Grantees

HEALTH & HUMAN RIGHTS: HIV/AIDS GRANTS 2007

Baphumelele, Khayelitsha Baphumelele Children’s Home and its stalwart founder Rosie Mashale, efficiently and lovingly manage an ever-expanding orphanage, while also caring for children suffering from HIV/AIDS. In 2007, Baphumelele added four new cluster homes, enabling the organization to welcome 150 more children to the Home. The addition necessitated the hiring of eight new women from the community. SADF’s grant helped offset high food-related expenses as well as salaries for the new staff.

Children’s Rights Centre, Durban Through awareness campaigns, trainings, workshops, and tireless lobbying, the Children’s Rights Centre has been leading the fight in access to treatment for children in South Africa, as well as advocating for the rights of children orphaned by the epidemic. Recently, the CRC was asked to assist the Kwa Zulu-Natal provincial government in ensuring that the rights of children and child-related issues are voiced during the formation of their newly restructured AIDS Council.

Darling Trust, Darling Empowerment as a way of reducing HIV infections among youth remains the biggest theme for the Darling Trust, an organization located 40 miles north of Cape Town. The Trust strives to uplift their impoverished community through grassroots initiatives, art projects, and HIV/AIDS programs.

Desmond Tutu HIV Centre, Cape Town The Desmond Tutu HIV Centre is constantly finding new and effective ways of battling the HIV/AIDS crisis. The organization’s Masiphumelele Youth Centre focuses on youth behavior, providing recreation, education, skills-training and sexual health services to the young people of Masiphumelele township; and the Sizophilo Project provides peer counseling services to those newly diagnosed with HIV/AIDS.

Esperado Haven, Barbeton Located on a small farm in Mpumalanga Province, Esperado Haven shelters and cares for children orphaned by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. To make Esperado Haven self-sustaining, the project grows its own produce and raises farm animals.

Etafeni Day Care Centre, Nyanga Etafeni uses a holistic approach in its HIV/AIDS day care center, by supporting both the child and the caregiver (grandmother, sibling, sick parent), and meeting the child’s emotional as well as physical needs. They offer testing, counseling, group support, skills-training, income generation and nutrition services for their community in Nyanga. SADF’s grant provided funds for the construction of a center housing all their programs. The center was constructed by unemployed residents of the community.

Gender AIDS Forum, Durban For the past eight years, the Gender AIDS Forum has been instrumental in making the connection between women’s social status and HIV/AIDS. This woman-centered, women-driven organization puts a strong emphasis on activism as a leading agent of social and political change. This activism takes the form of direct action campaigns, influencing policy, empowering through training and mentoring and providing access to information through the mass media. GAF is currently involved in a partnership with TAC and is training 35 TAC members on “Women’s Leadership.” SADF funds went toward training three staff members for leadership roles.

Greater Nelspruit Rape Intervention (GRIP) Mpumalanga Sexual assaults have become all too common in South Africa, where it is estimated that one person is raped every 26 seconds. Combating this alarming trend, the Greater Nelspruit Rape Intervention Project provides a multifaceted, empowerment-themed approach to the crisis. Counseling, education, legal aid, HIV testing and antiretroviral therapy for rape victims are just a few of the services GRIP volunteers provide on a daily basis. They also engage in public awareness projects on gender-based violence and HIV.

Kopanang Community Trust, Geluksdal The Kopanang Community Trust uses a multi-pronged approach to the issues plaguing the adjoining townships of Geluksdal and Tsakane. The Sithand’izingane project feeds 400 orphans and provides after-school programs and sewing classes for mothers. Kopanang is an income-generating project where women sell their beadmaking, embroidery, and quilts. There’s also an HIV counseling center and a garden project.

Mothering Across Continents, USA This voluntary organization was formed by women in Charlotte, North Carolina to energize women to demonstrate care and compassion for orphans and vulnerable children affected by AIDS in South Africa. Their fund-raising efforts are earmarked for three projects that provide care and services to children.

mothers2mothers, Cape Town In South Africa, women and children are the most vulnerable to HIV/AIDS infection. This Cape Town-based prevention and treatment organization empowers mothers living with HIV by providing them with treatment literacy, counseling, and the necessary information for proper prevention of mother-to-child transmission of the disease. Their success rate is tremendous as mothers2mothers reaches 17,000 women a month, and more than 90% of babies born in the program are HIV free.

