Empowering Change: The Kolisi Foundation's Impact.

Rachel Kolisi is the CEO and Co-Founder of the Kolisi Foundation. In this episode, she shares the transformative work her foundation is doing to tackle critical issues such as education, food security, and gender-based violence in South Africa.

Embark on a personal journey with Rachel Kolisi and the Kolisi Foundation. From the historic Rugby World Cup victory in 1995 to Siya Kolisi's inspiring leadership in the 2019 World Cup, we delve into how the Kolis have transitioned from sports icons to community leaders, challenging inequality and empowering communities.

Uncover the profound impact of the Siyaphakama Zwide Schools Project, the community kitchens addressing food insecurity, and the gender-based violence prevention initiatives. These initiatives, spearheaded by Rachel and the Kolisi Foundation, are not just making a difference, but also paving the way for a brighter future.

Tune in for personal stories, insights on sustainable partnerships, and how sports and social impact intersect to drive meaningful progress. Learn how the Kolisi Foundation lives out its motto, "Remember the One, One by One," and find out how you can support its mission.

To get involved, support, and donate, visit the Kolisi Foundation at www.kolisifoundation.org.

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Transcript

Sid: 0:23

Welcome to the PreZero Sports Talk Podcast. I'm your host, Sid Bensalah, and today we have a truly special episode lined up for you. Our story stretches from the rugby fields of South Africa to the historic streets of Paris, France. It began in 1995, when South Africa not only hosted but also won its first Rugby World Cup, a victory symbolizing a new era of unity and hope for the nation. Fast forward to 2019, and Siya Kolisi, the first black captain of the Springboks, leads the team to their third World Cup win, cementing his legacy as a symbol of inspiration and resilience. Joining us today from France is Rachel Kolisi, an extraordinary woman who, alongside her husband, Siya, embodies the spirit of leadership both on and off the field. After their historic win, the Kolisis moved to Paris where Siya joined the Racing 92 rugby team. Rachel, dynamic force in her own right, is a CEO and a co founder of the Kolisi Foundation, a managing director, businesswoman, keynote speaker, and a part time student. Together, they balance a bustling family life with profound social impact initiatives, raising four wonderful children. Born and raised in South Africa, Rachel's journey through diverse realities has deeply influenced her passion to challenge and change the narratives of inequality in her homeland. The Kolisi Foundation, which celebrated three years of impactful service in April, is a testament to her dedication. The foundation focuses on empowering and encouraging women, enhancing education, ensuring food security, and combating gender based violence under the inspiring motto, remember the One, One by One. Rachel, welcome to the show, it's an honor to have you with us today.

Rachel: 2:20

Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited for our chat.

Sid: 2:23

Before we delve into the foundation's work, could you share a bit about your background? What ignites you and see us passion to start this remarkable initiative?

Rachel: 2:34

Of course. I grew up in a small town in the Eastern Cape of South Africa, a small town. It was previously known as Graham's town. It's now known as Makanda and Siya grew up in a town called previously known as Port Elizabeth, now Gqeberha, and the two towns are actually an hour and a half apart. And, Sia grew up in a severe poverty, situation. he grew up in what's called a township in South Africa. very little food, very little, education, sport opportunities, a very violent, community at times. And, I. Grew up not very wealthy. I'm one of five kids and, my parents got divorced when I was 14 years old. I landed up staying with my dad and, and helping raise my three younger siblings. after school, I was not an academic at all. And after school moved to, Somerset West, which is a town just outside of Cape town. And started bartending, waitressing, flyer, handouts, babysitting, whatever I could to get the bills paid. from there I received job as a receptionist in Cape town. and within six months became the office manager for, for the company that I was working for. Then, I resigned after five years with the company. I had my first child, Nicholas, and three months after his birth, we adopted Siya's brother and sister. And, so I went from, a baby to three kids, a newborn, a six year old and an 11 year old and, and resigned after seven months after all the kids had come into our lives, worked for another seven months and resigned after that, after which, I tried to go back to work when my son had started school and I worked at a B and B as a host. So cleaning beds, making breakfast, whatever needed to be done and, resigned from that position after my daughter was born, after which I started my own company.

Sid: 4:35

Great. And as we reflect on the foundation's journey and accomplishment over these past three years, what stand out the most to you to Rachel?

Rachel: 4:45

Yeah, I think just the fact that we've been able to stay standing. I think that the environment, Around the world for nonprofit organizations has been very challenging between, the COVID 19 situation, the economic situation, the climate situation. I think that there's a lot of nonprofits that are struggling to remain and to stay standing and able to do the phenomenal work that they do. and so the fact that our foundation was birthed in a really challenging time, the beginning of the COVID pandemic. and yeah, that we've just recently celebrated four years of existence and it's looking like we're on track for a fifth year as well.

Sid: 5:32

And can you explain the foundation's mission and core values?

Rachel: 5:37

Yeah. So It's written much nicer on our website, the mission. but essentially we never wanted to reinvent the wheel of the work that we do. There's a lot of individuals at a grassroots level organizations and within communities that are doing a really. Spectacular work already. And we wanted to learn from them and partner with them to continue doing the amazing work that they're doing. so we never necessarily wanted the highlights on us. And when I say us as an organization, it really was to partner with a lot of individuals that are doing really great work, but just have a lack of resource and support in the work that they're doing. so that's. Essentially the mission. and also just making sure that the work that we're doing is not an extractive exercise. I think Africa is a continent has experienced a lot of extraction from many different areas and, And entities. and I think that in the work that we do, it is still very extractive, the townships and a lot of the communities that we work in essentially derived out of apartheid times. those communities were created to have no access to hospitals, to protective measures, to education, to any kind of resource. So they were placed outside of, the access to the resource. And, and we believe that, That in our mission, it is to, to put resource into those communities so that the communities are able to thrive, high level. That's our mission, but it's much prettier in written out in our website. and then our values, we've got five values. collaboration is one integrity is one, Action through excellence. learning and Ubuntu is another one. Authenticity is one and, Ubuntu is a beautiful, South African saying what it means is I am because you are, I am a person because you are, and, I am me through you. And, it really is just, a reminder that. None of us. Can thrive without each other and without another. And yeah, it just constantly reminds us and brings us back to the motto that we live by. Remember the One, One by One, just the fact that, we can't do the work that we do without, the people around us and the partnerships that we have. so yes, but. Much nice on our website.

