Anna Foundation Celebrates 20 Years of Empowering Rural Kids

Anna Foundation Celebrates 20 Years of Educating and Empowering Rural Kids

The Anna Foundation upskills and employs more than 50 women from rural communities to implement its 3Rs Programme | Photo Credit: Supplied

For 20 years, the Anna Foundation has provided learning-through-play activities to make reading and maths engaging and fun for children in underserved parts of the country.

Stellenbosch, South Africa (10 November 2025) – Twenty years ago, Anna Brom was moved to give back to children in rural South Africa after experiencing through her own childhood how so many of her friends and peers didn’t know the warmth she knew or receive the educational support she did.

Fast forward to today, her brainchild, the Anna Foundation, has provided rural children with access to education, sport, and life skills through the 3Rs Programme: Reading, Running, and Right-ing programme. This began as a single ‘library-in-a-box’ at a farm school in Mpumalanga in 2005 and has since expanded to 21 after-schools across the Western Cape.

Last month, the organisation celebrated its 20^th birthday at Neethlingshof Wine Estate, where guests got to experience some of the games children use to learn literacy and numeracy through play.

Anna Brom delved into how the 20-year milestone was all inspired by growing up in a farming community.

“As a child, I often had farm workers coming to the property, and I would play with their children on the gravel road. At 5 o’clock, my mum would call me in for bath time and dinner, but I noticed my friends were never called in. They just kept playing outside,” Brom shared

“As I grew older, I realised many of these children had no warm bath to go home to, no cooked meal or parent waiting for them. That sense of unfairness stayed with me and planted the first seed of the Anna Foundation,” she added.

In 2005, during her teaching practicals at a farm school in Mpumalanga, Brom saw the many challenges faced by rural children in the classroom.

“There were 360 children in the school, overcrowded classes, no resources and most learners were Zulu-speaking even though lessons were taught in English. Many children were left behind with no support,” she said.

Brom started a small remedial group to help teach the children to read in English.

“I gathered a few books from friends and family and brought them to school – my ‘library-in-a-box’. A 13-year-old boy named Bafana was my first student. Because I believed in him and gave him the time, he learnt to read,” she recalled.

The initiative quickly grew, and after receiving new books from Exclusive Books in Johannesburg, Brom also started a running group.

“Bafana was my first and most committed runner. Soon the group grew too large, so I made a rule: if you wanted to join my running group, you had to read two books from my library-in-a-box,” she explained.

The reading and running programmes evolved into the 3Rs Programme, which now supports all 21 after-schools. The programme combines academic support with physical activity and life skills development while also upskilling and employing more than 50 women from rural communities as facilitators.

Marike Pieterse, Senior Education Project Manager, spoke about small-group learning.

“Children learn when lessons feel like play. Our reading and maths boxes use games to make complex concepts fun. It’s playing disguised as learning.”

Fa-Eez Abrahams, Sport Project Manager, highlighted how cycling has empowered the youth they work with.

“Thanks to our partnership with the Absa Cape Epic and donations like 49 bikes from the Ironman Foundation, cycling has opened a whole new world for our children. Seeing a child pedal for the first time and gain confidence, that is what it is about.”

Chryston Julius, General Project Manager, spoke about the value of outings and events in broadening children’s horizons:

“Visiting a theatre, joining a fun run or cheering at a big cycling race is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It is about belonging, exploring new places and seeing their world expand.”

Brom added that these experiences are central to the Foundation’s mission.

“Our events and outings create moments children never forget. They build confidence, spark curiosity and show children they are capable and they are seen. Teaching children to believe in themselves changes everything.”

The Anna Foundation relies on donations to keep its programmes running. To support or get involved, visit www.annafoundation.com or email info@annafoundation.com.