Mphambo AIDS Awareness Action Campaign, Malamulele Founded by dedicated women in the poverty-stricken village of Mphambo, the Mphambo AIDS Awareness Project provides home-based care to those suffering from HIV/AIDS and advocate for AIDS awareness in their community. The volunteers from Mphambo dispense information on HIV/AIDS, provide food for poor families in the village, and participate in treatment of tuberculosis sufferers.

Nkosi’s Haven, Johannesburg Nkosi’s Haven lives up to its name, providing a home for mothers and children affected by HIV/AIDS. Based in Johannesburg, Nkosi’s Haven strives to keep infected mothers with their children while acting as an emotional and social support for those orphaned by the epidemic. The Haven is committed to pay school fees for all children through the age of 18 yrs. Vukani Outreach is a side project that sends food, supplies, school uniforms/fees to families and orphans in need throughout the townships around Johannesburg. Currently under construction is Nkosi’s Village that will eventually house close to 300 mothers and children. SADF had the assistance of the Soweto Gospel Choir in this year’s fund-raising efforts.

Paper Prayers, Johannesburg Combining the Japanese custom of creating paper art for healing with the importance of facilitating HIV/AIDS awareness, the National Paper Prayer Campaign doubles as an education tool and an income-generating project for AIDS projects. Under the auspices of Artist Proof Studio, Paper Prayers trains South Africans in embroidery and papermaking while promoting an attitude of tolerance and healing.

Phedisang, Limpopo Based in the townships outside of Maruleng in Limpopo province, the Phedisang organization feeds close to 500 vulnerable children and orphans twice daily. Phedisang provides social and educational activities and is a liaison between the children and the health clinics in the region.

Philani Project, Cape Town Since 1979, Philani has been running a child nutrition and health program in the townships outside of Cape Town. They have grown considerably, and now have six health and nutrition centers, a home health program, seven preschools, seven skills-development centers and an HIV/AIDS awareness and care program. All of the Philani projects are community-owned and operated.

Princess Trust, Johannesburg The rise of child sexual abuse in South Africa is a disturbing trend, its escalation an unfortunate result of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The Princess Trust dispenses grants to organizations that provide information and support to victims.

Sonke Gender Justice Project, Cape Town The Sonke Gender Justice Project was founded to address the issues of domestic violence as well as South African society’s male-dominated sexual norms that lead to women’s inability to protect themselves from HIV/AIDS. Sonke works with government to promote change in gender-related policy as well as with communities to promote change in practice and cultural norms.

TAC Treatment Project, Johannesburg The TAC Treatment Project was established in 2002 to address the alarming rate at which TAC members were dying of HIV/AIDS. Currently, the TAC TP is treating more than 300 AIDS activists and community members that are in critical need of treatment, with more coming on every day. Although the government is providing antiretrovirals in the public health system, the rollout is spotty and many people still have no access. TAC is trying to keep people alive by paying for treatment until such time as they can get them onto to the public system. The process to stabilize people and get them transferred takes approximately one year.

Thembalethu Home Based Care, Schoemansdal The Nkomazi region in Mpumalanga Province has been hit extremely hard by the HIV/AIDS epidemic, its infection rate nearing 50%. Thembalethu Home-based Care feeds hundreds of orphaned children and serves 14 villages with home-based therapeutic care, counseling services and food distribution.

Think Twice, Cape Town One of the largest hurdles South Africa faces in its fight against HIV/AIDS is the enormous amount of misinformation being spread about the disease. Think Twice has developed a dynamic HIV/AIDS and sexuality curriculum for local schools that has been successful in educating youth to make responsible choices in their lives and relationships.

Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), Cape Town With 900 South Africans dying each day in the country, six-million infected with HIV, and hundreds of thousands with full-blown AIDS still awaiting antiretroviral treatment, the need for TAC and its campaigns continue. South Africa’s leading HIV/AIDS organization was extremely active in the past year. Events like the country’s embarrassment at the Toronto International AIDS Conference last August and the high profile Durban Westville Prison Case prompted TAC into making their Global Call to Action Campaign. Due to the hard work of TAC, South Africa is now making a U-turn on its response to HIV/AIDS, however it is a long road to repair the damage done by years of government inaction, denial and incompetence.

