Growing up in rural KwaZulu-Natal, founder Nonjabulo Matomela often reflects on how differently life could have turned out had certain teachers not taken an interest in her as a "bright kid."

Opportunities such as bursaries and educational support only became available because teachers recognised something unique in her — even something as simple as openly loving animals enough to dream of working with them one day.

Today, Nonjabulo is an environmental scientist.

One day, her younger brother was told that he was already living with a real scientist. He immediately responded: "No, I don't live with a scientist."

That moment stayed with the foundation team.

Because if children growing up around someone who became a scientist still struggle to imagine that possibility for themselves, then many other learners in rural and township communities may never even realise those careers are possible.

Finance Director Nkululeko Ngwenya shares a similar experience. Through science fairs and academic programmes usually reserved for high-performing learners, he was exposed to possibilities he had never seen before.

Seeing a Black scientist dissect a shark completely changed how he viewed his future and inspired his dream of becoming a marine biologist.

Lilo Foundation exists because rural and township schools do not only face financial barriers. Many learners also face limited digital access, lack of exposure to careers and universities, limited mentorship opportunities, and little awareness of what opportunities even exist.

We believe that if equal education is not yet accessible to all, then every learner should at least have equal access to awareness, opportunity, and information.