In 2007 Andrew Reynolds first visited Cape Town in South Africa. During a trip as a tourist on a guided tour, Andrew was taken to the infamous Khaylitsha Township district townships just outside Cape Town. His guide then introduced Andrew to several entrepreneurs who were striving to change their lives and the lives of people around them, desperately trying to help families in dire need of food and welfare and suitable housing. These Entrepreneurs were setting up projects and businesses with little or no funding from the South African authorities and using tourism to promote their plight and improve their lives.
Realising some synergy between what he teaches in his Andrew Reynolds Cash On Demand system and these start-up entrepreneurs, Andrew decided to hold back from the tour group and to spend some time chatting to one lady in particular.
Andrew spent a long-time chatting to Rosie who runs her own meal centre for local children who have no other means of obtaining their daily meals. Rosie was single-handily cooking and feeding around 500 local children, twice a day, from a small kitchen built in a wooden shack next to her modest home.
Rosie explained to Andrew how she was faced with closure as the charity that had provided the funding had run out of money.
Rosie said “How can you tell the little children there is no food today, when there is no food. That is my biggest problem”
Andrew immediately promised to completely fund ‘Rosie’s Soup Kitchen’ for the next 3 years, sending her funds monthly directly into her account, which enabled her to buy food and much needed cooking equipment and continue the thankless work of feeding her local community.
In 2008 Andrew revisited Rosie and saw the amazing difference his funding had made to Rosie’s efforts.
He also learnt of her desire to start tutoring the local community with IT skills so Andrew provided her with funding to purchase some computer equipment to kick start the idea.
After being so touched by Rosie’s efforts, working 10 hours a day, 7 days a week for 5 years, Andrew also paid for Rosie to go on a once in a lifetime holiday to a spa and safari lodge with her family to take a well-earned rest.
Andrew said ‘When you meet someone like Rosie, and witness first-hand the sheer determination and hard work needed just to provide something as simple as regular meals for your local community, you can’t help but want to assist in some way. Rosie has been a massive inspiration to me and I can’t wait to see her again when I re-visit her to see the difference she continues to make to the local communities quality of life.’