MEET THE
TEAM
The Beast Foundation is comprised of a number of individuals who have expertise and experience in numerous fields, combining their knowledge and influence to aid in the upliftment and development of Africa through our three pillars: Sports, Education and Skills Development.
Director
TENDAI MTAWARIRA
Founder & Chairman
Tendai Mtawarira (The Beast) is a Zimbabwean-born South African professional rugby union player who plays for the Old Glory DC in Major League Rugby and previously for the South African national team and the Sharks in Super Rugby. With 117 caps, he is the most capped prop in South African history and the third most-capped Springbok of all time. He is also a 2019 Rugby World Cup Winner.
Tendai has for the last 10 years been involved in community work with various organisations. Tendai through his foundation Get Involved, has been volunteering in Zimbabwe where he’s travelled four times a year for the last 10 years to volunteer in delivering education and sporting opportunities to kids who would not normally have them. The program has managed to facilitate 60 American college scholarships over the years and over 100 high school scholarships. The program has over the last 2 years partnered with a Minnesota-based group, Matter, to deliver containers with Apple iPads to teach kids how to code in Victoria Falls and Harare.
He is currently the ambassador for Lead, an organization that builds sporting academies in deprived areas on the African continent. Between 2017-2019 he worked with Old Mutual on their rugby development program which aims to socially include kids in remote parts of Zimbabwe through the sport of rugby. The program so far has 15,000 kids and over 300 have gone on to receive rugby scholarships to prestigious high schools in Zimbabwe and South Africa as well as University scholarships in the USA.
Tendai is also the ambassador for Higherlife Foundation a program that provides educational opportunities to bright children from deprived communities. More recently Tendai has been working with Washington Youth Rugby in DC to coach some of the most vulnerable inner-city kids and introduce them to rugby. Most of these kids have ties to gangs and come from broken homes, the program has helped them stay off the streets.
Tendai has recently been appointed CEO of Umlindi Pvt Ltd a security company in South Africa. To further equip himself for this new challenge, he has also enrolled for an MBA degree with the prestigious Henley Business School.
YASE GODLO
MANAGING DIRECTOR
Yase Godlo is responsible for leading Strategic Global Campaigns in multiple areas of social change and social justice, supported by various stakeholders in governments, corporates and civil society. His work in social development achieved high impact human development and has contributed to different social needs in Education, Youth Development, Food and Nutrition programmes.
Yase has been at the Nelson Mandela Foundation for 17 years. He began in the Finance Department, subsequently growing his responsibilities to running Social Cohesion Programmes. In 2012 he was appointed as the Head of Mandela Day and has been running this programme for 9 years.
Over the years he has headed up global events such as the prestigious Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture, delivered by President Obama in 2018, as well other lectures delivered by notable Global Leaders including Bill Gates, Dr Mo Ibrahim, and Prof Muhammad Yunus.
The Foundation, through his role and responsibilities, helped him grow his skills and competence in global strategic Stakeholder Relations Management, positioning him as a recognised fundraiser of note. His network expands across more than 200 active countries extending to global cities and municipalities. This has enabled him to build major platforms of engagement for advocacy that lobby for policy change on global poverty concerns.
Yase has also demonstrated excellent efficiency and strategic leadership to social change projects in South Africa and other parts of the world. The value of building a strategic relationships is evident in his work with the United Nations, Mandela International Day and other outreach programmes at the Nelson Mandela Foundation. The extent of his work and focus on social justice can be attributed to HIV/AIDS and Xenophobia Community Engagements with International organisations.
Some of the highlights of Yase’s career include:
// His contribution to the life and times work that celebrates Nelson Mandela’s legacy through the Peacebuilding and Social Cohesion interventions;
// Building Mandela Day to be a self-sustainable core programme of the Nelson Mandela Foundation with over 200 participant countries worldwide;
// Remodelling the Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture into a cost-effective and profitable event that contributes back to the organisation, while maintaining a high standard that retains the stature of the global icon to this day.
Yase is a seasoned strategist and leader in his field having proven his worth and varied experience in stakeholder relations management, corporate social investment and fundraising. He holds several academic qualifications from Wits, GIBSA and Unisa.
KUZIVAKWASHE MTAWARIRA
DIRECTOR
Kuziva holds an Honors in Psychology, is a women empowerment speaker, wife, and a mother of two. She is very active in communities through her foundation, the Umba Foundation which aims to empower and build young people to be the best version of themselves.
Kuziva is passionate about providing opportunities for the underprivileged and during the Covid-19 pandemic, she embarked on a mission to ensure that those that had lost their income could still provide food for their families.
She is also passionate about the environment and has partnered with Husqvarna to educate the masses on how to maintain a healthy and clean environment.
KISSET CHIRENGENDE
DIRECTOR
Kisset is the founder of Kyros Sports LLC, a sports management company that excels in providing a myriad of services including, sports marketing and development. Through Kyros Sports, he consults for sporting programs in Zimbabwe, USA, England, and Scotland. He holds a B.A in Sports Business Management from Leeds Beckett University, a sports development speaker, and has functioned in the role of a team manager for an international rugby team. Outside of sport, he volunteers for the Shine Relief Trust.
KUDZAI MQINGWANA
DIRECTOR
Kudzai has been working in the Development field for over 12 years. Kudzai was born in Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom. She completed her studies at Rhodes University in 2001 graduating with a Bachelor of Commerce. From High School to present Kudzai has been involved in projects that look to connect people to better opportunities and give them a way out of their struggles. From leading her High school Chapter of Rotaract to being a part of a family that lives the values of Unhu better known as Ubuntu.
A diverse upbringing that included living in the United Kingdom, Zimbabwe, the United States and finally South Africa, Kudzai accepts that she is an unusual mix of cultures and experiences. It has made her value diversity. Kudzai avoids the temptation to box people and works to bring understanding between cultures and races. She cherishes her Shona heritage, but calls Durban South Africa home having lived there for nearly 20 years.
CRAIG BURDEN
DIRECTOR
Craig is a Rugby Union player for The Sharks in Super Rugby and the Currie Cup. The dynamic and hardworking hooker has achieved extensively in Currie Cup Championships and finals, Super Rugby, Top 14 Championship and Heineken Cup Championships. The veteran in The Sharks has made 51 Super Rugby appearances. Craig also has overseas rugby experience having represented Toulon, Montpellier and Stade Francis in the French Top 14.