Kolisi and wife reach out to vulnerable
Kolisi and his wife Rachel are helping vulnerable families through the Siya Kolisi Foundation
RUGBY World Cup winning captain Siya Kolisi has highlighted the potential of a severe hunger crisis developing in South African townships as the country entered level 4 lockdown status last Friday.
Kolisi and his wife Rachel are helping vulnerable families through the Siya Kolisi Foundation.
The legendary flanker grew up in poverty in the Zwide township just outside Port Elizabeth and hunger was part of his life.
‘If I went a couple of days without eating, I would go to my neighbor in desperation and ask for something,’ said Kolisi in a recent media post.
The Siya Kolisi Foundation has supplied Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to front line workers and delivered food parcels to the Zwide township, going door-to-door to help as many destitute people as possible.
Food parcels also come with masks and instructions in Xhosa to educate the people on the pandemic.
The couple hopes to extend this scheme to other townships, with Kolisi wanting to give back and encourage others to do the same.
‘I’m no longer disadvantaged, but I know exactly what it feels like. There’s no better feeling than helping somebody else and I encourage everybody who can to reach out.’
‘The most important thing is to make sure everybody’s safe and protected, then we can get through this together.
‘It doesn’t matter who you are right now, we all need to fight this thing together.’
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