For many Primary School learners in South Africa, the path to education begins with little more than bare feet and big dreams. In villages and towns outside of Metro districts, learners often go to school without shoes, walking long distances barefoot to reach their classroom.

Gerald Nomlala knows this childhood struggle, which motivated him to start the Kasi Angels Foundation. This non-profit organisation seeks to ensure that no learner goes to school barefoot. Since its inception in 2018, Nomlala has ensured that 65,000 pairs of school shoes are on the feet of the learners who need them the most.

The foundation became a family affair when, in 2022, Nomlala’s son Qhama Jacobs became actively involved in the foundation and its outreach programmes. The 23-year-old is a third-year LLB student at UWC’s Law Faculty. His interest in law and social justice extends beyond the lecture rooms at UWC and to the Kasi Angels Foundation's work. “In law, we speak about equality and how everyone is equal before the law, and it should also be equality in our social settings, economically, and when it comes to healthcare. My studies have the same goals of social justice as does Kasi Angels,” said Jacobs.

Father and son crisscross the country, trying to change the reality for countless children who are often bullied for not having shoes. Therefore, when they hand over a pair of school shoes, it’s more than just a donation; they tie the recipient’s laces. “The aim of us tying the children’s shoelaces is partly because they have been ridiculed and not been respected, but that moment of us handing over the shoes and tying their shoelaces is also us humbling ourselves as people who are more privileged. So we humble ourselves, go down on one knee, and tie the child’s shoelaces. In that moment, they feel respected, and they feel part of a community and as if they are deserving.” He added that it resets the children’s reality at school: “It strikes a chord because they are also there looking at the other kids who were ridiculing them, and now there is this older person who respects them and is down on one knee for them.”

Jacobs plays a vital role in the foundation's administration, logistics, fundraising and donation proposals. With his sights also firmly set on completing his LLB, Jacobs wants to do his articles at a law firm while expanding the foundation's reach to include career guidance and social awareness for learners who otherwise would not have been assisted during their primary and high school years.

How you can get involved

The Kasi Angels Foundation has recently launched a campaign to give 1 million pairs of school shoes to learners under their #1MillionPairscampaign.

To join the Kasi Angels initiative, visit them on Facebook, their website, www.kasiangels.co.za, or email kasiangels@gmail.com.

WATCH: Qhama Jacobs talks about Kasi Angels on Tiktok