Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are centrally positioned in the development discourse. Here, we consider the work of an NGO in Makhanda in the Eastern Cape of South Africa from an African-centred community psychology perspective. In the context of complex socio-contextual challenges and poor educational outcomes, this longitudinal mixed-methods study considers the role of GADRA Education, Makhanda’s oldest NGO, in the educational landscape of the city. We report on findings from three data sets: a Foucauldian analysis of annual reports between 2016 and 2022, statistical meta-analysis of Makhanda’s school exit-level educational outcomes over the past decade, and an analysis of 13 organisational member’s narratives. An African-centred community psychology lens reveals the NGO’s values-based and participatory work, which contributed to destabilising prominent productions in the city’s educational landscape. In contrast to conceptions of education NGOs who work in the public schooling sector making little progress to challenge the status quo, we demonstrate the techniques of resistance leveraged by this local NGO. The narratives reveal the impacts of the NGO’s work on the subjectivities of youth in Makhanda in driving educational change in the city. We illustrate how values-based and participatory work contributes to transformative change in public schooling in South Africa.