THE STORY BEHIND SOUTH AFRICARES

South AfriCARES was founded by Mariolise Williams, a woman whose life journey reflects the transforming, redemptive power of Jesus Christ. Her early years were marked by instability, hardship, and deep valleys — seasons that could have broken her but instead became the very places where God rebuilt her identity, restored her hope, and ignited her calling.

From those difficult chapters emerged an unshakable truth:
nothing in our past is greater than the cross, and nothing is wasted when surrendered to Christ.

Today, Mariolise stands not as a product of her past, but as a living testimony of grace — a woman who encountered the radical, life-altering power of Jesus and now carries His heart into the streets of Cape Town.

Her journey is summed up powerfully in the words of Pastor Phillip Anthony Mitchell:

 “Let’s not be so prideful that we think that anything that we have done in our past is greater than the cross.
There is no sin that we have committed that is greater than the blood of Christ.
You cannot out-sin the power of the cross.
And if you have come into the Kingdom, then everything that you have done in your past is under the blood and has been weaponized by the blood of Jesus Christ.
Therefore, we do not have to be ashamed of our past.
In the right context, everything can be used.
Our mountaintops and our valleys, all of our failures — they have been redeemed by the blood of Christ.”

These words echo the very foundation of South AfriCARES.
Every valley. Every scar. Every chapter the enemy meant for harm has been redeemed, rebuilt, and weaponized by the blood of Jesus — becoming the message and mission that now impacts countless lives across Cape Town.

With a naturally entrepreneurial mind and an autodidactic spirit, Mariolise channels her leadership, resilience, and purpose into a ministry built on compassion, excellence, and unwavering faith.