Vukuzenzele, Orange Farm Orange Farm township is not free of the poverty-related issues that plague the country’s townships , but it fortunately has dedicated community action groups like Vukuzenzele. With each community need that arises in Orange Farm, the people of Vukuzenzele create what they call a Reflect Circle to encourage maximum participation of community members. Current circles include agricultural activities, health and the environment issues, income-generating projects, HIV/AIDS support groups and performance arts programs for the youth.

Wola Nani, Cape Town Misinformation, taboos, and fear combine to make it extremely difficult for those living with HIV/AIDS to function in their community. Wola Nani’s mission is to empower those infected in their community of Khayelitsha, offering a holistic approach to the disease including counseling, day care, home-based care, skills training and employment opportunities. Wola Nani also engages in community outreach by raising HIV awareness and giving educational workshops.

Woza Moya, Ixopo Serving more than 5,000 people in the desperately poor Ufafa region of KwaZulu-Natal, Woza Moya battles the HIV/AIDS pandemic by providing home-based care, counseling, support for orphaned and infected children, skills-training, and food parcels for the most vulnerable in the community. With close to 85% unemployment and a 47% infection rate of pregnant mothers, Woza Moya is a beacon of light and hope in the region.

HEALTH & HUMAN RIGHTS: ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE GRANTS 2007

groundWork USA, Boston groundWork USA is the US-based arm of the Pietermaritzburg-based environmental justice organization groundWork. Through skills-transfer and exchange programs, groundWork USA. connects environmentally-damaged communities in South Africa with similarly marginalized regions in the U.S. Solidarity and the sharing of knowledge equips communities with strategies to battle for clean air and to fight corporate pollution. SADF’s grant covered all program costs.

groundWork, Pietermaritzburg groundWork, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa Working to protect the most marginalized and vulnerable South Africans, groundWork has been a tireless advocate for environmental justice through their efforts on corporate accountability, clean air and toxic waste. They also publish a variety of publications that aim at exposing environmental injustice throughout South Africa. SADF funds went to general support of their programs.

Ilitha Lomso, Khayelitsha The main focus of this human rights-based organization is to engage youth in positive behavior, and skill-building as well as raising awareness on issues such as HIV/AIDS and the environment. The Khaylelitsha-based organization’s most recent work has centered around water management and conservation, training young volunteers on basic plumbing and water management so as to further educate the community. They have also recently set up 10 “eco-schools” in the area with the express purpose of promoting green awareness amongst local schoolchildren.

South Durban Community Environmental Alliance, Durban South Durban is one of the most environmentally ravaged regions of South Africa. Most of the pollution comes from two large petrochemical companies as well as several chemical storage facilities. SDCEA is a coalition of 14 activist groups determined to fight for environmental justice in the region. SADF’s grant paid the salary of an administrator for the organization.

Vaal Environmental Justice Alliance, Sasolburg The Vaal Environmental Justice Alliance, a partnership of 12 civil society organizations, was created in 2005 to combat the rampant pollution and corporate irresponsibility in the communities of Sasolburg, Vanderbiljpark and surrounding areas. VEJA’s objectives include providing a culture of environmental awareness and engaging with local and provincial governments in an attempt to change environmental policy. SADF’s grant helped defray the costs of staff, transportation and sustaining the office.

CIVIL SOCIETY & HUMAN RIGHTS GRANTS 2007

Abahlali base Mjondolo, Durban Now working in more than 30 settlements and shack-dwelling communities, Abahlali has become one of the most important voices for the poor and disenfranchised in South Africa. The Durban-based populist movement has grown each year since its inception in 2005, as it continues to fight against state-sanctioned evictions and forced removals. Through mass marches and court action, Abahlali campaigns for better services in the settlements (water, electricity, sanitation). Abahlali recently began its own newspaper with a circulation of more than 10,000.

