Rachel Kolisi recently visited Mpoomy Ledwaba's "Wisdom and Wellness" podcast where she spoke about how serving others has changed her life.
The podcast has partnered up with The Earthshot Prize, to highlight and celebrate women in sustainability.
The first episode of the partnership featured an interview between Ledwaba and Rachel, where they discussed Rachel's mission to address food security and the impactful work of the Siya Kolisi Foundation, founded by her and her former husband and Springbok captain, Siya Kolisi.
Rachel had announced her departure from the foundation before the airing of this episode.
Reflecting on her upbringing, she recounted a pivotal moment that ignited her desire to serve.
"It started of as a youth when I was walking around. I think that in South Africa, none of us are really removed or are just not able to see the poverty across South Africa and just the struggles tons of communities across SA have.
"I remember it always made me feel really uncomfortable growing up, like 'Why do I have all of this privilege and all of these things, but I can walk across the road and literally see five individuals that don't have'. It's just something in my spirit and soul that just never sat right ... I knew that I wanted to do something," said Rachel.
She emphasised the belief that alleviating poverty is not solely the government's responsibility, but rather a duty for every individual.
"So I've taken on this responsibility and it is my absolute privilege to do this work. Yes, it is hard, strenuous and really frustrating sometimes but it is also very eye-opening and gives you insight into what it really means to grow up and live in South Africa."
The conversation shifted to her partnership with her former husband, highlighting their shared vision for change within their community.
"I think with great success comes great responsibility, and Siya and I had a conversation the night before the World Cup final in 2019 and we wanted to see things change in South Africa and this massive success that we believed would happen the next day.
"We sat down, we made a couple of points that we wanted to see change, and the next day I felt like this shift, almost like, 'There's that responsibility, go on and do what you said you going to do'.
"But before that, we both found ways and things we could do to help, whether it was a library or books donations or a stationery drive, obviously now the impact we have with the organisation is far bigger and more sustainable."
In an era where issues like poverty are often swept under the rug, Rachel advocates for candid discussions about socioeconomic inequality, especially with children.
"When you are one with and you have, it is an uncomfortable conversation to have, especially with little people whose minds don't understand why it isn't equal and fair.
"When my children notice something and it's often in the car drive on the way to school or from school when they notice that others' situations are different from ours. So just to create a dialogue is the most important thing.
"I think we underestimate the number of conversations that happen at school and potentially how few children are exposed to the reality of South Africa and so if children are informed and empowered to have those conversations, I think it would spread really far in a school system, I think that's really important.
Rachel's candid reflection on her struggles with depression reveals the deeper layers of her journey.
"Sometimes life is hard and sometimes we don't understand why certain things land on our plate and you struggle to find purpose even if you believe God has put something on your heart that has given you absolute purpose, challenges in life can sometimes steal that for a season and so it becomes really challenging to find your place.
"All through my life I struggled with depression severely as a teenager to the point that I tried to commit suicide and I had a massive awakening through serving others and in some ways serving others has almost been a lifeline for me.
"I truly believe that it's one of the biggest privileges in our humanity. I think every one of us has something that's been implanted from God and it requires us to have empathy and to love and to see people for where they are and for what they might be going through ...
"It's a God-given gift to be able to serve.