Abalimi Bezekhaya is an Non-Profit Organisation working to improve sustainable food production and environmental greening amongst the poor in Cape Town. Our focus is on skills development through training and supporting people and organisations who wish to practice organic horticulture and micro farming. We promote sustainable development while encouraging initiatives which renew, build and conserve social organisation, self responsibility and the natural environment.

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ARESTA fulfils a practical empowerment role in educating and providing skills to refugees and asylums seekers, helping refugees develop their own strengths in order for them to become self-reliant during their stay under the protection of the South African Government.

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The Amy Biehl Foundation (ABF) is a non-profit organisation based in Cape Town whose programmes are designed to develop and empower youth in the townships and contribute to community building efforts as a mechanism to reduce the levels of crime and violence in these areas and aims to give them opportunities to become future leaders and entrepreneurs in society. This is achieved by providing educational and cultural activities that offer students healthy alternatives to crime, drugs, sex, idleness and negative influences and unlocks their creative talent.

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Beauty for Ashes works with female prisoners providing support in prison and in 2001 began supporting women released from prison under parole conditions. In July 2003 Beauty for Ashes opened their own half way house in Observatory, Cape Town. There is however, a great openness to extending this work to include men, once the service in support of the women has been established and reached a level of maturity.

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Vision
A regulated carting industry on the Cape Flats, with all working cart horses fit, healthy and comfortable in their work.
Mission
To protect working cart horses and donkeys from abuse, and contribute to the social upliftment of the Cape Flats carting community.
Aim
To provide clinic, patrol, and call out response, veterinary, and rehabilitation services to all working cart horses anddonkeys living on the Cape Flats, and support, education and training to cart horse owners and drivers who use working cart horses as a means of generating income for themselves and their families.

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The mission of the Children’s AIDS Art Programme (CAAP) is to provide art therapy to orphans with HIV/AIDS in the Western Cape of South Africa plus educational and enriching weekend outings that build the orphans’ self-esteem and sense of happiness.

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Dance for All provides children in historically disadvantaged communities with the opportunity for enjoyment, promotion of self esteem and empowerment through the medium of dance, as well as training professional dancers and developing a unique, indigenous dance company.

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The Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation is a South African non-profit organization with the mission to pursue excellence in research, training, treatment and prevention of HIV and related diseases in southern Africa. The DTHF has sound national and international research credibility in the field of HIV with an extensive publication history. The DTHF seeks to affect HIV/AIDS policy and service delivery through peer-reviewed publications, government advocacy and feedback to civil society and communities at large. Initiatives are underpinned by solid, relevant research and monitoring and evaluation. Results and outputs are used to advocate for change and for the improved health of our communities. Additionally, the academic links that exist between the DTHF, the University of Cape Town, and several research networks empower the DTHF to be an influential stakeholder in the global HIV arena.

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Founded in 2003, Art Aids Art promotes education, health and sustainable economic development in South Africa. Active in South African community development for thirteen years, Directors Dorothy Yumi Garcia, MA and Tom Harding, MA co-founded Art Aids Art after witnessing extreme poverty and a shortage of educational and other local services in Khayelitsha, South Africa’s largest Black township. At the request of teachers, they coordinated a collection of the most-requested educational materials: multicultural children’s books and black dolls.

What began as a series of literacy workshops evolved into an ongoing holistic project involving the surrounding community, with the goal of meeting economic, health and educational needs and improving quality of life.

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The Esinqobile Therapy Centre in a program run by HNO which currently caters for 38 Children with both mental and physical disabilities. There is a team of 17 therapists that work with these children on a daily basis.

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The Eziko Cooking and Catering School, located in the heart of Langa Township just 15kms from the centre of Cape Town, was established in 1996 by a former Langa High School teacher, Victor Mguqulwa. His mission is to address the unemployment that strikes the township communities. While teaching at the local school Victor noticed that there was a high interest in the cooking programmes and competitions at the school. He realized that by providing youngsters with cooking skills they would be able to find employment and create their own businesses in the future. Safmarine provided the initial shipping containers that were used to build the school and also donated further shipping containers to build the restaurant for Eziko. An initial idea led to the creation of a school that has now been operating for more then ten years.
Victors' vision is that the community can only develop by making people claim responsibility for their problems and their future. By taking the approach that you must 'teach people how to fish rather than catching the fish for them', Eziko is dedicated to provide people with life and career-oriented skills in cooking and catering and “empower” them to find employment so they can provide for themselves and their families.

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GCU was set up in 2001 by Mario van Neikerk. Born and bred in Heideveld, Mario had witnessed many of the community’s problems first hand and felt passionate about helping many of the area’s youth and keeping them off the streets. Hence the Soccer Academy was born. GCU is not just a football club, it has expanded into a wider range of community activities including rope skipping, tutoring, life skills, school for dropout, mentorships and way out of being trapped in the cycle of gangs and drugs.
Great Commission United (GCU) is based at Woodlands Primary School in Heideveld. Built in the 1960s as a temporary education facility, it has little funding and 456 learners with just 12 teachers. In 2009, Woodlands Primary School was found to be the worst performing primary school in the Western Cape, with a numeracy rate of just 2.5% and literacy standing at 22% for students in Grade 6.

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Greenpop is a Cape Town-based tree-planting initiative that celebrates greening and bringing South Africans from all walks of like together. The Greenpop team is passionate about community upliftment, social integration, urban rejuvenation and climate action.