Sid: 8:12

I like the motto, by the way. Remember the One, One by One. Can you elaborate on that? How did you come up with this?

Rachel: 8:20

Yeah, it actually was a little bit of an accident. we were, it was when we had very early days of starting the foundation and, We were traveling, we traveled over, I think it was something crazy, like 16, 000 kilometers around South Africa, delivering food parcels at the time. There were no other, transportation methods at all. And we drove to make sure that the food parcels that were being, delivered and handed out, we're going to the communities and places that needed to be, because there was a lot of corruption and stuff happening around that time, which is, devastating. But I remember we started feeling so overwhelmed every time going into a community and just seeing the absolute devastation and need. and there's just no opportunity or access, for so many people. And we would have. Conversations with individuals. And, I remember specifically in, just outside of East London, in one of the townships, we were doing a food drop. there was a woman who came with a two year old and a baby on her back, and she brought a wheelbarrow because our food parcels, were so big that you needed a wheelbarrow to, to be able to take it home. And I remember she said, Yeah, that she literally had woken up this morning and had no idea how she was going to get food on the table for the rest of the week. she had no idea. And, and this, this parcel was delivered and we were able to, to support her for the next three months, with the food parcels. But she explained a lot about her situation. She wasn't working, her children, her. Wasn't at any kind of crèche. She had no support. she, it's just the most dire and terrible situation. And I just remember thinking this is what we always need to come back to is just remembering the individual, the one person that we are able to have an impact, to hear their story, to be able to work together, but, it's equally. So for the donor side of things, I think sometimes as donors or givers, and whether it's time or money, whatever it is that you're giving to an organization, just remembering that your little bit that you give has an impact. and ultimately if we all just did something as an individual, the world would be in a far better place.

Sid: 10:41

And, how have your personal experiences influenced the foundation's initiatives?

Rachel: 10:47

Yeah. So for me, I grew up in a very, yeah, in a privileged situation where we had food on our table every night and every day I had snack to go to school with, I went to really great schools, there was a lot that I had and, I just remember, walking around in South Africa, you don't have to go far to see somebody else is in a really tough situation. There's a lot of people on the streets. There's a lot of poverty, domestic workers situations on people getting paid minimum wage is, it's a terrible situation. And I remember just never being okay with that and never not being able to see it. I couldn't walk down the street and just ignore the fact that there were children. sleeping under a blanket on boxes every night. and so as I grew publicly or whatever. I wanted to be really intentional about using the platform for good and for others. And one of the things that I would do was rally through social media. I would. Someone would contact me. It would often be through, a teacher from a school, but at the school needed a library or they needed a classroom floor and I would put a message out on social media and say, Hey guys, someone contacted me with this situation and is anyone keen to help with it? And hundreds of people would show up on a Saturday morning and we would all get this project done together. So yeah, for me, it was. I think just, I think every person, every human has something within them. That is something that doesn't sit well with you, something that, and whether it be climate change or whether it be poverty or whether it be access to health, whatever it is, there's something that I all believe is part of a battle that we're all here to be a part of and to unite and to fight. And, And I think that if we all spent a little bit of time, just understanding what that might be for us and doing something about it, we'd be able to do some amazing things in the world. And this was just my thing. I never accepted the fact that poverty and people didn't have equal access to resources was just never okay for me.

Sid: 13:03

And as a woman and a mother, Rachel, how has leading this foundation shaped your perspective on philanthropy and social impact?

Rachel: 13:12

Yeah, I think as a woman and as a mother, especially in the work that we do, around our gender based violence programs, I'm very impacted and, sometimes even triggered by the work because it's absolutely devastating, seeing how many women and children on a daily basis are treated and being neglected and abused Yeah, it's just, it constantly puts my situation into perspective, but helps me realize how important it is that the generation and the children that I'm raising, are equipped with information and are informed with what is going on in the world and how other people are living and, being impacted in their situations. I think there's quite a big disconnect, with the Youth today and the reality of a lot of people. And so we're consumed by social media and, so many things that, to the point where my teenagers can hardly have a conversation with another teenager, because they actually don't know how to converse, um, because. That everything is being done through the phone. And so yeah, I think just, I find it really important role in, what I do the work through the foundation, but also in my capacity as a mother, to make sure that my children are being raised as informed as possible with the realities of the world that we living in today.

Sid: 14:42

Yeah. Rachel, our listeners love a good love story. Could you share how you and Siya first met? what was it about him that caught your attention?

Rachel: 14:52

Yeah, it's not the greatest of love stories, but we'll give it a crack. we met in a, it's a student, town just outside of Cape town called Stellenbosch. the evening we were with a group of people that was probably about 20 plus of us. he was actually with his girlfriend at the time at this dinner and we couldn't have sat further apart on opposite ends of the table. And, I remember thinking I felt like he was quite rude because we had arrived, later and everybody was greeted and everybody said hi and he just sat in the corner, very quiet, wasn't interacting with anyone. And I was just thinking, oh, Honestly, I didn't spend too much time thinking about him at all. And when I left, the dinner that night, my brother and my sister were with me. And my brother said, don't you remember him from school? And I said, no. And he said he was a prodigy of a rugby player at school. And this is just before he was, going professional, in his rugby and, I can't remember him. And I've always loved watching rugby. So always been a big fan of the game. And, yeah, I remember he, my brother just went on and on about him. And I, great, whatever. Monday morning I was sitting at my office and I received a, an inbox on Facebook from Siya saying, Hey, and I was like, Oh, my God. Oh, no, no, no, no, no. I know how these rugby players function. You know, they sit there with their girlfriend the night before and then they hang another goal the next day. And so did I get stuck into him and I just tore him apart and said, I know exactly how you rugby players. And I just gave it to him and, he responded saying, Oh no, it's not like that at all. I was actually looking for your brother's number and he's not on Facebook. And so I was like, Oh, I just felt horrific and so embarrassed. And I was like, I'm so sorry. And of course my God, Completely dropped. He probably did have other intentions at the time, but, from there, we actually became very good friends. Cause him and my brother connected. and just as a family, like we spend so much time together and yeah, became really good friends. And, and then obviously, we are where we are now.

