In the spirit of Ubuntu and in honour of Mandela Day, the newly-launched Cheslin Kolbe Foundation donated R67 000 to the Gift of the Givers Foundation to assist with humanitarian relief, made possible by renewable energy company Red Rocket Energy.
The handover took place at the offices of Red Rocket on Friday, and in attendance was rugby hero, Cheslin Kolbe, with his wife Layla and founder of the Gift of the Givers, Dr Imtiaz Sooliman.
The Cheslin Kolbe Foundation was established on July 1 and Red Rocket spent their 67 minutes at Kolbe’s old primary school, Simonsberg Primary School in Kraaifontein, where the learners made their own turbines with solar panels out of timber.
The commercial and industrial development manager at Red Rocket, Brian Cunningham, said: “Not everyone is lucky enough to be a Cheslin Kolbe, but we all have a super power which is our brain.
“We are looking to have a longer partnership with the Cheslin Kolbe Foundation and highlight the importance of STEM subjects and educate children about renewable energy in this country.”
Cheslin and Layla said they appreciated the funds and hoped to bring about change with their foundation as their focal areas are sport development, education, food security, combating gender-based violence and upskilling men to be better role models in society.
“We always wanted to start our own foundation as we used to work with a foundation in Scottsville, Kraaifontein. By going out, we could see the need (in communities) and it increased during the Covid pandemic,” said Cheslin.
Cheslin Kolbe got a hero’s welcome at Simonsberg Primary in Kraaifontein. 🥺🥹
The Springbok handed out food at the school as part of the Cheslin Kolbe Foundation’s “We care” outreach project. pic.twitter.com/pkZqU6NdGU
He said that choosing Gift of the Givers as the recipients to donate the funds to was an obvious choice
“There has been a lot of rain happening in Cape Town where people’s homes have flooded so we know by donating the R67 000 to Gift of the Givers the help will come immediately. The need is now and we knew that Gift of the Givers are on the ground and helping where there is a need.
“That is why we choose them as the best foundation that we can trust with this money to go out and make a difference.”
“We want to see a better South Africa and we can’t commend them enough (Gift of the Givers), because they are always at the forefront and we know the money is going to the people. Going forward we would like to partner with any foundations and organisations who share the same values as us.
“We are in a position where we are able to give back so by creating our foundation we hope to inspire many others to give back. It is not about Cheslin Kolbe even though that is the name of the foundation, but by doing this we hope others are going to want to grow and do the same in their communities. We want people to rise above their circumstances,” said the Kolbes.
Dr Sooliman said: “The money is not the important point, it is the principle. When a rugby superstar forms his own foundation and decides he wants to give funds to someone else, that speaks volumes. We appreciate that he thought about us and remembered his roots and his people.
“The R67 000 will help a lot of people, especially children who have been affected by the floods where we have seen hardship. (About) 200 000 people were affected by the recent floods so this donation is appreciated.”
Anyone who would like to reach out to the Cheslin Kolbe Foundation can find them on Instagram @cheslinkolbefoundation.