Amazwi Abesifazane, Durban The Amazwi Abesifazane project has been gathering an impressive archive of South African women’s stories of life under apartheid since 2001, recorded in beaded and embroidered form. This past year found the project in rapid growth, both in the number of story cloths recorded and in their profile. The South African Parliament has just recently commissioned the project to complete their vast archive by making sure there is representation of women’s stories from all nine provinces. The theme for the story cloths is “A Day I Will Never Forget.”

Anti-Privatisation Forum, Johannesburg A confederation of community affiliates ranging from unions, student groups and progressive organizations, APF strives for universal access to all basic services while advocating for the human and constitutional rights of people in poor communities. Its main areas of focus include water, electricity, housing, education, labor, the environment and most recently, HIV/AIDS. SADF’s grant went toward general support.

Art for Humanity, Durban A wonderful collision of art, education and social protest, Art for Humanity creates a variety of human rights-focused art projects that serve to both illuminate and challenge the public into action. This year, the SADF grant went toward the Women for Children project, where 50 women artists and poets collaborated to create billboards all over the country addressing the issue of children’s rights.

Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, Johannesburg The South African government’s passive response to the ever-worsening situation in Zimbabwe, has motivated civil society groups to action. Established in 2004, the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition monitors events in Zimbabwe that violate the country’s constitution and practices sanctioned by the African Union such as the violent displacement of 600,000 urban shack dwellers. SADF’s grant was in support of exchange visits between activists of the two countries.

Direct Action Centre for Peace and Memory, Cape Town DACPM was founded to help aid in the integration of former Umkhonto We Sizwe combatants back into society. They provide training, employment and counseling support services to a range of ex-freedom fighters, including political prisoners and torture survivors. Included in DACPM is the Western Cape Action Tours program, which gives historical tours of the Cape Town area, concentrating mainly on sites related to the apartheid struggle.

Elsie’s River Advice Office, Elsie’s River Elsie’s River is part of the long-standing community advice office movement in South Africa whose mission is to use the constitution as a tool in the struggle for against poverty and inequality. The paralegals at Elsies River Advice Office serve poor communities in the Western Cape to advise them of their socioeconomic rights: the right to housing, services, education, health, children’s rights and the rights of people with HIV/AIDS. A large portion of their work is dedicated to labor issues such as the rights of domestic workers, unfair dismissals and employment conditions.

Freedom of Expression Institute, Johannesburg The Freedom of Expression Institute monitors censorship in South Africa, protecting the rights of grassroots social movements to assemble and dissent by providing legal assistance and a revolving bail fund. This year, FXI requested funding to help establish the Freedom of Expression Network, specifically for its anti-censorship and anti-repression legal assistance fund.

Indiba Africa/UmNyango Rural Women’s Project, Durban The UmNyango Project provides women in rural South Africa efficient access to information as well as alternative avenues to report discrimination and human rights abuses. Since cell phone technology is prevalent throughout rural areas, the UmNyango Project is piloting the use of SMS (text messaging) and podcasting as a means of reporting and receiving information about access to land, domestic abuse violations, and political disenfranchisement. SADF’s grant went toward helping to defray the costs of setting up the text message and podcasting system.

Institute for Healing of Memories, Cape Town The Institute for Healing of Memories focuses on the emotional scars leftover from apartheid violence, domestic abuse, the pain of living with or losing someone to HIV/AIDS, and other traumatic experiences. Their experiential and interactive workshops are designed to let individuals share their painful histories in a nurturing group environment. The Healing of Memories workshops are currently being adapted for refugees, prisoners, and other groups or individuals in need of emotional healing.

Motivation Community Development, Kimberley Using a multi-pronged holistic approach, Motivation Community Development strives to empower and enrich their Roodepan community, an economically depressed Khoi-san populated region. Among other projects, they run a community-based television talk show, a theater group, a vegetable garden, a Khoi-san education project called Living Library, and the overarching Community Empowerment Project which addresses unemployment, crime and HIV/AIDS.

Rural Education Awareness & Community Health (REACH), Cape Town One of the most effective tools to combat sexual harassment and violence toward women is by providing education and awareness of women’s human rights. In the Western Cape, REACH provides support and empowerment for women in the form of educational workshops. Issues that are focused on include sexual harassment, rape, domestic violence, fetal alcohol syndrome and HIV/AIDS.

