The South African Olympic silver medalist Akani Simbine has become the change he wants to see after launching a foundation specifically aimed at uplifting children in local townships.
As South Africans, we pride ourselves on having the spirit of Ubuntu, which places a key emphasis on community and having humanity towards others, and the 100 meter sprinter who recently saw success as part of last year’s 4×100 relay team at the 2024 Olympic games – this is something he holds close to his heart.
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Despite having registered his Akani Simbine Foundation in 2022 he and his wife Terisa recently held the official launch of their non-profit organisation this past weekend at the Indaba Hotel in Johannesburg.
With several guests in attendance, the couple revealed that their main objective is to ensure that they have an impact on the next generation of South Africans.
Speaking to the news and entertainment publication TimesLive, he revealed that despite making big strides in the world of sport, his biggest frustration has been the fact that he struggles to understand how many of his old friends have struggled to get out of the township mentality and that this is something he wanted to change.
The couple believes that sport is the biggest contributor to changing lives.
“We want to use sport as a vehicle to get them off the streets, to keep them motivated, to keep them focused and our mission on how we’re going to do that is having different health initiatives, providing educational resources and just building a safety net for the kids that they know that they have somewhere they can turn to,” he revealed.
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With Akani involved in sport, and Terisa, a nurse studying to become a doctor, those who will benefit from this initiative will be in good hands. This comes as Mrs Simbine would also like to incorporate education and mental health as two additional focus areas.
Speaking to the Sports Publication, Top Runner, Terisa added: “It’s what we are passionate about. It’s what we do in our private lives. We believe that joining forces can make a bigger change and a greater impact. We want to involve the community. We don’t want to limit ourselves. We want to create a village to help raise these children to achieve great things,” she said.
Also see: Akani Simbine ties the knot
