BY: MAGADU MASHUDU
MAMELODI Sundown’s player Grant Kekana wants to be remembered as a social activist.
The Tshwane-based player has started an NGO foundation named after him. The Grant Kekana Foundation announced its upcoming Golf Day fundraiser, scheduled to take place on Saturday, 15 June, at the prestigious Euphoria Golf and Lifestyle Estate. Kekana said while it took hard work and sacrifice to get where he is now, he also needs to recognize that there’s something bigger than him at play.
I had a village behind me – be it a supportive parent, a great teacher or a caring coach.
Whatever path I chose, I knew I’d enjoy their unconditional support. “It’s also clear to me that every privilege I enjoyed, however, deserved, came with a responsibility to pay it forward. That’s how I’ve been raised, taught and coached – to leave more than I take, to make it a little easier for the people who come behind me,” said Kekana.
He said he started the foundation as a vehicle to use whatever platform a career at the
highest level of the game has afforded him to lift others as he rise. “I Want to unearth the next Grant Kekana. While many might feel it natural that a professional footballer would want to contribute to the development of the men’s game, I don’t define myself just by my success on the football pitch,” he said.
Kekana said that after the next 30 years of his life if he had not been recognized as a
former footballer but a social activist, the foundation to which he had lent his name
would have succeeded in its mission.
“The next Grant Kekana, boy or girl, maybe a world-class cricketer, a successful
surgeon, or a global entrepreneur – I just happened to express the values I was taught
from a young age on the football pitch,” explained Kekana.
The foundation manager, Rabbi Mashego, said the campaign aims to establish long
term partnerships with organization’s that can provide ongoing support.
“The primary goals of the fundraising campaign are to secure the necessary financial
resources to support various projects aimed at skills development and opportunities for
young people, increase awareness of the foundation’s mission, and engage potential
supporters, including individuals, corporations, and institutions,” he said.
