South Africa - Where Rainbows Meet (6 - 19 October 2025)
Project Overview:
Situated in Grassy Park - an informal settlement in Cape Town - Where Rainbows Meet was founded 18 years ago by Mymoena Scholtz. From very humble beginnings this non-profit organisation has organically grown into an incredible space that provides food, hope, education, respect and opportunity to a very poor and under-served community.
The mission of Rainbows is the educate, empower and uplift the community. They are very much a grassroots effort, already seeing a virtuous cycle of former students coming back and leading the organisation or working in community service just a few generations in. In spite of never receiving government support or money, Where Rainbows Meet has managed to survive and grow though the years and one of the only social non-profits to survive the Covid period in the area – for long periods relying on full-time staff taking no salary to keep the mission alive.
We volunteered here for two weeks – staying at Mymoena’s house and helping with everyday tasks (such as food preparation, community feeding, preparing for seminars) as well as contributing by setting up initiatives, assisting with teaching and summer camp, delivering workshops and supporting the staff. We got the opportunity to see the work with the entire cross-section of the community and work with every demographic.
Without a doubt, being at Rainbows was one of the most memorable experiences of my life – I felt my heart was both full and broken at the end of every day. Div and I recorded an interview with Mymoena towards the end of our time which helps capture more of the essence of the work here than the words here ever could.
Key Insights:
In prior posts and experiences I have mused on additionality and value creation and how difficult it can be to assess. Here, it was evidenced in abundance, just by the stark contrast of being immersed in the community and by witnessing the situation in communities where an organisation like Rainbows doesn’t exist. The counterfactual was very hard to see – the poverty and lack of opportunity in those communities where there is no safe space for young and old to learn and grow is at a level difficult for most people to imagine.
By it’s very nature, there is a degree of chaotic opportunism involved in the work here. A supermarket or food supplier or clothing warehouse suddenly has some stock that is available for the day if we can get it – and we grab that opportunity and drop what else we had planned for the moment. Or a fire rips through a nearby settlement and the senior leaders here have to pivot towards providing support (food, clothes, sometimes even temporary shelter). What was really impressive to me was the dynamism in the leadership team - the way in which they are able to adjust and move as a united team in these scenarios, without Mymoena or the “most senior” person needing to dictate or call a series of meetings. In his book Drive, Dan Pink talks about giving people autonomy, mastery and purpose – and I kept seeing these values in what Mymoena has built by nurturing strong leadership principles throughout Rainbows. The organisation seems be able to thrive in fluid situations whilst maintaining its vector towards its mission.
One of the key lessons I took away from our time at EHRA was the importance of trust-building with the local community in order to make any change/impact sticky. That was reinforced at Rainbows – where earning trust and respect through their deeds and staying power has meant that they are held in high regard by everyone in the community – from young to old, community leaders to the gangsters, businesses and other NGOs.
I felt that we (Div, myself and the girls) definitely got proactive in thinking about how we can best contribute (and leave a lasting impact) and then going full tilt towards making it happen. It was exhausting and incredibly rewarding for all of us. A few highlights of what we were able to do in our short time here:
Div taught yoga to the students, and also trained a key member of staff on how to deliver yoga classes. We continue to get pictures of the students learning yoga and meditation after we have left 😊.
Div also delivered a number of workshops for staff, community elders and others – using sitting yoga, breathwork and other techniques to talk about physical and mental health. Seeing the older community leaders embrace chair yoga and show their deep appreciation of her work was one of my highlights (and Div’s too).
We assisted in teaching Maths and English in the school. We also helped in the afterschool program, providing some tuition for those children who come after school. Sia and Anaya helped me set up an informal chess club as well.
I taught some self defence to the children – teaching some basic principles and starting techniques from my own training many years ago.
I worked with the men in the Garden of Hope, and led a guided meditation with them (my first delivery of a session since I took a course and qualified last year).
We set up an entrepreneurial challenge for the Youth Group – called Rainbow Risers - where we put them in small teams, gave them a micro-loan to start a small business and hosted a Market Day for them to put it into practice. It was a great learning experience (they also made a lot of profit after returning the loan!) and they are planning to repeat the exercise on a bigger scale for their Christmas event. We are excited to see how this progresses with senior staff and other volunteers helping to keep the spark going.