Sid: 17:12

Fantastic. I love the story. With Siya being such a prominent figure in rugby. Absolutely. I have to ask you, Rachel, do your children have an interest in rugby or are there other sports, they're passionate about?

Rachel: 17:25

Yeah, I don't know if they have too much option. Unfortunately, most of the weekends are taken up with rugby and big events in our life are around rugby. But, my, so Siya's, siblings, Liema is 22 now. He played a little bit at school, but actually took more to the management of the team than he did actually playing the sport. So still very passionate about it, but in a different aspect. And he's also very creative. and so actually very into fashion and that kind of stuff. his sister, I would say is not. Interested in any kind of physical exercise. And if she listens to this, she's going to kill me, but it's true. she just to get her to do a hike or to come for a walk with me is always, it's always very interesting. My son, Nicholas has, his heart completely set on rugby and I have introduced him to every other sport and, culture activity and anything else

Sid: 18:27

How old is he? possibly

Rachel: 18:28

Can. He's nine years old. And, yeah, his heart is completely set. to the point where he regularly asks me if he can stop school and just play rugby, which of course the answer is no. But, But we'll see where that lands up. My daughter, not so much rugby, but very much gymnastics. I'm quite an active person as well. I love to get outdoors and love a hike, but any kind of exercise that I do get to do, I do enjoy. So, so yeah, we try and, you know, get the kids to, to stay active and enjoy it as well.

Sid: 19:03

Good. the Siyapakama Zwide, I hope I'm pronouncing it right, schools, projects sound innovative. Can you describe its impact on the community?

Rachel: 19:15

Yeah. So very close. Zwide is the township where Siya grew up. And, when we were developing this program, I think a lot of people and organizations assumed that the foundation was going to do a lot of bursary programs. and so that's what similar, that's what Siya's experience was. He received a bursary to go to a Model C school from there, he had access to. Being seen in the rugby fields and obviously went through the pipeline, if you will, of getting to where he is in his career now. but with our belief of not extracting from communities and replacing or developing in communities, This was the first program that we really, started developing as an organization. And, it's very complex to work in communities that you are not from. And, you actually don't have the rights to, To make decisions without communities by in and understanding, and, there are very few schools in townships that are thriving. Essentially, the support from government is minimal and what they. What they need in order to function at an optimal level is non existent. And so when we went about planning for this, we were like, how do we map this? And we decided to work with six schools to make it possible for us to really test and pilot this program and not just make it look like we're doing a bunch of work in a bunch of different places. But. To really make sure that we're going deep in our work and not just spreading out thinly, we decided to work at 1. 2 kilometer radius and with six schools within the program. and we hired 18 youth that are from the same community, but currently unemployed. So that community has an 82 percent unemployment rate, which is horrifying, to think about. And so we, We employed 18 unemployed youth and they've now all been trained to be coaches. It's worked amazingly with the coaches because they in themselves are now receiving job opportunities from model C schools and really reputable schools around the country. And so it's like a. A spinoff from the program. That's been a real advantage as well. And we're able to then employ more youth. so 18 youth, and there's just short of 4000 children. A part of the program is really much to integrate physical education as a part of, the school curriculum because a lot of Schools don't have the resource in order to do that. So it's a program, a part of the curriculum, but it is also after school's program, sporting program. And it's for boys and girls. we had rugby, soccer and netball as the first, introduction of sporting codes, but we've now included, cricket and athletics, to the schools as well. What's been great from that is the. Schools have now started their own, almost into school competitions just to make it a little bit more exciting and interesting for the kids. and then a part of the Siyaphakama program, of course, if kids are being more active, they need to eat more food. And so we, integrated, we have within the six schools, a porridge program, a breakfast program. but we also have a nutritious meal, outside of that, that the kids receive on a daily basis as well. So that's currently 4, 000 children and. We are now in the primary school age. So it's probably from about age six to about 13, 14. And, we're looking to, expand either to one high school or one ECD center. We're doing the work and research now to understand where it's going to be best to expand to. but another, aspect of the work is infrastructure. So obviously a lot more of the fields and facilities are being used and they're already. when I say fields, I'm talking about gravel. and very few of the children come to school even with shoes on. And and so we're looking to upgrade the fields now. It starts with fencing though, because security of the schools is the first prize and, yeah, it's been the infrastructure part of it. Has been a lot more complex than I think we had anticipated, but we really take a learning stance and try not rush the work that we're doing.

Sid: 23:33

I think it's great to, to get the sports and education come together to tackle the township youth challenges. Could you share some, success stories from this project itself, knowing that your organization is just four years old

Rachel: 23:49

And this is a great point because a lot of, when we do fundraising, especially a lot of donors, this is the first thing they want to know is the M and E, right? What are your measurements outcomes? And because we're only four years old, we're actually only starting out and we call it a M.E.L because we, Big believers in learning from our work as well. And we're only starting our process of MEL now because we've got something we can start measuring now. We first wanted to pilot the program, make sure it works and there's something to measure. And so the feedback that we're receiving from just the general health of the children, both because of the nutrition program, but because of the sporting implementation has been really helpful. Been massive. the teachers have reported on attitude changes within, the children and classrooms and focus with their, education. And, you know, in, in the class has been absolutely, unbelievable, but what's really been amazing to hear is from the coaches. How many of the Children because they're representatives of the Children right there from the same community. They look like them. the Children have really almost gained a trust with the coaches and, the coaches, especially among the boys. been able to have some really important conversations. And, you know, when we talk about gender based violence, of course, the first thing we think about is woman being abused, but just. That process of young boys being able to sit in a group and be vulnerable with a coach or with one another is a form of gender based violence prevention. And yeah, there's been some real, real amazing, outcomes from that project and we're really going to get start to measuring it now, but, yeah, we never want to undervalue. The stories and the impact that it's having on an individual and what you hear from that and replace it with just numbers. We never want to do that.

Sid: 25:53

and food security is a massive challenge. How do you approach this at the community level?

