Gospel Singer Puleng March Uses Music to Inspire Young People and Give Back to Her Community

Gospel singer Puleng March is using her platform to make a meaningful difference in the lives of young people and communities in need. Beyond her achievements as a recording artist with three successful albums and multiple awards, March has developed a strong passion for mentoring, encouraging and creating opportunities for others. She is currently mentoring a choir of more than 20 young people from Tshepisong, outside Soweto, helping them record music while teaching them about the realities of the music industry. Her work with the youngsters reflects her belief that talent can grow when people receive encouragement and an opportunity to be heard. Through this project and her wider community initiatives, March is showing that gospel music can extend beyond the stage and become a practical tool for restoring confidence, creating hope and changing lives.

March’s involvement with the young choir began after she was invited to minister at a conference where the young people were part of her backing vocals. The experience left a strong impression on her, particularly because she quickly developed a connection with the church and congregation. Rather than treating the performance as a once-off engagement, she saw an opportunity to work more closely with the young singers and help them develop their abilities. She subsequently approached the bishop with the idea of starting a project with the group. What began with a simple invitation to minister has therefore developed into a mentorship initiative designed to expose the young people to recording and the broader music industry.

“I was invited to come and minister at their conference, and they were part of my backing vocals. I just fell in love with the church and congregation, so I suggested to the bishop to do a project with them,” she said. March’s decision reflects her willingness to look beyond the immediate demands of her own career and invest her time and experience in emerging talent. For the young singers, working alongside an established gospel artist can provide valuable exposure to aspects of the industry they may not otherwise encounter. The project also gives them a chance to develop their confidence while learning how professional music projects are created. March’s involvement demonstrates the importance of experienced artists creating pathways for younger performers to discover their potential.

The young singers initially approached the project with uncertainty because they had previously been discouraged about their abilities. March explained that they had been told they could not sing and would not be able to record music successfully. Instead of accepting those negative assessments, she recognised something familiar in their situation because she had faced similar doubts herself. Her own journey from being underestimated to achieving three successful albums and multiple awards gave her a personal reason to believe in the youngsters. She now wants to help them understand that other people’s opinions do not have to determine what they can achieve.

“They were very sceptical because they were told that those kids can’t sing and won’t be able to record. I thought to myself, they once said that to me, but see what God did. I have three successful albums and multiple awards,” she said. March’s experience allows her to approach the mentorship project from a position of personal understanding rather than simply offering theoretical encouragement. She knows what it feels like to have people question your ability and understands how powerful it can be when someone chooses to believe in you. Her achievements provide the young singers with an example of what can happen when talent is supported and developed. The project is therefore about more than recording songs because it is also about changing how the youngsters see themselves and their possibilities.

March wants the young people from Tshepisong to see that their circumstances do not have to limit their ambitions. She hopes the project will give them the confidence to pursue opportunities they may previously have considered beyond their reach. Her focus is particularly significant because creative opportunities can give young people a constructive way to develop skills, express themselves and build connections. By introducing the choir to the recording process and teaching them about the music business, she is also helping them understand what happens behind the scenes in a professional career. Her ultimate goal is to help them move from simply dreaming about success to taking practical steps towards achieving it.

“To help them live out what they once thought was just a dream, to see that even in Tshepisong big things can happen, to bring back confidence and hope, and to shame the devil,” she said. Her words capture the spiritual motivation behind the initiative and the importance she places on restoring hope. March wants the young singers to recognise that their location does not determine the size of their dreams or the opportunities available to them. By giving them access to mentorship and music production, she is helping turn encouragement into practical experience. The project also reflects the central role that faith plays in March’s approach to both music and community work.

March’s commitment to giving back extends beyond the Tshepisong choir project. She is also involved in efforts to raise money to complete a church in Kimberley, Northern Cape, where Pastor Mawes has spent years supporting people in her community. March recently organised a fundraising concert and brought together several fellow artists to help with the cause. The initiative demonstrated how musicians can use their collective platforms to support community projects that depend on donations and public goodwill. Rather than simply raising awareness, the concert created a direct opportunity for people to contribute towards completing the church building.

