Higher Ground

Posted on 1 March 2021

Led by two of the country’s most recognisable public figures, the Kolisi Foundation is doing good, hard work where it matters most: in the everyday lives of ordinary South Africans.

1 November 2019.

A man and his wife stand in a hotel corridor in Japan. In the morning, everything will change. Under the lights of International Stadium Yokohama, in front of 70 000 people, a televised audience of nearly 13 million, he will become the first black Springbok captain – and in fact the first black captain, from anywhere – to lift the Rugby World Cup.

But for now there is no-one else. One quiet moment, before the chaos, before the lights and noise, before the fame. She puts a hand on his shoulder. “So listen, how do you feel about starting a foundation?”

20 March 2020.

The COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan Province, China, has just been declared a global pandemic. South Africa stands on the brink of the worst public health crisis in its history. A national lockdown looms, along with an economic downturn that threatens lives and livelihoods in the country’s poorest communities.

Rachel and Siya Kolisi walk with a wheelbarrow of food through a township in Makhado, Limpopo.
He kneels to speak with an old man in a plastic chair. She smiles and greets a group of children playing in the street. They have a young family and a public profile unmatched in South Africa. They could be anywhere. Safe at home, or insulated overseas. Instead, they’re here.

“When we talk about the country or the state of our nation, it’s easy to say, we all have a responsibility or a duty to want to change things for the better,” says Rachel Kolisi. “But without action, those are just words. You have to ask, what do people need? I have two hands, what can I do? Real work is harder. Real work is what matters.”

CHANGE THE NARRATIVE

Siya Kolisi’s mother passed away when he was 15, and he was raised by his grandmother, in a two-bedroom house along with five other people, in Zwide, Port Elizabeth.

Growing up, Siya was no stranger to hardship and to hunger. Twelve years later he became the first black man to lead the Springboks.

“People who live in South African townships are not vulnerable,” Rachel says. “Their situations are vulnerable. But they have hope and there is hope around them. When we started working with people in the community, it was a reality check. People are living and surviving in dire circumstances. But that takes strength, and ingenuity. I’ve seen it. It takes drive, and that drives us.”

The Kolisi Foundation has a vision: to change narratives of inequality in South Africa. The Kolisi Foundation seeks to support people living in under-resourced communities in South Africa, by providing emergency and disaster relief, facilitating capacity-building and horizontal learning exchanges, and mobilising and advocating for systemic change.

One of those partnerships is #Each1Feed1, where the Kolisi Foundation, Nelson Mandela Foundation and Imbumba Foundation work together to combat food insecurity by providing much-needed food assistance for a minimum of three months, per family. Another is the Newborns Trust Group, where they spend time with moms and babies at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Groote Schuur Hospital. Yet another is the Bombers, Siya’s old rugby club, which gives men from the community an opportunity to develop their talent.

Small organisations, heartfelt connections. Real people. Real change. “We are not trying in any
way to swoop in and look like heroes,” Rachel explains. “We don’t have some kind of saviour complex that feeds our ego. Our intention with this foundation is to find small groups that are under-recognised, underfunded and under-supported. Organisations, and in many cases just ordinary, good- hearted people, who are working hard on the ground to make opportunities available and accessible – to find them, shine a spotlight on the work they do, so that they can do more of it, for longer. That is what positive change looks like, for us.”

DO BETTER. BE BETTER

Rachel and Siya met eight years ago, and the spark that brought them together then burns brightly today. “His heart is enormous,” she says, “and he is a person who lives for people. We’ve both grown up together, wanting to reach out and make a difference. We want to spend less time moaning about things, and more time working towards a better way.”

The Kolisi Foundation formalises that passion by bringing urgent conversations to the forefront of public attention. They assisted state hospitals in Livingston, Khayelitsha and Eerste River with alcohol-based hand sanitiser, FFP2 Certified Respirator face masks, visors and masks for both staff and patients, while spending time educating children and their parents in the community about coronavirus disease and the value of preventative measures, such as regular hand hygiene and wearing masks.

Rachel has worked with Ndzondelelo High School, in Siya’s home town, to provide free sanitary pads for schoolgirls. The foundation has also refurbished classrooms, bathrooms, libraries and vegetable gardens, provided books and school shoes, as well as mentoring young children at Zeekoevlei and Vanguard Primary Schools, in Cape Town.

They’ve also tackled gender-based violence. By partnering with trusted non-profit organisations
and community leaders, the Kolisi Foundation sourced, compiled and distributed a series of Power2You Packs – Comprised of pepper-spray, a whistle and a journal with resourceful information about seeking justice, legal advice and healing. They also support shelters and homes for survivors, and address the root cause by mentoring and guiding young boys and men who are still in school.