Rachel: 26:01

It is a massive challenge and, This program really has stemmed out of both Siya's lived experience of, he writes in his book about how, he sometimes would go to bed with sugar water, his grandmother would make him water with sugar in, and that was his meal for the day. he also talks about at school, the only meal sometimes he would ever received is with peanut butter on bread. And that was the meal that would carry him through for the day. And then of course, when we started, the foundation was the peak of COVID. And so we really started with food parcels. So at the time it was household hampers and, and support into community kitchens, what we've tried to do over the last, Probably about 18 months is start reducing the amount of food, household hampers that we're giving and do more of the community kitchens, support. That really is because there's so much more out of, and we refer to our kitchens as a community kitchens, not a soup kitchen, because it's not just a. feeding scheme that's happening there. but really community is coming together around a meal. And, the woman that run the kitchens are able to extract a lot of information about health situations going on at home, have conversations about, you know, unemployment, just really what's going on in, in the individuals, you know, household situations. And that's been really amazing to see how they're able to connect in them with some of the other organizations, whether it be. Gender-based violence or clinics or whatever it is that the communities needed. So the kitchens, the community kitchens that we've had have created a much more of a ripple effect in the community than just receiving a meal. and obviously, the first thing a donor asks us is, what is your sustainability plan in food security? And it's. It has become quite a frustrating question to receive completely. We understand it, but realistically, what is the sustainable plan? So we've done tons of research and piloting around food gardens because everyone, of course, everybody says. This is the way to go. It makes sense. But we're talking about communities here where there is almost a space between houses that's probably not more than 10 centimeters. And I'm talking about shacks even. So there's a spatial issue. Firstly, there's no space to put food gardens. Also the quality, we've done a lot of testing on the quality of the soil and the soil can't actually vegetables. it's, it just is not the quality that you need. And on top of that, there's very big water issues in a lot of these communities as well. They don't even have water to drink, let alone water to feed plants. And of course, with, where we are with climate change and stuff, the, you can't depend on winter rains anymore, unfortunately. to plan food gardens has been, Extremely challenging. So what we are planning to do now is We had hoped we, at our strategy two years ago, part of the strategy was to have every community kitchen, have a food garden and almost like a little, a little animal pen kind of thing. So combine the two, this was something we were dreaming about. We did the research, obviously realized it's not going to be possible. However, the schools, the six schools that we currently working in, there is capacity to. Potentially the space to do a community garden. but there's some logistics that we're still working through, but that is part of the goal for the year. This year is to potentially put, food gardens at the schools that we support and work with.

Sid: 29:54

How vital a partnerships been in advancing your project in food security.

Rachel: 29:59

Um, if we don't advance it, people don't eat. And so, um, we're talking about what we're currently doing. I think the last statistic I saw, we're just short of a million people receiving meals on a daily basis, just with our foundation, over a year. And essentially can't stop doing it. And it was a discussion we were seriously having, if you're thinking about sustainability and food. There, there isn't an option, an answer yet that has, worked. And I know that there's a lot of big organizations who've done a lot of amazing research and work, but. Every country, every city, every community has its own dynamics and things that work and things that will not work. And so I've had meetings here with people in Europe that have said, Oh no, they know of something that's going to work perfectly. That happens in Argentina, for example. And when they're explaining it to me, I can already think of several different reasons why it would not work in the community that we work in. So we we have to stay committed to it and we have to constantly, be flexible and work around how we are going to, continue addressing it. But yeah, to try and find a way that it can be more sustainable, but, also, how to benefit the community. More off of it as well. We've, we visited some amazing projects that are doing amazing things and some things might work, but other things worked, but we're very much in a piloting phase of a couple of different options.

Sid: 31:38

This is such a huge issue, the food security, and I believe that, um, you constantly looking for the best practice, the best solution, the best options that will work within the environment that you know very well, Rachel, it's not an easy fix.

Rachel: 31:57

certainly not. And um, There is enough food in South Africa to feed every person. It's the logistics of getting the food to the people that is what's missing.

Sid: 32:08

Let's shift to, the gender based violence. What are the main goals of your organization within the GBV programs?

Rachel: 32:17

Yeah. So gender based violence, again, is something both, Siya and I have personal, Experiences with and which is the reason why it informs a lot of the work that we do. but also we don't believe that in any of the work that we do, there's a situation in a silo. So. if you have a young child is sitting at the front of the class trying to take in the information they're getting, but either they've got a gender based violence situation at home, or then they're hungry, they're not going to be able to take in the most, even if it's the highest quality of education, they're not going to be able to absorb it. And so we don't believe that any of these, any of this work sits in a silo. but when it comes to our gender based violence work, what we realized. Very early on because it's a pandemic of its own in South Africa. it's something ridiculous. every 45 seconds, a woman or child in South Africa is murdered. And, there's over, a hundred cases a day of violence against a woman or a child that even goes, and reported. And there's crazy statistics, to support the fact. I mean, I think that South Africa is either the highest or second highest, rate of gender based violence in the world. And, so when we started sitting down and thinking, how are we going to start addressing this? How are we going to start tackling it? Again, a lot of it just came, started growing the work, growing organically from the conversations that we were having, with. Organizations that were existing. And one thing we realized was a lot of the gender based violence, organizations were working in silos, but all trying to do very similar work. And so we wanted to bring them together. And this is where, our value collaboration comes in was, Was to bring those organizations together so we can start sharing information and resource. And, what has been so incredible about that? It's a program that we've called Kolisi Connect and once a month we have on average about 20 organizations that come literally into a room together. We facilitate a session and, essentially are sharing resources. So you'll find one organization in need of. A small example, but a hundred balls to do a sporting program and another organization that says I have a hundred balls for you and it's kind of just the sharing thing that's happened. it's really been a. I think in our greater goal, that's been a very much a facilitation process and a capacity building process with those organizations. And what stemmed off of that was the need for more prevention in gender based violence. So there's a lot of, After the fact or after the act solutions, but not necessarily much happening in prevention. And I mean, I did refer to earlier, you know, the sporting programs, technically all of that is prevention. but to try find ways to equip and empower women who are, you know, traveling on a daily basis and walking from A to B, I constantly explained to my husband, like, They can't imagine when I drive out for a dinner, let's say with some friends in South Africa, I have to text my friends when I'm leaving my house. I have to text my friends. I have to text my husband when I arrive and text both when I'm leaving to go back home because I'm on my own. And it's the reality says the statistic says that I need to do that. And So the prevention is the power to you pack that we've put together. And, it's essentially a pepper spray, a whistle. It's got a journal in, and the journal holds all of the important information. So sometimes when you're in emergency gender based violence situation, you forget things like needing to take IDs or passports, what specifically to pack. If you're packing for your child or for yourself and. So it's got a little bit of that information, but some obviously a journal to journal or date or inform any information that might be helpful in a court case later on. and then we also include a card in there that's got support numbers of the gender based violence organizations that we support that individuals can reach out to for a safe house or legal advice or whatever they need. What's been really amazing about this power to you program, we originally had the bags. they were, normal paper bags. but one of the organizations that we work with Sarky Bartman is the biggest safe house in South Africa. And they had a huge funding issue funding, for gender based violence organization has been pulled significantly. And so we started looking at ways that we could create some way that they could. Have a regular income outside of the financial support that we already do. So we, we started an empowerment hub and essentially what that is now is the woman that are currently housed, because remember they also very seldom have a job even when they're with the perpetrator, but now where they're housed at the safe house, they are now being skilled to start sewing and the bags that hold the paper spray and the whistle and the journal are all now being made out of recycled material and made by women who are receiving an income, from making the bags and the bags are now being bought by corporates and many others. So it's almost this program that's come full circle. And that's something in our work that I think we want to do more of because eventually then that means we can be removed. And the amazing work can continue without us.

