In 2001, Cyril Ramaphosa was approached by his former primary school, Tshilidzi Primary, in Soweto, to assist with the donation of a fax machine. When Ramaphosa returned to his school to hand over the donation and saw the further needs of the school, the notion of the Adopt-a-School Foundation was born. Later that year, the Foundation was officially established by a group of concerned individuals, including Ramaphosa and Dr James Motlatsi. The Foundation was initiated to bring about an effective change in the education environment in South Africa and to assist in creating environments that are conducive to teaching and learning. The Foundation acts as a vehicle that assists individuals and corporates to invest effectively in education in South Africa, through school adoptions. The Adopt-A-School Foundation has achieved amazing success. Currently, over 150 schools have been assisted or are under adoption by corporate stakeholders in South Africa. To date 400 000 learners have benefitted from the programme, 205 SMMEs have benefitted financially and thousands of temporary jobs have been created in numerous communities across South Africa. The Foundation is registered as a Section 21 company with PBO status and has an independent Board of Directors. It works with Provincial and National Government and co-operates with various bodies involved with education.