Kolisi Foundation partners with Zelda la Grange for 67 Minutes on Mandela Day

Nelson Mandela believed that you can change the world for the better daily, no matter how small the action is. Through 67 years of activism, he achieved exactly that: changed the world. To honour him for Mandela Day, the Kolisi Foundation partnered with the Nelson Mandela Foundation, the Imbumba Foundation, and Zelda la Grange to create a dedicated Mandela Day #Each1Feed1 drive.

Founded by Springbok captain Siya Kolisi and his philanthropist wife Rachel, the Kolisi Foundation has a vision to change the narrative of inequality for people in vulnerable and disadvantaged communities in South Africa. The Foundation initially started the #Each1Feed1 Campaign as a response to the increased levels of food insecurity as a result of the COVID-19 lockdown. It sought to provide underprivileged families with food relief for at least three months.

“A lot of people are going hungry. In fact, there were a lot before the pandemic, but with people being cut from work and without a job, they can’t even get the little bit of food they used to have every day,” says Siya Kolisi.

As a coastal town with an economy built for tourism, Hermanus has been particularly hard-hit. Having identified this town as being in desperate need of relief, Zelda la Grange named Hermanus as the beneficiary of the #Each1Feed1 drive. She explains, “the community rallied for three months to feed more than 13 000 people who arrive at food kitchens daily with empty eyes and starving stomachs. But as time passed, relief started drying up. Hermanus is on its knees and ordinary households, the municipality, local businesses, and people who make a living here cannot continue to carry the burden on their own.”

Together, Zelda and the Kolisi Foundation supported the Zwelihle township in the Hermanus area with 650 food parcels as part of the #Each1Feed1 drive for Mandela Day. Through our partnerships, these parcels cost R600 each and are strategically designed to provide food support to a family of six people for one month. They include fruit, vegetables, cleaning products, masks, StartWell cereal, sanitary pads, and other grocery items.

“We believe it is a great way to honour Madiba’s memory, doing something that he would be proud of and would have been a part of himself,” adds Rachel Kolisi.

Thank you to Boxer Superstores and Pick n Pay for your continuous support and commitment with the Kolisi Foundation #Each1Feed1 initiative since the start. The #Each1Feed1 Campaign echoes the sentiment that small steps climb big mountains.

To make a donation, visit www.kolisifoundation.org