Sid: 37:52

And when did you start this power to you pack? Was since the inception of the organization?

Rachel: 38:00

Not quite inception, but I would probably say, so the organization started in April, 2020, I would say probably about a year after that, the power to you pack was started.

Sid: 38:10

And, with that, Rachel, what challenges have you faced, or achievements, that are you most proud of in this area?

Rachel: 38:18

Yeah. I think in the gender based violence work, probably the biggest challenge is, Understanding where we're going to have the most impact and where our addition to the fight or the battle, if you will, is going to, be most impactful. Um, because it's such a mammoth of a problem. it's really hard to understand where it's going to be best. and sometimes like Siya is very passionate about men. and having vulnerable spaces for men in the conversation as well. So, um, kind of diversifying the work, it's a challenge because it's a lot, so we can't say that we're just doing prevention or we're con saying that we're just doing, you know, After support for individuals, there's, we're kind of tackling it from all sides, which is a challenge, but it is also a success, because there's some really great things coming out of it, but, I think. One of the biggest successes is the fact that we've been able to fundraise for it because surprisingly, so, um, that with our sporting program infrastructure, especially to like corporate donors is always exciting because it means there's a red ribbon, right? That they can go and cut and say, look at this amazing thing that we've built. And, food security, I mean, there's this, everybody understands the need of, you know, needing to have meals. But with food security funding, that is It's totally possible to get funding. We, we never struggled getting funding, but gender based violence, especially after the pandemic, because gender based violence was a big topic because no safe houses were either full to capacity and couldn't take more, or they weren't able to because of a COVID case or whatever. And so you had thousands and thousands of cases of gender based violence was very much a topic of conversation during that time. So fundraising during COVID for gender based violence, easy. Outside of it, everybody moved on. And that became one of our biggest challenges to fundraise for. What we've been able to show between the Empowerment Hub almost being a really sustainable program, and encourage donors to, to continue funding and not just short term but long term. I think that's really something we're proud of is the fact that we've been able to create sustainable funding for our gender based violence programs.

Sid: 40:48

The majority of your donors and partners, are they from South Africa?

Rachel: 40:52

I would say there's a pretty good split. we recently had a program, a partnerships manager come, she was actually promoted within the organization, but she has been unbelievable at tapping into the international market, of course, with our move, which is only nine months ago, it's really opened up a lot of funding opportunities. So, we've been doing a lot of fundraising events, which we hadn't done before. The majority of our funding probably for the first year and a half was from everyday individuals giving 150 Rand or whatever. So a lot of people giving a little bit. and then we moved into a little bit more, fewer donors, but bigger amounts, and. Yeah, there's, I think majority of them would be overseas. but something that we're really exploring and tapping into a lot more is the cause related marketing, which is of course got almost like an advertising. Aspect to fundraise. And so, we're doing a number of those projects with, South African corporate companies. So, yeah, I would say there's a pretty good split between the cause related marketing. So the corporate funding and the, you know, the high net worth individuals and fundraising that's happening overseas.

Sid: 42:10

Rachel? When I was an elite coach, when I was coaching, I always try to shield my athletes from outside influence, let's say issues at home, social issues and stuff like that. How does Siya with all that he's doing with you, in one hand, try to be on top of his game from a performance point of view. And does he switch off completely? While he's on pitch from all these issues, important issues, by the way,

Rachel: 42:42

He, it's something that he shares quite regularly, especially in a big event like the world cup. He chooses to have the issues that he's experienced and that he knows about, and that we address through the foundation to motivate what he's doing and, on the field. And so he almost goes into like a. A state, if you will, where he just replays things and, reminds himself and it fuels what he gives, in his professional capacity. And so I think instead of trying to isolate himself from it, he really puts a big emphasis and I know his coach, Ressie Erasmus, who's the coach now, but that was the director of rugby. This is something that he uses for the entire team is to constantly remind them that, they are where they are because of the people back at home. And so in order to give back, use what you know is problematic to feel what you're doing on the field. And I must say, I do believe that it, it sets them apart. And I think a back to back world cup would motivate that as well. But, but the fact that they go beyond thinking about themselves, their families, what they need to achieve on the day, but really to, to remember why, why are they doing this and why do they have this opportunity and why they should get up and go again when they feel like their body is absolutely broken. So yeah, definitely more of a motivation than a, than a. A hindrance, I would say.

Sid: 44:16

Fantastic, so we can say that, staying in touch with the main issues that they know very well since they were little, it's a booster for, uh, to perform, and to excel on the pitch.