Soweto Electricity Crisis Committee, Johannesburg SECC is a social movement created to lobby and protest against electricity cutoffs, prepaid water meters, and most recently, housing evictions in the poor communities of Soweto. SECC recently opened an advice office where members of the community can appeal for aid in housing, labor issues and electricity and water cutoffs.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GRANTS 2007

Angus Gillis Tust/Kwandwe Projects, Grahamstown Located in and around a private game reserve, Kwandwe works to empower the rural communities surrounding the reserve with skills-training, and by providing educational opportunities. Kwandwe has been able to build a primary school for the children of the area, and are now attempting to raise funds to build an additional computer center for the school. Partnering with the Kwandwe Game Reserve, they are now in the midst of planning a Community Center in the village of KwaPontak.

Caversham Centre, Balgowan The Caversham Centre, situated in the Midlands area of KwaZulu-Natal, offers cross-cultural arts and writing residencies, while also providing skills-training and educational opportunities for aspiring artists in the surrounding community. Caversham is home to a professional grade printmaking facility as well.

Diepsloot Bike Project, Diepsloot The Diepsloot Bike Project provides vocational training (bike repair), sustainable development planning, and bicycles to the impoverished community of Diepsloot, where unemployment rates surpass 60%. This past year the Project held “Bicycle Days” at the local schools to encourage the use of bicycles. The project gave away a number of bicycles as well as hosting free community clinics on cycling as a recreational activity. As transportation to employment sites remain difficult in the region, they also lobbied the local government for bike paths that link Diepsloot to the nearest commercial areas.

Iliwa Laphakade, Khayelitsha Empowering women to become self-sustaining independent citizens is the basis for all of Iliwa Laphakade’s work. Centered in the township of Khayelitsha, Iliwa runs valuable beadwork and sewing programs designed to help women in their community develop income-generating skills. Beaded crafts and artwork created by the women are then sold for a profit.

Mamahlola Greenery Project, Metz The Mamahola Greenery Project began in 2005 as a grassroots effort to help alleviate poverty and its effects in a rural community in the province of Limpopo. Local women started a community vegetable garden and sell produce in the village, giving the women a means of income and supplying the community with fresh vegetables. SADF’s grant paid for a borehole to be constructed so that there will be water available year round for both the garden and the school next to the project.

Mapusha Weaving Cooperative, Acornhoek Now in its 34th year, this all-female weaving cooperative in Limpopo province serves as an income-generating project and a mentoring program for the women of the community. The Mapusha Weavers create colorful hand-spun and woven textiles that are then sold to support the weavers and their families.

Oaks Itireleng Care Group, Maruleng, Limpopo A group of eleven women calling themselves the Oaks Itireleng Care Group have banded together, creating a garden to boost the diet of AIDS and TB sufferers in their community. The surplus food is then sold at the market and provides the women with a viable means of income. With assistance from SADF, the group installed shade netting to shield crops from the harsh summer sun, and built a small greenhouse in which to start seedlings.

Phumani Paper, Johannesburg Since 2000, Phumani Paper has created more than 250 jobs in seven provinces in South Africa. Under the Phumani umbrella, members of the community are taught the art of papermaking and the production of decorative, environmentally sustainable products from the local grasses and invasive species in the region. Each group is trained in business, marketing and design so that they will attain the skills necessary to achieve economic independence.

Rural Educational Community Development (Rucore), Rustenberg While much of the attention of South Africa’s poor is focused on urban poverty, not enough is spent on the need for rural development. Rucore focuses on achieving permaculture sustainability for communities, including innovative housing and food supply systems. The organization created Tlholego Village as a model for sustainable agriculture and housing as well as an eco-tourism destination.

Siyazama Papermaking, Khayelitsha Located at the KwaNo Themba Workshop for the Disabled in Khayelitsha, Siyazama’s paper-makers create beautiful multicolored stationery and decorative greetings cards using local invasive plants, fabric, and recycled paper as their base material. They are also involved in AIDS Action, a program attempting to find creative strategies to deal with HIV/AIDS. SADF’s grant went toward product development and design.