I delivered a few “Life Skills” workshops for some of the adult students that were completing an IT qualification (made free at Rainbows). I had separate sessions on: communication; stress management; self esteem, interview skills and workplace skills. I also helped them re-write the training program for life-skills sessions going forwards to make them more interactive and weave key concepts together. I loved my time coaching and nurturing in more of a “work” environment, I hadn’t realised just how much I had missed this aspect of my normal work.
We helped with community feeding – Rainbows gives a nutritious meal to 200-400 people per day (again, as a non-profit relying purely on donations with no government support). It is an amazing operation and the impact of giving dignity and sustenance to the community is what holds this organisation in such a special place.
Div and I reflected on all of this after we had left, and one lesson for us is that we all have much more to give in terms of our skills, time and experience than we realise. Perhaps we realise it but don’t lean forward for other reasons. Is it imposter syndrome, or a false sense of humility that sometimes holds us back from giving openly and with all that we have? We wanted to respect the fact that the leaders of this (and other) organisations know their stakeholders and what is required better than we do. But they may not always know how to make best use of us - the volunteer who has just shown up on their doorstep. At MFS, Carol would often coach me finding the right balance with humility – “let it be your superpower, but don’t be too humble for your own good”. I think I understand more of what she was guiding me towards – that if we hold back what is in our gift to give, then we end up depriving everyone - ourselves and the people we were hoping to help.
Another thing we seem to underestimate is what is possible over the long-term. We saw the small, corrigated metal container that Mymoena first used when she came into the community 18 years ago. It is a cuboid space that has no electricity, no water and no phone line. It is unfathomable to try and imagine the path from there to the vibrant sanctuary they have today. I wonder where their aspiration will take them in the next 20 years. I think it was Bill Gates who said that we seem to consistently overestimate what is possible within one year and underestimate what is possible over ten years. Perhaps we can all be more ambitious with more of a long-term orientation.
At one point we went with some of the staff to a neighbouring community where there is no NGO to help them to give them some food. It was here that I had what felt like a minor epiphany on Seva – a concept in Hinduism that is translated as selfless service. It’s something that Sia and I talked about during this event – that we understood the concept but there was something that really clicked internally for some reason as to what devotional service feels like and creates.
What our day looked like
We would have breakfast with Mymoena and the family – especially Anwar ( her husband) and Thakkier (her grandson) – and then climb into the van by about 9am. We would pick up some of the other staff enroute, reaching Where Rainbows Meet by around 9:30am. From then until about 5pm we would be involved in various activities, helping the staff or leading workshops. No two days were ever the same.
On the weekend we had some free time. We booked a tour to see Robben Island - to learn more about Apartheid and see one of the prisons that held Nelson Mandela and other social justice activists. It was really special, and brought home some of the recent history and helped us understand the context for the informal settlements and places like Grassy Park.
Who we met
Mymoena Scholtz – founder, leader and visionary. She has endless compassion and high integrity, we saw first-hand how she holds her principles in every aspect of her life. I am so glad our paths have crossed, we formed a really close bond that I think will last the rest of our lives.
Anwar Scholtz – Mymoena’s husband, who operates behind the scenes and is a source of strength and positivity. Always laughing and generous with his time and effort.
Thakkier, Malika, Aneequa and Azia Scholtz – the kids in the house who make up the rest of this beautiful family. They are funny and loveable and we miss them all.
Kyle – Director at Rainbows and key senior figure. Highly intelligent and articulate, he is the de facto leader for the future, and leads with compassion and humour.
Taitin – a former student turned teacher, Taitin leads the IT qualification group as well as coaching the football team. He is everywhere, all the time all at once – always in demand and on the move. He has a big smile and a big heart.
Samantha – another former student/beneficiary at Rainbows in her youth, now leading the education front and another key senior figure. Samantha is fun (a great dancer), kind, caring and deeply connected with everyone. Div loved spending time with her and teaching her to teach yoga – it was awesome to see her embrace the opportunity and continue to teach.
Fatima – a key deputy and senior member of the management/leadership team. Fatima was such an important person at bringing us in and making us feel welcome. She has an infectious laugh and warm personality that draws people in.
Nazima, Roger and Farida – the senior people that run the kitchen which is responsible for feeding hundreds of people. They are incredibly hard working and welcomed us in and showed us how we can get involved.
Aunty Dila – who runs the beading and sewing program that helps empower women who have suffered abuse. Dila gives the best hugs and has a big open heart.