Rachel: 44:31

I, I would absolutely say that. And, in fact, I would go as far as saying, I think most people should be thinking like that because for myself, for an example, I grew up in a. Not a complete poverty situation, but I also wasn't, very wealthy and I didn't have a lot of things. However, I've worked really hard and my situation is different now, right? So I don't go to bed worrying about how I'm going to get my kids to school or how I'm going to pay the bills. I'm really fortunate that my situation has changed. However, I do understand. And sometimes it's borderline really hard because you're exposed to a different group of people, right? There's certain places you go with, the wealth and the caliber of people is different. And if you don't constantly remind yourself where you come from, I think you can almost get caught up in a world that. Is not you actually, and was never meant to be you. And so you get influenced by this world that's can sometimes be really shallow and fake. And, I think that it really is important to stay in touch with where you come from. What's your background is how hard you had to work to constantly remind yourself to touch base with that person. I think it's really important because you can get lost in the glitz and the glamour really quickly. And, and I just believe we are losing too many people to it.

Sid: 46:04

Yeah. you are raising four wonderful children in a unique environment, given both you and Siya as public profiles. Could you share your philosophy on parenting? How do you encourage your children to find their own paths?

Rachel: 46:19

Yeah. Listen, I have yet to meet a parenting professional, so I am also in no way, shape or form got it nailed. so this is very much my personal way of doing things, but yes, because we're in the public eye, it is something we're very Wary of maybe not where we're very aware of. And so sometimes, my son, he's nine years old now, the older kids, Liam is 22, so we have a rule in our house around cell phones that you may not have a cell phone until 13 years old. I just believe that the access kids that they don't need to be having conversations every day with. Their friends and whatever, and no social media until 16 years old. And the reason for that, I just, I think that. It's so important for our children to be able to identify what they believe, what they stand for, what is their foundation before they're influenced by everything that's on social media. so to have an opinion before an opinion and it's almost thrown at them. And then, so no phones at 16 and then, And we also have a rule that see, and I can have access to the phone as long as they're living in our household. We have access to the phone. So just because I always want them to be wary of what is, and it's not an invasion of privacy at all. It's just for them to be always aware of how they're having conversations. What kind of photos are being sent? all of those sorts of things, what's being said on social media. but Yeah, I'll say this here, but if my older kids listen, they might have a problem, but, but I very, very seldom go through their phones, but, you know, with my son on YouTube now, for example, he loves to watch rugby clips and. What will be in between the rugby clips on YouTube is a story about Sia and I. And so something that kids keep saying is there's a clip about a mansion that we live in and this house that we have in all this money and cars and whatever, which couldn't be further from the truth, but he says, is this true? Do we have this? And so you kind of always. At an individual situation, have to have this conversation. what's been very important for us in raising our kids and us being in a public is firstly to understand that everything that is online, they welcome to come and question us and ask us about it first before reading it and just accepting it as the truth, because we all know, people will write and say whatever they want for a clickbait. but also to understand that the privilege and responsibility that comes with that, and that is not something to be taken for granted. so I'm constantly encouraging my kids. I hope that one day they will, yeah, that they'll maybe start a project attached to the foundation or take over the foundation one day. But. That their experiences and, hopes and dreams will be discovered through the foundation as well. And so a lot of our work, whenever we've got a program or a project and they're available, they come and they love it. And so it really just keeps them in touch with, with the realities and what's happening. but also, yeah, just to start dreaming about what they want. So I try. I try to safeguard them from the world, from, you know, societal expectations and all of these things as much as possible, but I think all of us in parenting will agree there's a fine line between allowing them to make their own decisions and just removing them from something completely. and that's really hard. So I think bottom line. I just always want to have open and transparent conversations with my kids. So there's nothing that's ever off the table that we can't discuss or work through.

Sid: 50:03

Thank you for sharing that. thanks a lot. let's go back and talk about partnership. What strategies do you employ to force sustainable partnership that amplify your impact on inequality and poverty reduction?

Rachel: 50:18

Yeah. So I think that, relationship building in a partnership, what is a partnership without a relationship? And so that for us is, very much a core function of building strong partnerships. also not rushing it. I think it's similar to dating almost. You don't meet someone and marry them straight away. There's kind of a process where you court each other, you get to know each other and you make sure that it's a good fit. You've got similar value systems. you start addressing some things that make you feel uncomfortable or that you agree with or don't agree with. And then you get to a point where actually this could be a long term thing that we do together. So, I would say that a lot of our dating or courting happens through our Kolisi Connect program where we're able to invite them into spaces where they can benefit. We benefit off of their insights. but yeah, that we're able to almost just. See how it goes and see where we land. and yeah, I think the effort from both sides is really important. And a big topic in the philanthropy world now is trust based philanthropy. And so that's essentially giving funding and not expecting any reporting or, any requirements. So it's just fully trusting that the funding is going to where it needs to go. and I have a huge respect for, for that process. And so we're trying to implement, by no means are we doing trust based philanthropy at the level that it's being done at I think it's amazing and I would love to get there, but, but I would say that a lot of our partnership. I would say all of our partnerships have a very strong trust in the middle. And that's really important for our partners to feel like they can tell us where they have issues without the funding being at risk. and where we can tell our partners where we have issues without feeling like they're just going to remove themselves from a program or no longer be involved. yeah, I think a big part of the partnership. The fundamental part is trust.

Sid: 52:19

Do you have silent partners or donors?

Rachel: 52:23

No, we don't. everything we're very big on transparency. And, I think that because South Africa has so much mismanagement in. Certain funds and sectors, I think that's a big belief for us. And, it's mine and see his name on the door. Right. And so, um, people, we never want people to think that it is something that it's not. And so transparency is a huge foundation for us. And so everything we do is completely out in the open and available for everybody.

Sid: 52:54

How do you leverage media and public engagements to boost awareness and support for your project? What role does storytelling play in your strategy?

Rachel: 53:04

Yeah. So I think, a big medium that we use when it comes to media and sharing our stories is, we always want to control the narrative that's being told. and I don't mean that in a way that, you know, we get to tell pretty stories and a prince, this amazing picture about the Kolisi Foundation, but we want to tell stories that are, dignifying to the recipients of our work and honor the people that we partner with and the people that receive from the work that we do. And so, we don't want to paint pictures or tell stories that, of the hungry black African child. We want to tell the stories of the woman who's decided to serve out of her home kitchen and, And, just what a success that's been and how it's having an impact in her community. just because it's everything we do, we want to do with dignity for everybody that's involved. And so yeah, social media has really given us a, an opportunity. And obviously our platforms have been created, a lot through Siya's success on the rugby field, and we've just chosen to use that for. and then, you know, from there, the greater media pick up off of what's on our platforms, but it's not necessarily doing it through any specific media outlets. it's a narrative that we would prefer to control and put out ourselves.