The aim: to address age-old challenges in new ways. “Siya and I have a profile, and with that comes a responsibility. If young people look up to us, we have to be deliberate about the values we live out, and model the change we want to see, the change we all need.”

At times, that can be major change, such as addressing a rural school’s water shortage by investing in a borehole. But it can also take the more subtle form of being better in small, everyday ways. “Unemployment, inequality, violence. We talk about these a lot, as South Africans, but what are we really saying to each other?” asks Rachel. “What are we asking of ourselves? These are difficult conversations to have but that doesn’t mean they have to be negative. There are fights out there that can be won, and there is fight in each and every one of us.”

ONE BY ONE

Visiting orphanages. Initiating iPad learning programmes. Installing solar lighting in rural communities. These are huge projects. And yes, says Rachel, that can be daunting. What keeps them focused? People.

“People in townships are not looking for handouts. What they need are opportunities. They are brave, and strong, and courageous, and whatever their circumstances, they make a plan, for the sake of their families. Their children, their grandkids. To manage that takes unimaginable resourcefulness. We meet these people, we hear their stories and we start making plans: what can we do? Because it’s obvious. They just need that one chance. They deserve that chance.”

Bryan Diamond is one example. At the age of three he was caught in the crossfire of gang warfare, a tragedy that left him brain-damaged. The Kolisi Foundation was able to assist by constructing a new, wheelchair- friendly home for his family. Then there’s Lungi, who manages a team of volunteers in feeding over 900 children and elders in Gugulethu, Khayelitsha and Joe Slovo every day. And Grace, who has taken it upon herself to provide safe housing and regular meals for abused women and neglected children in her community.

Everyone has a story, says Rachel, and everyone has a battle. The Kolisi Foundation plays a supportive role in partnering to help make projects sustainable – developing Lungi’s computing and managerial skills, for example, and empowering her to build her team and feed more children for years to come, or setting up a crowdfunding initiative for Grace, giving her a source of revenue to continue her valuable work.

To make a success of his life, Siya had to leave the township where he was born. “Why is that normal?” Rachel asks. “Why is that the better way – to take these kids away from their home? We believe they can thrive as and where they are, without needing to move or change. They are capable, clever and determined. What they are not, unfortunately, is connected.”

The Kolisi Foundation is able to enact change across a spectrum of social challenges by connecting with experienced relevant groups on the ground. When people reach out to them, Rachel and Siya work with NPOs and NGOs to create a planned, structured response. “Our DMs are a mess of people asking for all kinds of help. So yes, it can feel overwhelming. But we have to be patient, and we have to listen to the experts in the community, and trust them and work with them. And I tell you, it is worth it. Because when you get it right – you find the right partner for the right person, and you see them three months later, and they’re thriving… That’s change. That pushes me. Let’s do it some more.”

Changing the world starts with changing yourself. Being open to a better way forward, says Rachel,
is easier and more impactful than you might think. “Listening to someone, these days, can feel like a radical act. But my time is not more valuable than anyone else’s. We have to make listening a habit.”

A BETTER NORMAL

During the 2019 Rugby World Cup, between gym work, team talks and practice sessions, Siya would change nappies. “The first black captain of the Springboks. The first black captain, ever, going into a World Cup final. That’s a lot to carry,” says Rachel. “So I decided that when he was with us, he was going to be completely with us. Feed the kids, manage the nap times, to capture his whole mind, and get him to focus on just being here.”

One thing that never came up? Losing. “We had our date nights in the hotel corridor. Once the kids were in bed, he would go get sushi, and we would sit on the floor and chat. And not once did we discuss what would happen if we lost that final. We just knew, and we asked, what’s next?”

2 November 2019.

65 minutes into the game, Makazole Mapimpi collects a pass from Lukhanyo Am and goes over for South Africa’s first ever try in a World Cup final. Smiling, excited, he is embraced by his teammates in an iconic, freeze-frame moment that still appears on billboards across the country more than a year later. Mapimpi himself has his own story, his own battle. Having grown up in a rural village in the Eastern Cape, he had no father figure and lost his mother at the age of four. And he took that pass just as he’s taken every other opportunity that has come his way ever since: with conviction, and pride.

“When we talk about change, are we talking about improvement?” asks Rachel. “We want corruption to end. We want violence to disappear. Inequality, poverty; we talk about these issues as if there are simple answers. There are no easy answers. Work is the answer: constant, uplifting, good, collaborative, hard work. And we can do it, together.”

Fast-forward half an hour, and Siya lifts the trophy. Fast-forward a few months, and he and his wife are knocking on doors holding armfuls of food. These gestures are not disconnected. They are the same. They are equally powerful, and they are proof: we can be better, together.

Images: GARY VAN WYK & CHRIS JOUBERT, BLACK BEAN PRODUCTIONS