Henderson man hopes to make difference for students facing hardships

Richman Mahlangu doesn't want low-income and at-risk students in the valley to face the hardships he did as a child in South Africa under Apartheid, so he's starting a nonprofit foundation in his name to assist them in their education.

"This whole idea is for the kids to use their education to escape their life in the ghetto or their life in poverty," the Henderson resident said. "Education in these communities often is not the tradition."

Mahlangu, a counselor at Johnson Junior High School, 7701 Ducharme Ave., was born in 1964 in Lamontville, a South African township south of the city of Durban, and grew up with four siblings. His father died when he was 12, adding to his family's hardships under Apartheid.

"After my father passed away, my sisters had to go to work to support the family," he said.

Mahlangu said after the experiences he had, he sees himself in some of the children at his school, where 40 percent of students get free lunch.

"Most kids are being raised by a single parent, which is a similar situation that I grew up with," he said.

However, Mahlangu did not let his life circumstances get the better of him. He found a tennis racket one day in the street when he was 12. It was warped, and some of its strings were missing, but he practiced the game routinely with friends at a run-down court near his home. Then, one day, a professional tennis coach from Great Britain who happened to be giving a lesson locally spotted him at the court.

"One afternoon, all of a sudden, there was a white man standing there," Mahlangu said. "As a black kid in the township, a white man talks to you, you're kind of in a state of shock. The only interaction we had in the township with white people was with the police."

The man returned later that day, and he offered Mahlangu tennis lessons every Saturday.

"He says to me I can come and pick up balls for him, and I would get a half-hour lesson," Mahlangu said.

After various other struggles and a few instances of good fortune, Mahlangu landed a full-ride tennis scholarship to UNLV, fulfilling a dream. He began his education at the college in 1986.

"My goal since I was 10 years old was to go to America and acquire an education," he said.

The goals of the Richman Mahlangu Foundation are set to include: mentoring students; offering them financial assistance to attend math and science camps during summer; providing opportunities to attend leadership camps; providing tutoring and other support for SAT and ACT preparation; helping fund trips to visit prospective colleges; providing partial scholarships; and helping students pay for boarding and supplies in college.

"I have a bunch of kids that I've chosen in my school that the foundation will be funding," Mahlangu said. "The goal is to have six kids at middle school and 12 kids in two different high schools."

Jim Lang, treasurer for the foundation, said he was in awe of what Mahlangu has accomplished in life and was looking forward to helping him with his nonprofit.

"I think it's highly admirable he wants to take something like this on," said Lang, a Summerlin-area resident. "I recognize the need for it; I think it's important. I'm trying to be very supportive of him. I'm trying to lend him some expertise."

Lang's professional background is in finance and accounting, and the retiree worked in the Las Vegas hotel-casino industry.

Mahlangu said he hopes the foundation helps address systemic socioeconomic problems in the black community.

"I see a very big need in America for black men to take a bit more responsibility in raising their kids," Mahlangu said. "I think education is our No. 1 hope. And kids can't do this on their own."

Mahlangu wanted his sons Nicholas and Yannik to get into an Ivy League school, so he began teaching them tennis at ages 6 and 4, respectively, for two to three hours daily until they were 18, and it paid off academically: Nicholas is an incoming senior at Harvard University, having acquired a tennis and academic scholarship, and Yannik is an incoming junior at Georgetown University, acquired a similar scholarship.

"I want to use my story and my children's story," Mahlangu said of his nonprofit, which is awaiting final approval for 501(c)(3) tax exemption; his tax ID number from the IRS has already been issued, enabling him to solicit donations.

Visit mahlangufoundation.com.

— To reach Henderson View reporter Cassandra Keenan, email ckeenan@viewnews.com or call 702-383-0278. Find her on Twitter: @CassandraKNews.