Springboks World Cup-winning captain Siyamthanda “Siya” Kolisi wants to change the face of his community, Zwide, in Gqeberha by one day building a school as fancy as Grey High School through the Kolisi Foundation.
He revealed his dream moments before the screening of the long-awaited documentary Rise: The Siya Kolisi Story.
“That is a dream [building a Model C school in the township],” said Kolisi.
“That is what me and my wife [Racheal Kolisi] discussed outside my hotel room the night before the World Cup final. That is what we wrote down and said, this is what we want to achieve.
“It will take a while for it to happen, but we still can’t stop and not do anything between that period. What we saw at Grey [High School] is what we want to see here [Zwide], not just in one school, but we want it to be a more regular thing, where Grey comes to play in the township and kids in the township go and play in Grey as well.”
Siya in Zwide x RISE: The Siya Kolisi Story.
26 February: A deeply personal new documentary. A proudly South African production showcasing the authentic @SiyaKolisi Story: uncut, courageous, and searingly honest. #RiseSiyaKolisihttps://t.co/uB9sNIyyTA— Kolisi Foundation (@KolisiFdn) February 3, 2023
The 31-year-old backed the idea of erecting a Model C school by saying he hopes to mould children in his township to become the role models to others.
“I was amongst the three who were taken to a Model C school during my time. I wasn’t even the best back then; for me it was just a matter of being at the right place at the right time,” he said.
“What we are saying is that, we can’t keep on taking the best out of the township and taking them elsewhere. If we build a school here, the kids can be able to look up to us and see us [as role models in their own community].
“We enjoy being in this environment, we love it here in the township, and if we can bring the resources to the community, that is what we need more than anything.”
Rise: The Siya Kolisi Story will officially air on February 26 at 5pm on M-Net and Mzansi Magic. It will also be screened on SuperSport at 8pm.
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