Lindi Grootboom, was raised by a single mother and was exposed to inequalities and injustices at an early age. Life was not as sheltered compared to many of her peers at school. She grew up in Mitchells Plain and attended school in a more affluent area. She was able to see how the living wages of her mom needed to be stretched to cover school fees, groceries, electricity, and transport (among other expenses). This highlighted the difference in the standard of school buildings, facilities, number of students attending the school, the activities offered after school and even the discipline procedure. 

She furthermore realized that the different modes of public transport are inefficient for most communities within the Western Cape. And from noticing these direct differences, it ploughed the interest of politics.

Because Lindi’s mom is an activist from the late 70’s, politics is often discussed in her household. Growing up her mom told her many stories about how life was and now years later, not much has been changed. The fact that things have not changed after all these years makes the disparities between communities grow greater.

Upon completing her grade 12 at St. Cyprians in 2013, she always wanted to study law, but that dream changed when she got accepted into the University of Western Cape for a Bachelor of Arts degree, Lindi then chose to  focus on Political Science, Sociology, Linguistics and Ethics. She triple majored in her final year and completed her honours degree in Sociology with her research focus being public transport within the Western Cape. 

Lindi worked for an NGO, HOPE Africa, that focused on addressing pertinent issues such as gender-based violence, rape, abuse, and domestic violence within the Western Cape. They facilitated programmes educating the youth about these matters and empowering them about what their rights are. Lindi has a deep passion for working within destitute communities, especially the youth to continue uplifting, engaging, and empowering people to ignite a stronger sense of ‘knowledge is power’. She believes in always giving back to the very community that helped shape and molded her. 

“My core beliefs are fairness, progress, and equality to be experienced for everyone. My desire is to do more, to effectively change more lives and the quality of many more lives, especially people of colour who have been marginalized.” Lindi Grootboom