South Africa faces a growing student housing crisis — hundreds of thousands of young people are left without safe, affordable, and supportive accommodation each year. But what if housing could be more than a bed and a roof? What if it could be a home that shapes destinies?
In Redemptive Student Villages, Thabo Mahlobo shares a powerful journey that began with opening his family home to a handful of students in Bloemfontein. What started as a simple act of compassion became the blueprint for I Am Home Student Villages — a model of student housing that goes beyond shelter to provide mentorship, community, and leadership development.
This book highlights:
The real challenges in South Africa’s student housing ecosystem — from shortages to NSFAS delays.
The moral and emotional struggles students face when living away from home.
How redemptive student villages can nurture values, responsibility, and resilience.
A framework for building homes that function as leadership incubators.
A vision to scale the I Am Home model nationwide, raising a generation of Kingdom-minded leaders.
More than a book about accommodation, this is a call to reimagine housing as a platform for nation-building. It’s an invitation to parents, universities, government, churches, and investors to see student villages not just as infrastructure, but as launchpads for the next generation of leaders.
“A house gives shelter, but a redemptive student village gives destiny.”