Insights
Changing stories of inequality in South Africa, one by one
Meet Rachel Kolisi, CEO and co-founder of the Kolisi Foundation
On the eve of the 2019 Rugby World Cup final, Rachel Kolisi sat on the floor of the corridor outside her hotel room with her husband, Siya. They had just put their children to bed and were contemplating what life might look like after the match. Rather than talking about celebration and self-promotion in the wake of a win, Rachel and Siya, the Springboks’ first black Captain in the history of rugby in South Africa, talked about how they could use their influence for good. “We jotted down a list of our dreams – things we wanted to see change in South Africa,” says Rachel. “The next day, when we won, although it was tremendously exciting, that conversation was at the back of our minds and we both knew that we had that intention.” And so, the Kolisi Foundation was born, a non-government organisation, whose guiding principle states: Remember the one. One by one.
It’s a phrase, says Rachel, that means many things to many people but for Rachel and Siya, it is about helping each individual and connecting, over the “common humanity” you share. When they first launched the foundation during the Covid pandemic, she and Siya travelled around by car delivering food parcels – “the big beautiful hampers full of nutritious food that we still distribute today.”
When a community member would come out and collect the parcel, Rachel would take the time to talk to them. “Every time, I would ask what their daily life looked like. One young mother came with a baby on her back and a two-year-old in the wheelbarrow she’d brought to carry the food. A domestic worker, she had lost her job and was now solely responsible for her children. Another, a girl of 12, came along with her eight-year-old brother. Orphaned, they lived alone, with the girl often taking care of their cousins too. She didn’t attend school.”
The social problems in South Africa are so many and so complex, says Rachel, that to set out to solve them all would be so huge a task as to overwhelm you. “It was easy at first to wonder: ‘Are we having any impact here?’ That’s where One by one came from. Hearing these young people’s stories and seeing the relief come over them when they saw the food parcel, realising ‘I am sorted for the next month’, helped us to keep going. We committed to help people not for one but for the next three months and worked with local grass roots organisations to get them the support they needed.”
Listening to people’s stories one by one and letting them know they are heard, is something Rachel had seen Siya do since they first met. “Everywhere you go in South Africa, you see people living in poverty, on street corners, asking for help. Siya would always stop and go into a shop and buy them something, or give them money and he always acknowledged them as individuals. It struck me then and it’s what we are both passionate about today. It is why we are so connected about this cause.”
For Rachel, it is only by listening to people’s stories that organisations like the Kolisi Foundatation can really learn to help. “The beautiful thing about townships and other disadvantaged communities in South Africa is the many stories, like those of the young people I mentioned earlier. They have very little but what little they have – be it food or caring for extended family – they share. It is inspiring. I believe we can all learn from them how to share our resources.”
Siya’s own life – his journey from a township to the international sports star he is today – informs the couple’s vision to change the stories of inequality in South Africa. “Siya’s early life is the same story as millions of South Africans,” says Rachel. “But he, himself, is the product of philanthropy. Having received a bursary from a private donor, Siya was sponsored throughout his education. His opportunities were made via philanthropy and if that hadn’t happened he and I wouldn’t be here today, using this platform to try and create opportunity for others.”
Although “not a ‘silver spoon’ story”, Rachel says her own childhood has nothing to compare to Siya’s. “But I believe that everyone has been placed on this earth with something in their heart that they want to change, be it conservation, preventing the abuse of women or combatting a lack of healthcare. Growing up, I struggled to live alongside people living on the streets, in deep poverty - especially children. Siya actually lived that.”
Looking forward, Rachel’s priority is to shore up a long-term future for the foundation. She compares it to a parent securing a legacy for future generations. “When it comes to the foundation, I look at the financials in the same light as I would my own family. Like families, we have no choice but to think long-term, working out how we can continue to have a sustainable impact.”
Sustainability is a subject close to Rachel’s heart, one which she feels is not talked about enough for NGOs. “People want to cut ribbons and be a part of the infrastructure of change but no one wants to discuss endowments or the long-term funding of operations and overheads. Siya succeeded, but he was removed from his family to do so. As a foundation, we believe that children shouldn’t need to be removed from their families to succeed. That’s why it is our focus to bring infrastructure and resource back to communities for the long term.”
The Kolisi Foundation aims to change the narratives of inequality in South Africa. The focus areas of the foundation address are the systemic issues in Gender-Based Violence, Food Insecurity and Education and Sport, with special attention paid to Zwide township where Siya Kolisi grew up, and other under-resourced areas of South Africa.
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