Sosebenza Sonke, King Williams Town Sosebenza Sonke is an organization of volunteers dedicated to empowering the disadvantaged in their community through skills-development training. People from the local rural community receive training in beadwork, sewing, embroidery and upholstery design. This past year, SADF’s grant helped pay for new sewing and embroidery machines, cloth and material, setting up business cards, brochures and a website for international marketing, as well as general upkeep and repair of their building.

Thembani International Guarantee Fund, Johannesburg In Zulu, “Thembani” means to “give hope and encouragement,” and their tireless work providing security for banks to lend money to low income communities and organizations supporting small businesses and housing development does just that. Since its inception in 1996, Thembani has guaranteed loans of $10 million.

EDUCATION GRANTS 2007

Artist Proof Studio, Johannesburg Artist Proof Studio is a world class printmaking facility that provides township artists access to study, teach and work in a cooperative setting. For the past six years, SADF has funded their Youth Portfolio Development Project, where young aspiring artists learn skills and develop their portfolio in the hopes of laying the foundation for a career in the arts. SADF also helped fund Artist Proof’s AIDS Action Campaign, an outreach program focused on increasing awareness among artists through workshops, discussions and testing.

Bethesda Arts Centre, Nieu Bethesda The majority of the residents of Nieu Bethesda live in a crowded township with high rates of unemployment, violence and alcohol-abuse. The Bethesda Arts Centre is addressing the lack of employment opportunities by providing drawing, printmaking, textile art and theater classes to local youth. SADF provided resources for the Centre’s textile project which produces quilts and wall-hangings sold at the center’s gallery and at exhibitions in the UK.

Books for South Africa, USA This volunteer organization collects and ships books and educational supplies to disadvantaged schools in South Africa. SADF’s grant pays for shipping costs.

Borien Education Foundation, Franschhoek In order for the debilitating economic legacy of apartheid to be reversed, the public schools of South Africa will need to improve dramatically and rapidly. The Borien Educational Foundation’s mission is to empower rural and township schools, providing them with the tools they need to increase student achievement and become self-sustaining. They do this by engaging in a school partnership initiative that links developing schools in South Africa with established ones in the UK.

Centre for Early Childhood Development, Cape Town The Centre for Early Childhood Development works with creches (informal day care centers) in need of infrastructure improvements and staff training so that they will be eligible for government funding. SADF’s grant went toward repairing and improving the Sobambisana Educare Centre in the township of Vlei outside of Cape Town. Two additional classrooms, a kitchen and toilets were added, as well as general improvements to the existing structures.

Centre of Science and Technology, Khayelitsha Launched in response to the troubling lack of skilled math, science and technology learners from township schools, COSAT focuses on reversing this disturbing trend. Students from grades 10-12 that show interest or promise in the fields of math, science or technology are invited to attend this highly specialized school at the Good Hope Campus of False Bay College in Khayelitsha. Matric percentages from COSAT participants have been uniformly excellent since its inception, and a large portion of graduates go on to attend college.

CIE Access Project, Johannesburg For many of South Africa’s orphans and vulnerable children, staying in school is primarily a financial issue. The Catholic Institute of Education’s Access Project provides schools with the financial resources to cover the costs of school fees, textbooks, uniforms, transport, food and extracurricular activities for this disadvantaged sector of South African youth.

Dipalo School, Soweto The Dipalo School works on eradicating South Africa’s digital divide through free computer literacy trainings for youth in the Soweto/Pimville area. Dipalo provides newly matriculated youths with the training and experience they need to enhance their job prospects in the burgeoning technology sector. This year, Dipalo trained 200 youths, 120 of whom were young women.

Lutzville School, Northern Cape Serving the needs of an impoverished shack community in the Northern Cape, the Lutzville School has been forced to combine grades because of the lack of funding available for additional teachers. SADF provided funding to hire an additional teacher for the overcrowded school.

Oukasie Science & Technology Center, Brits Concentrating on the math, science and technology fields, Oukasie has been training educators and teaching young people in the Brits district for more than a decade. What makes Oukasie stand out amongst other education-themed NGOs is their concentration on training educators as well as young learners. Oukasie breaks down into four distinct projects- Early Childhood Development, Intermediate Phase (grades 4-6), Senior Phase (grades 8-12), and the Information Computer Technology Project.

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