Chevano Keano Frans

Category
Civil Society

Age
24

Organisation / Company
Chev’s Kitchen Community Organisation
Website

Profile

Chevano Keano Frans is the founder and managing director of Chev’s Kitchen Community Organisation in Athlone on the Cape Flats. The 24-year-old’s job is to make sure that there are enough funds to run the day-to-day operations, that there is no wasteful expenditure and that the long-term and short-term objectives are met. The idea of Chev’s Kitchen began in 2020, when the harsh Covid-19 lockdown regulations kicked in. People were left helpless and without food security because of widespread job losses and closure of institutions and places of employment. It is because of this turn of events that this young man used his travelling fare to make and distribute sandwiches to the children of Kewtown in Athlone, who were scrambling for food. Chevano fed this community out of his family home. In 2021, he registered Chev’s Kitchen as a nonprofit organisation. He says the memory of having to stand in a queue at a community kitchen to get food for himself and his family spurred him on. Chevano, who is completing his final semester of a bachelor’s in business administration degree, represented his organisation at a change-makers conference in New York in 2022. He was one of four change-makers from South Africa for the Unite 2030, Camp 2030. Chevano has successfully managed his organisation with the support of his family and other stakeholders. He now runs an after-school programme at the local community centre where there is art and dance and the children are assisted with improving their numeracy and literacy skills.

List your educational background - qualifications and institutions?

• Completing final semester of bachelor’s in business administration degree. 
• Northeastern international entrepreneurship leadership training. 
• Camp 2030, Unite’s 2030 global goals week, New York, 2022

Any awards or achievements in your field?

• The Counsellors award for Unite’s Camp 2030
• The pay-it-forward leadership award from TSIBA business school

One childhood memory that has spurred you to such levels of achievement?

The memory of having to stand in a queue at a community kitchen to find food for myself and my family. This has inspired me to start my organisation to bring resources closer to the community.

Advice to your younger self?

You can do anything you set your mind to.

What would you like South Africa to look like in five years?

A country that is financially stable to make progress towards social freedom from economic oppression