our mission
South Africa has over 4 million orphans. We aim to equip and
mobilize a generation of orphaned youth in order to transform South Africa
We identify, provide scholarships and give mentorship to self-motivated orphans from rural and impoverished communities, from grade 8 to 12 at top schools.
the background
In 2008 Neil and Lesego founded Raise the Children(RTC). Lesego, being an orphan herself, has always had a deep desire to give back to the community that raised her, and so has Neil, who wanted to effectively and sustainably give back to the country.
The couple, together with the RTC community, strive to empower the many orphans in South Africa that share Lesego's story.
We identify & vet families who are raising orphans and support all the children in the family. We also accept applications from local education champions for orphans that show high potential.
Each scholar must complete an extensive interview process and tests, which measure drive & leadership potential before being accepted into the scholar program.
Selected scholars are sponsored from grade 8 to 12 & are enrolled with our partner schools. We provided them with everything required for boarding school success.
We pair sponsored scholars with mentors who assist them with adjusting to their academic work, spiritual growth and personal development.
Student bursaries
Since its inception in 2008, RTC has provided bursaries to over 100 orphans &
count students of the University of Pretoria, Wits University, Rhodes University and
University of North West among its graduates.
our people
Our team is made up of savvy entrepreneurs, industry experts and great leaders bringing years of experience to Raise the Children and contributing tirelessly to make our mission a success.
meet the team-Maya Angelou
our heroes
We make core investments in high quality education for the orphans and vulnerable children by recruiting international college graduates to teach at our partner schools for one year.
Through this recruitment, we are able to enrich the schools of South Africa with strong teachers, and in turn, receive scholarships for our scholars to attend these private schools for free.