Sid: 54:31

Shifting gears a bit. You've recently moved to France to Paris, which I very well. How has this transition impacted your personal life and your involvement with your organization?

Rachel: 54:44

Yeah. You know, I can do hard things. I don't, I love challenge and, yeah, I don't mind things that challenge me and grow me as a person that this move, this move has been one of the most interesting challenges I've ever had to come across. And it's so funny because. I decided to do it when I knew it was happening. My number one priority was to make sure that all four kids were as protected and supported as they needed to be. So if it, that was at the cost of me or at the cost of Siya, then so be it, but this was our decision, and so I needed to make sure the kids had everything that they needed in order to feel comfortable. So we decided I moved with the younger two children. Uh, we're studying in Cape town. So he stayed in Cape town. LiPelo's at school and she's in high school. She's got her last two years of high school. So decided to stay in Cape town as well. And, we've got a great support system there. so I decided to move with the younger two kids to, Paris, two weeks before school started. my son's birthday was the day before school started and, I don't know what I thought it was going to be, but I think probably the language barrier has been one of the biggest challenges. but two weeks after moving, one month after moving, the world cup started and, So we went into already like pretty chaotic situation to a whole nother level of chaotic situation. And, it just felt like knock after knock after knock. And, I have a very strong faith and I believe that this is, you know, everybody should, whatever it looks like for them or however it functions. I just believe like faith brings you back to everything that is important and good in the world. And. I have never clung to my faith more than I did during that period. But, from the smallest of things to putting petrol in the car or learning how to charge a car, which I've never done before, or, ordering school shoes, trying to buy school shoes for the kids for school, man. Every little thing just felt, I didn't know where to find a baguette. I live in Paris. I didn't know where to find a baguette. Like it was just, everything was so challenging. mean, obviously that's been well remedied now. Don't you worry. You're probably nowhere to buy too many baguettes, but, it's, it was one of the biggest personal challenges I've ever done. we're nine months in now and I'm starting. Definitely the light of it. And yesterday I had a meeting, I had a meeting and I walked in the meeting and just in the streets of Paris. And I was like, who gets to do this? who gets to walk to a meeting in Paris at 11 o'clock in the morning? And. so yes, I think a lot of life is perspective, but also just understanding, life is comes in seasons and sometimes they're really challenging and sometimes they're really great, but just to live in both and enjoy them.

Sid: 58:01

And what do you miss from South Africa as a family? Let's say from a food point of view.

Rachel: 58:06

Food point of view in South Africa. Oh, so many things, but I, we love like, I don't know if but like meat, we miss that a lot. So we try bring as much home as possible whenever we come back from a trip to South Africa, and then we pray we don't get caught at the airport because we know they take it away, but probably, but a lot of, yeah, it's, it's so interesting how food brings people together, like in whatever Yeah, whatever state or situation you're in, like it brings people together. And so I was going to say I love a braai in South Africa, having a braai friends and family, but we've been able to do the same thing here with, but it's around a cooked meal with like French families and yeah, just gathering and connecting is, it's a beautiful thing.

Sid: 58:59

And what do you say about the French cuisine?

Rachel: 59:03

It's it's there's some, I like the simple food, but there's some that's very probably, It's probably too good for me. I'm too South African for the French cuisine. So take me to baguettes any day, no problem. but is it Foie gras? The fogua? Foga? Yeah, I don't enjoy it. And every French person that like, tries to get me to eat it. I'm like, I've had it before. I really don't enjoy it at all. so yeah, there's some that we've loved and some that we haven't, but, but it's beautiful. It's beautiful to try new things. So it's been amazing.

Sid: 59:39

Yeah. And Rachel talking about a holistic approach. We know there is no silver bullet, but with your role as a CEO mother student as well, that's what I read on your website. And public figure, how do you balance these demands while ensuring each area receives adequate attention and care? How do you do it?

Rachel: 1:00:02

Yeah. Listen, my days of. I do speaking engagements as well, right? And this is often a topic that people would like me to talk about is balancing. How do I balance motherhood, the CEO position, the speaking engagements, the social media stuff, the students, which Transcribed Just for clarification has been a royal disaster. I had, 24 months to complete the course and, I then extended another 12 months, which is this year. we're almost in June, halfway through the year. And I think I'm just having to admit that I'm, it's not going to work. So I'm going to have to take that off by December this year. Thank you. I just, there's not enough hours in a day, but, I. I love a schedule. I work really well out of a schedule. And so my diary is really well managed. I had a really great support in South Africa for two years, in the form of an assistant. however, she has recently left. which is sort of turned my world upside down. I'm managing four different email accounts, which is wild. but it's, I think it's just about being really intentional about planning your week well. And. I think all of us, if you ask any person and if they're a parent, one of the, if you say, what are your daily priorities, what do you prioritize in a day? You would start as maybe a faith or, and your family, and then go down the list, work and exercise and this, and this. And so I try to keep my priority list at the back of my mind of all of my scheduling. So I know, okay. Okay. We've just moved to France. There's certain things the kids want to do. And so their extramural activities, for example, will be prioritized over meetings that I have to have in a day. And so, another thing for me was always, like fetching my kids from school and dropping them at school is just a non negotiable for me. So, you know, some people would expect. Having an au pair or someone to do that. and so I just feel like I want to be the last person that they hang out with before either my husband or I, before they go into their day at school. And the first person that hears about their day. so yeah, I just try and schedule my day and be really, intentional about my priorities. So faith first. Children, and I know there's probably a debate to be had around me and children, but children, and then I prioritize, you know, an exercise. I try to do an hour a day for myself, which is in the form of exercise. And then, yeah, and then I schedule my meetings. For the rest of the day. So Fridays, I've tried to keep a meeting free day. I listened to podcasts on the way back from the school drop. and, yeah, I always try to find different ways that I can improve and do things better, but, I try to keep Fridays now just as a blank, admin day. So any emails, catch up that I need to do is able to be done on Friday. but I don't believe. I have a great argument with this thing of having a balanced life. I think that, sometimes like a move to Paris is going to throw any kind of balance you've got out the window. And so someone actually explained to me. It's like carrying a bunch of balls and you almost need to identify which balls will drop and bounce back up and which balls would drop and break. And you need to make sure the ones that would break stay in your hands. And yeah, that's, I try, but I don't get it right. Not at all.

