STRATEGIC FOCUS AREAS
The Kolisi Foundation seeks to support people living in under-resourced communities in South Africa, by providing relief resources, facilitating capacity-building and horizontal learning exchanges, and mobilizing and advocating for systemic change.
The Kolisi Foundation’s mission is shaped around the following three strategic focus areas:
Food Security, Gender Based Violence, and Education and Sports Development.
Food Security
South Africa is facing a hunger crisis. According to Statistics South Africa, in 2019, 6.5 million people in the country experienced chronic hunger.
Food insecurity has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Over 3 million people lost their jobs in the first few months of lockdown. In July 2020, The Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey indicated that 47% of adults surveyed did not have money to buy food for their household in April. A shocking 1 in 5 people experienced chronic weekly hunger. It is predicted that the number of households living below the poverty line will continue to increase and food insecurity is a serious secondary epidemic.
In 2021, we will be continuing our Food Security programme, through our 3 methods: Resourcing, Capacity Building and Horizontal Learning, and Advocacy. Our projects include distribution of substantial food parcels through partner organizations, strengthening our school nutrition programme, serving 15,000 pupils daily, and piloting a micro-supply chain model for moving community garden produce to supermarkets.
FOOD
SECURITY
Gender Based Violence
Gender-based violence (GBV), which disproportionately affects women and girls, is a profound and widespread problem in South Africa, impacting on almost every aspect of life.
Gender-based violence has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Significant job loses, schools closing, and being in lockdown in confined spaces, combined with stress and isolation, have increased the risk of violence for women and children across all communities. The South African Police Services received about 87 000 gender-based violence calls during the first week of lockdown. In the first 3 weeks after lockdown started more than 120 000 victims had rung the SA National Helpline for GBV.
The Kolisi Foundation is committed to serve alongside established partners, chosen for their documented work and track-records within the GBV field, who are striving to change the narrative of gender-based violence in South Africa. In 2021, our 9-Step response includes providing Power2You packs through places of safety, resourcing protection shelters and empowerment centers, providing trauma support to Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offenses units nationally, and much more.
GENDER-BASED
VIOLENCE
Youth: Education and Sports Development
The challenges South Africa faces around youth unemployment, access to education and inequitable sports development are multi-faceted and complex.
Over the last few years, youth unemployment has sky-rocketed to almost 60% and millions of young people are being left by the wayside, alienated by inadequate education systems, inaccessible job markets, and inequitable sports development.
We have a dream to see all children given an equal opportunity to learn and thrive in their academic and sporting abilities. In 2021, our projects include identifying and supporting women’s sporting teams with kit and equipment, creating an intern development and placement programme, and developing sports and recreation centers. We will continue to develop our Education and Sports Development Programme by conducting research on education, equity in sports, and youth unemployment, to build our strategy going forward.
