for a fairer South Africa
Each area tackles a root cause of poverty and inequality, and is led by the people most affected.
Investing in young women is not charity. It is a sustainable strategy.Lerato Maloka, water scientist and Young Urban Women Movement activist, who led the Gauteng team at the Youth Parliament for Water.
Clean water is a right, not a privilege
In Mosesetjane, young women are testing their own tap water because nobody else would. Add your name to call on local government to guarantee safe water for every household.
Thank you. Your name has been added.
Petitions win change when campaigns can keep going. A monthly gift keeps young women testing, documenting and pushing until the water runs clean.
Rooted in communities across five provinces
We work alongside rural and urban communities in five provinces. With 60% of South Africans now living in towns and cities, our work reaches urban communities too.
Your support, used well
Community-led
Your gift funds change that communities lead, alongside grassroots organisations and movements.
Tax deductible
We issue Section 18A certificates so your gift can reduce your tax.
Always in your control
Change, pause or cancel a monthly gift any time, with one call or email.
Your data is safe
Protected under POPIA. We never sell or share your details.
How every R100 is spent
R70 goes to programmes and campaigns, R20 to fundraising and R10 to running costs.
Latest from ActionAid South Africa
Get the stories first
Our quarterly newsletter brings you the people and campaigns your support makes possible. The April to June 2026 edition is out now.
Who we are
A human rights organisation working to end poverty and injustice in South Africa since 2003.
Poverty is about more than income
It is also a poverty of rights, dignity, access and power. We work with people facing discrimination and those dispossessed by disaster, violence and inequality.
We partner with grassroots organisations and social movements in the communities we serve, so change is led by the people living it.
What guides us
Feminist principles
We centre the voices, leadership and rights of women and girls. Gender justice is inseparable from economic and social justice.
Community-led change
Lasting change comes from within. We support and amplify communities rather than impose solutions.
Accountability
We hold governments and corporations to account, and practise the same transparency with partners and supporters.
Transformative change
We tackle root causes by challenging the structures of power that keep people poor.
Two decades of change
Founded
ActionAid South Africa is established.
Into the cities
Work expands to urban communities.
YUWM launched
The Young Urban Women Movement begins.
Climate justice
Climate resilience becomes a core pillar.
New strategy
Country Strategic Programme 2026 to 2029.
Meet the team
Activists, advocates and changemakers committed to dismantling systems of injustice.
Our work
Four areas of work, one aim: that people living in poverty can claim their rights and shape their future.
Who we work with
Local and national allies supporting people living in poverty, particularly women, young people and children, to claim their rights.
Our work in pictures
Stories of change
Real people, real communities, real change.
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Have a story to share?
We want to hear from communities, activists and changemakers across South Africa.
From Mamelodi to Parliament
Lerato is a water science practitioner and Young Urban Women Movement activist from Mamelodi. She was selected to lead the Gauteng team at the Youth Parliament for Water.
In rooms usually dominated by engineers and politicians, she brought the lived reality of her township, where water supply has begun to falter. The women she works with are already holding communities together through environmental crises, and their leadership connects local reality to global climate policy.
Her message to young women is simple: you do not need to wait until you feel ready. Start where you are.
Help more young women lead
A monthly gift supports young women leading change in their communities.
News and media
Blog posts, statements and analysis on poverty, rights and justice. Media enquiries: supporters.za@actionaid.org or 087 980 7791.
Publications
Research, reports, newsletters and strategy documents that inform our advocacy and hold power to account.
Get involved
Give, take action or join the team. There is a place for you in the movement.
Give monthly
A regular debit order is the most powerful way to support long-term, community-led change.
Start givingTake action
Add your name to campaigns for water, climate justice and women's rights.
Sign the petitionWork with us
Join a feminist, inclusive team that invests in growth, learning and wellbeing.
See vacanciesWork with us
Real impact
Work alongside communities in five provinces on rights, climate and justice.
Growth and learning
Training, mentorship and room to advance.
Wellbeing first
Sustainable activism needs rest, balance and solidarity.
Feminist culture
Inclusive and respectful, and committed to fairness inside our own team.
No open roles right now
Send your CV and a motivation letter to supporters.za@actionaid.org. We keep expressions of interest on file.
Contact us
Whether you want to give, partner, volunteer or share a story from your community, we'd love to hear from you.
Johannesburg 2196
Friday, 08:30 to 15:00