Raising the Next Generation of Leaders: LIV Cape Town

In late 2016 we arrived in Cape Town from the UAE to the country of my wife’s birth. The move was made possible by my boss and mentor at Standard Chartered Bank who had listened to my heart and wanted to help us make the dream a reality. After living overseas for almost 20 years my wife wanted to return to South Africa to work with orphaned and vulnerable children, of which there are 5 million in this country, resulting from the the Aids pandemic and poverty. We joined the LIV Group which was founded in 2010 by the former Proteas wicketkeeper, Tich Smith. The LIV group was already helping hundreds of children in Durban, Johannesburg and the Eastern Cape. My wife and I run LIV Cape Town.

After several years of community work including running a primary school literacy group, a youth soccer club and most recently being part of a COVID-19 food relief drive, LIV Cape Town late last year acquired a piece of land in the under-resourced community of Fisantekraal, near Cape Town. We will be building an eco-friendly pre-school for 120 of the most vulnerable children in this community. Our land is located adjacent to the squatter camp where the majority of adults are unemployed and live from hand to mouth. In South Africa, early childhood education is not provided by the government and therefore not free and it falls upon NGO’s to meet this critical need. It is not unusual for children to spend up to 12 hours a day at pre-school. This will give us the opportunity to improve their immunity and basic health through the provision of nutritious food. We have set aside a good portion of our land for an organic fruit and vegetable garden. We will care for our children holistically in a safe and nurturing environment.

We will also have social enterprises through which we will provide skills training and employment opportunities for the local community. These will include a coffee shop (barista training), second-hand clothing store and a small factory where we will make reusable sanitary pads (this will reduce school absenteeism).

Our school will be operational from quarter 4 of this year. More information about our project in Cape Town and the broader LIV Group can be found on our website www.liv-village.com, alternatively please reach out to myself or my wife Niki on [email protected]. You can also follow us on Facebook or Instagram.

Finally, what a privilege it is to continue working for Standard Chartered in a job which I love, and I want to thank them for their support and encouragement along the way.