By Bhargav Acharya
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Swiss tennis great Roger Federer met up with Springbok rugby captain Siya Kolisi on a visit this week to South Africa, where Federer’s charitable foundation funds projects to try to get more children into schools and stop them dropping out.
Asked why he chose South Africa for his charity’s work, Federer said it was a “natural fit” as his mother was from a Johannesburg suburb.
Sitting alongside Kolisi, the 20-times Grand Slam champion told reporters he was inspired by the rugby player’s journey and wanted to do more to support early childhood education in the region.
His foundation has given grants worth millions of dollars for early learning projects across six Southern African countries: South Africa, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi and Namibia.
Kolisi’s rise from poverty to leading South Africa’s national team to two Rugby World Cup wins is a story many in South Africa have rallied behind, and his foundation also funds education projects.
“Helping is contagious. I want to make sure that I speak of South Africa wherever I go. And I want to bring people to the communities that need help,” Kolisi said.
A World Bank report released last week said South Africa faced a “learning crisis,” with education outcomes too low for its level of development and shrinking state funding for basic education.
Around 1.2 million more children are expected to enter South Africa’s school system by 2030, which would require an additional 20,000 classrooms and hiring 25,000 new teachers, the report said.
“(Children) need playgrounds … and books to learn. But most importantly, they need passionate and knowledgeable teachers… and they need them by 2030,” Federer said at a meeting with business leaders, urging them to work with his foundation on education projects.
Federer visited the Salani Primary School in South Africa’s Mpumalanga province with Kolisi. He said he was impressed by how people there worked together for children’s welfare.
“I think we all have the power to help one another. I think getting together, that I think is the key for success,” Federer said.
(Reporting by Bhargav Acharya,; Editing by Alexander Winning and Ed Osmond)
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