Sid: 1:03:37

Great. It's clear both you and Siya. are committed to making a difference. Are there specific causes or activities that you both are particularly passionate about and enjoy working on together? Beside of the organization, beside of the foundation.

Rachel: 1:03:55

Yeah, I, maybe one, is probably women in sport. it's not something we actively doing a lot of except advocacy really for it. And, and really just, highlighting more women in sports. Cause I, I just think that, It's still something that's very much, behind where it needs to be. And so, we're, yeah, we just trying to be really intentional about, where we can giving access to women, to connections that we have. but also just sharing a lot more success stories from the sporting fields. but yeah, it's something we're doing in the foundation as well. We support a number of clubs that have women involved as well, but, but yeah, I'd probably say like advocacy on that, where possible we do.

Sid: 1:04:45

Yeah. I think now it's time for our lightning round. you ready for a The what's your favorite way to stay active?

Rachel: 1:05:00

exercise, any form of exercise I love.

Sid: 1:05:04

Who has been your biggest inspiration throughout your journey with the foundation,

Rachel: 1:05:12

I wouldn't say it's an individual, probably the, specifically the mamas in the different communities that have served even before we started partnering and working with them,

Sid: 1:05:25

which part of the foundation's mission resonate most with you?

Rachel: 1:05:31

Probably the partnerships and the connecting. I. Partnerships and connecting. I think, we all as human beings would be better off if we spent more time connecting and partnering with one another,

Sid: 1:05:43

Which leader past or present? Do you admire the most?

Rachel: 1:05:48

it's hard to say that there's one, but probably Nelson Mandela

Sid: 1:05:53

What is the worst career advice you ever gotten?

Rachel: 1:05:59

that you can do it all.

Sid: 1:06:06

Okay. Could you share a book, movie or documentary that has influenced your approach to your work?

Rachel: 1:06:15

Yes. Rise by Siya Kolisi. he's, he released a documentary that I know, was only released in South Africa, but the book is available far and wide. and yes, his story is spectacular and still very relevant.

Sid: 1:06:33

When was the book released?

Rachel: 1:06:35

The book was released in 2022, if I'm correct.

Sid: 1:06:39

Yeah. And we can find it on Amazon or thank you.

Rachel: 1:06:46

It's translated in French as well.

Sid: 1:06:50

Perfect. What is one thing you wish you knew before launching the foundation?

Rachel: 1:06:58

This actually stems from a podcast that I listened to recently, but I wish I knew how many organizations do the same work that we do before we started.

Sid: 1:07:09

What has been the most rewarding moment for you personally on this journey?

Rachel: 1:07:14

Just that I'm able to do it, that I'm able to do the work, that I've got capacity, that I've got resource, that I've got connections. Yeah. It's rewarding.

Sid: 1:07:26

Could you offer a piece of advice for our listeners on any topic?

Rachel: 1:07:31

I have, two tattoos, and the first one that I got is a, a tattoo in, in Hebrew. So I'm a Christian, and, I wanted to get the language, the written language that Jesus spoke when he was here. And, It's what's written as this two shall pass and there's something that sticks with me through life. And I, you know, share with a lot of people is just remembering that life is full of seasons and sometimes they're going to be really great seasons and sometimes they're going to be really hard seasons, but just remembering that both pass. And so when you're in a really tough season. It's something to cling to. Just remember that it will pass. And, and you don't need to, yeah, just live in the fact that it's such a tough time, but also equally. So in a season that's really joyful and beautiful and bring so much happiness to remember, to be present, in those moments and in that season, because, It's going to pass and another season will come. And before you know it, some of those beautiful memories and moments, if you're not fully present in them. You'll forget them or they'll feel like a blur and yeah, so there's two shots.

Sid: 1:08:49

Thank you. And lastly, how can people help and support the Kolisi Foundation?

Rachel: 1:08:54

Yeah. So there's so many different ways that people can get involved. a lot of information is on our website, www.kolisifoundation.org. and we've tried to make some really fun, really simple ways that people can get involved, whether you're donating or, Giving capacity or time. but one of the easiest ways that I think is sometimes always underestimated is just sharing on social media platforms or with a friend. anything, any bit of resource, a story, a post that you see, sharing goes a long way and, and really reaches a lot of people. So it can share awareness. It can also share to a point that it, you know, we were able to receive more donors. um, yeah, I think just sharing and, and following up and reading the work is great and whether it's the Kolisi Foundation or another organization, I think let's just, every single one of us, if there's one thing I can leave with you is just do something to make the world better, because there is so much bad that we are seeing on an everyday, daily basis. And. We all just have to do a little bit more. if we want to see if we want to see change,

Sid: 1:10:07

Rachel, thank you so much for joining us today and sharing your incredible journey with the Kolisi foundation is being truly inspiring to hear how you and Siya are making such a profound impact. Thank you for being here with us on the show. Thanks a lot.

Rachel: 1:10:22

of course. And thanks so much for having me.

Sid: 1:10:25

In this episode, we had the privilege of speaking with Rachel Kolisi, co-founder of the Kolisi Foundation. We discussed the foundation's multifaceted approach to tackling critical issues such as education, food security, and gender bias violence in South Africa. Rachel shared insight into their groundbreaking Siyaphakama Zwide Schools project, the impactful community kitchen addressing food security, and the powerful gender based violence prevention initiatives. We also delve into personal stories and experiences, highlighting the foundation's mission and Rachel's unwavering commitment to fostering positive change. This conversation is a testament to the profound impact that dedicated individuals and organizations can have on creating thriving communities. Thank you so much for joining us on this enlightening episode of the Pre-Zero Sports Talk podcast.