A week ago, I met with Mott grantees in the Durban office of the Democracy Development Programme, a nongovernmental organization (NGO) led by Rama Naidu, a passionate social justice leader.

Before our group workshop, Rama and I talked about the South African workers who are striking for bigger pay increases. Their demand for more money follows media reports of higher-than-expected inflation rates and news that the country has entered its first recession in 17 years.

But the striking employees are not alone. Residents are also taking to the streets and pressuring the government to secure basic services for the poor, such as electricity and housing.

Rama says if the demonstrations are to be successful, NGOs like his should support the protests but they can’t lead them. Instead, thousands of affected people need to awaken from their slumber, in much the same way they did to actively oppose the old apartheid system in the 1970s, ‘80s and ‘90s.

“The moment you take away the energy from the people being involved in their issues, then you dilute the impact of your work,” he said.

Rama talked about tensions between Durban city officials and “hawkers,” local people who sell items informally on city property. Their location was identified as the site for a new mall, which prompted a recent meeting on the topic that was attended by more than 600 people, including the deputy mayor. Although the city saw the illegal selling space as a public eyesore, it provided employment for hundreds of people, Rama says.

“It was the first chance for people to be acknowledged, to be listened to. I think that was most important,” he said.

“They were respected and given the chance to speak, and the city was not talking from a position of power so the power dynamic was more balanced.”

Rama’s reflective words spoke volumes to me.

Before traveling back to South Africa I had heard several troubling stories about the decline of democracy in the country where, only 15 years previously, millions of people had stood in voting lines for hours to choose the nation’s first black president in a post-apartheid political system.

But, like all teenagers, it seems the country is experiencing normal growing pains as it moves from adolescence to maturity. To use the words of Gandhi’s great-granddaughter, these are tangible signs of “democracy in action” in the new South Africa.