Baristas trained through Red Band Academy across 8 intakes.
2018–presentThe community arm of Father's House
Empowering our local and global community.
Leva is where Father's House shows up on a Monday — a barista academy, a coding classroom, a baby safe, an anti-trafficking walk. Practical dignity, out where the Sunday ends.
90%employment after Red Band
Impact since 2015
Numbers, and faces behind them.
We publish real figures, refreshed each year. Every statistic has a name — and most of them are still around. Ask us over coffee (at Red Band, naturally).
In paid employment within 3 months of graduating the academy.
Verified via PCO alumni trackingLearners reached through TANKS — our coding game built with NMU.
Across 47 Eastern Cape schoolsInvested directly in community programmes in 2025 alone.
Full financials published annually
Programmes
Six places where Leva shows up.
Each programme stands on its own — most were started because a specific person walked through our door needing something specific. We've kept them close to that shape.
01
Red Band Barista Academy
Eight weeks of hands-on training, mentorship, and a paid internship at Red Band coffee. By graduation, trainees have served thousands of cups and have real job offers. Our longest-running programme — the one everything else is modelled on.
02
TANKS coding game
A tabletop/digital hybrid built with Nelson Mandela University that teaches kids the fundamentals of computational thinking without a screen. Used in 47 Eastern Cape schools and growing — open-source and free for educators.
03
Baby Safe drop-off
A no-questions-asked baby drop location on-site. Partnered with SA Social Services and local hospitals. Controversial; unapologetic; occasionally the difference between an infant's life and not. Open 24/7.
04
A21 Walk for Freedom
Annual FH-hosted leg of the global A21 walk — raising awareness and funds for anti-trafficking work in SA and across southern Africa. Hundreds of walkers each year, thousands of rand for rescue operations.
05
Sole 2 Sole shoe drive
Twice-yearly shoe collection — we fit kids across Gqeberha's under-resourced schools with a good-condition pair before winter and before the school year. Runs on volunteer sorters and a corporate sponsor.
06
Work 4 A Living Centre
Our skills-training and job-readiness centre in North End. CV workshops, interview coaching, networking evenings, and a physical desk for anyone job-hunting who doesn't have one. Open Tue–Fri 08h00–16h00.
The Red Band story
A coffee shop that's also a ladder.
Red Band looks like a coffee shop — because it is, and a good one. But every person behind the bar is in an 8-week intensive training programme, and 90% of them walk out into a paid hospitality job. The coffee happens to fund all of it.
2018First Red Band cohort — 6 trainees
2021First academy graduate promoted to head barista
2024Red Band Bars enterprise arm launched
In partnership with
We don't do this alone.
"Eighteen months ago I was unemployed, sleeping on my aunt's couch. Last week I got promoted to head barista at a hotel in town. Red Band did that."
Thandi SmithRed Band Academy · Cohort 6 · 2023
Get involved
Three ways to show up.
Volunteer
We need sorters, mentors, CV coaches, drivers, photographers, and baristas-in-training. Minimum commitment is one Saturday a quarter.
Find a volunteer slot →Partner
Businesses fund specific cohorts or programmes. We name you in the reporting; your staff get a day doing real work at Red Band.
Talk partnership →Give to Leva
A dedicated Leva fund on our giving page. Every rand goes directly to programmes — we cover overheads from Red Band's coffee sales.
Give to Leva →