“Mawes is a pastor, a 76-year-old in Kimberley, my mother, and we call her Mawe, and everyone in the community calls her Mawe because she’s a great help in the community,” Puleng said. She described Pastor Mawes as someone people turn to when they need food, prayer or somewhere to stay. According to March, the pastor has even opened her home to people who were not members of her immediate family and needed shelter after being rejected by relatives. Her description of Mawes as someone known for helping others explains why completing the church became such an important cause for her. March’s decision to support the project reflects her belief that people who spend their lives helping others also deserve support when they face challenges of their own.

“She had a cry to finish her church, and because her church is a small church, they were struggling to finish the church so I asked my colleague to help me and they really jumped in with open hearts,” she said. March’s appeal to fellow artists resulted in a strong response from members of the gospel music community. Lebo Sekgobela, Mmatema, Mpumi Mtsweni, Sindi Ntombela, Omega Khunou and Bishop Tshabalala joined the fundraising effort, while Metro FM’s Romeo and MC Gersh also contributed to the event. Their involvement helped turn the fundraising concert into a collective effort involving performers and media personalities. The response showed how collaboration can amplify a community cause and bring together people who share a commitment to helping others.

The fundraising concert ultimately became a sold-out event, giving supporters an opportunity to enjoy live gospel performances while contributing towards the church project. March said people attended and made donations towards completing the Mawes church, providing practical assistance to a project that had struggled to reach completion. Pastor Solly Mahlangu contributed R10 000 towards the church, while other bishops also made donations. For March, the financial contributions were important, but the generosity surrounding the event carried an equally significant emotional meaning. She said the experience allowed her to see the love of God through the people who chose to support the cause.

“I saw the love of God through all these people,” she said. The statement captures the connection March makes between her faith and her commitment to community service. Her approach to giving is not based only on financial contributions, but also on offering time, connections, skills and opportunities where they can make a difference. The fundraising concert showed how those different forms of support can come together around a shared objective. It also reinforced March’s belief that people can create meaningful change when they are willing to respond to the needs around them.

March’s passion for giving back can be traced to the way she was raised. She credits her mother with teaching her the importance of generosity and allowing her to witness the effect that giving can have on other people’s lives. Those early experiences appear to have shaped the way she thinks about success, particularly the idea that achievements should create opportunities to help others. Her memories of taking toys and clothes to a local shelter also demonstrate that her commitment to giving existed long before her music career reached its current level. For March, even a small gesture can carry significant meaning when it reaches someone at a time when they need it.

“Giving is so important to me because I was raised by a woman who gave, and I saw what that giving did for others. Others still share their stories of success when they see us. I also remember taking toys and clothes to a shelter in my area. I saw the tears of joy in those kids’ eyes. It wasn’t much, but what it did for these kids warmed my heart,” Puleng said. Her memories show that generosity does not always depend on having large amounts of money or resources. Sometimes, items that may seem ordinary to one person can have a profound impact on someone else. March also remembers receiving old clothes from a friend who came from a wealthy family, describing those clothes as life-changing because of how beautiful they were to her. That experience helped reinforce her desire to make other people happy by giving them things that can bring dignity, encouragement or joy.

“Plus, I had a friend who was from a rich family, who used to give me her old clothes. To me, those clothes were life-changing because they were so beautiful, so I love making other people happy,” Puleng said. Her words provide a personal explanation for why community work remains such an important part of her life. The generosity she experienced as a young person did not simply benefit her materially, it also taught her how powerful it can feel when someone chooses to share what they have. March now carries that lesson into her own work, using her influence and relationships to create opportunities for others. Her mentorship of the Tshepisong choir and support for the Kimberley church both reflect the same principle of giving people reasons to believe that better possibilities exist.

Puleng March’s community work demonstrates how an established gospel artist can use her platform to create opportunities that extend beyond music. Her mentorship of more than 20 young people from Tshepisong is helping aspiring singers build confidence, gain recording experience and learn more about the music industry. At the same time, her fundraising efforts for Pastor Mawes’ church in Kimberley show her willingness to support people who have dedicated themselves to serving their communities. Both initiatives are rooted in the values of faith, generosity and encouragement that March learned while growing up. Her story ultimately shows that success can have a greater impact when it is shared, and through her music, mentorship and community service, she continues to give young people and those in need a reason to believe in themselves and their future.