Studies in Bogota, Columbia and the U.S. have shown a direct relationship between urban greening and lowered crime rates. Greenpop hopes to see similar results from mass greening of the under-greened areas around Cape Town. There is a huge divide in Cape Town and South Africa between the ‘leafy’ suburbs and those areas that have been left barren and treeless. We want to make a difference in these areas through tree planting, environmental awareness and education, job creation and urban rejuvenation – entrenching pride of place in under-greened communities.

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Grootbos Nature Reserve has always shown a very serious commitment to conservation. With the realization that the conservation of Grootbos in isolation from surrounding areas would be futile, Grootbos, together with its main stakeholders, began influencing surrounding properties in an effort to introduce an all-round conservation ethic to the local area.

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• To promote youth development through sports and culture.
• To build self-esteem and confidence by participating in positive activities.
• Giving guidance, teaching life skills and teamwork.
• Taking kids off the streets by creating interesting and positive environment for them.
• Motivating the youth to have respect and discipline for themselves and others.
• Encouraging HIV positive children to be active in sports cultural activities.
• Installing positive attitude to ex-convicts and teenage mothers through participating and being involved in uplifting the community.
• Involving physically disabled children through our activities, for them not to feel they are different from other kids.
• Taking kids to places of interest outside their community in order to open their minds.
• Working with disadvantaged children , there was a need for basic needs, feeding the children, providing the kids with clothes, providing the kids with school material as well as assisting the kids with the school fees.

Based on a model that has been tested in practise as a viable alternative to institutionalised child-care, Home from Home was registered as a charity in May 2005. Home from Home is a registered charitable Trust. The financial records kept are of a high standard and are open to scrutiny at any time. The Board of Executors (BoE) Trust is the underlying support Trust to Home from Home.

The founding trustees are Jane Payne and Pippa Shaper. Other trustees are Sally Hugo-Hamman, Karen Day, Nicky Thompson and Anna Vayanos.

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Since 2003 the Hout Bay Music Project has thrived and experienced considerable success. It has received broad support from all sectors of the Hout Bay community. The Project has grown considerably since its humble beginnings and now provides music and arts tuition through a number of sub-projects.The Project teaches music, mainly string instruments, voice and drumming, to approximately 60 children from the historically disadvantaged communities of Hangberg Harbour Village and Imizamo Yethu, Hout Bay. In addition, the project runs life orientation programmes which addresses issues of self esteem, HIV/AIDS and teenage pregnancy.

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Isiseko Educare Centre is a day care centre and registered non profit organization, it was started by the wonderful and warm Mama Zoliswa Siko.

The vision of Isiseko is to assist and educate the most vulnerable and under-privileged children in the community of Mfuleni with pre-school education up to grade R. The educare centre has also after school facility.

The project was started in March 2009 and has grown to accommodate 65 children and it continues to grow. The parents of the children of the day care are paying low fees which barely covers the daily running cost and necessities of the centre. There are six children who have no parents and they live with Mama Zoliswa in the very small house and shack which accommodates the day care as well as Zoliswa and her family.

Ixopo Village Intermediate School is 98Kms from Pietermaritzburg. The principal is Mr. Dlamini and more than 600 children attend the school. The school has its historical roots in the Apartheid system and it was started by the Methodist Church to teach local African children in Ixopo Village.

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Established in 1986 as a children’s shelter for abused and abandoned children from the community of Hout Bay, James House, 20 years later is one of the leading Child and Youth Care programmes in South Africa.

All services rendered by James House are contextualised within community needs, the profession of Child and Youth Care and broader socio-economic influences current within South Africa.

James House is at its core a grassroots organisation, offering a 24 hr, seven day service to vulnerable families and children. The effectiveness of these services lies in the commitment and skill to be found within the staff and volunteers.

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The Jikeleza (Xhosa: “turn around” or “pirouette”) Dance Project, established in April 2002, currently teaches dance (African, contemporary, Spanish and classical ballet) and music (marimbas and drumming) to children and young people from the informal settlement of Imizamo Yethu and the Hangberg Harbour community in Hout Bay, in Nyanga township and at the Learn-to-Live Program for street children in Green Point.

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Khayelitsha Special School was originally designated a mainstream school and was converted to a Special School in 2002. It’s main function is to provide education for learners with special needs.

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Khumbulani centre was founded in 2000 and has established a reputation as an excellent care-giving facility operating under very difficult circumstances.The centre provides day care and after school services for HIV/AIDS affected and infected children and others. There are up to 160 children from the ages of 0-13 who attend the centre with an even spread of girls and boys.

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Kiddies Educare Centre is a creche or day care centre for children between the ages of a few months old and 6 or 7 years old. The centre currently has 47 children which come to the centre everyday from 6am - 6pm. Margret is truly an inspiration to all that meet her, and she is loving and committed principal of this remarkable pre-school.

The project started in May 2011 and in only a few months 20 000 little lavender plants have been propagated and are growing at our nurseries. We currently have two nurseries, one at Zerilda Park Primary School and the second at Lavender Hill High School. We hope to have a nursery at each school in Lavender Hill. On a daily basis the team’s Master Gardener, Vuyesile, is training community members how to plant lavender cuttings at these nurseries. The lavender cuttings are donated from members of the public who own lavender bushes and want to be a part of this social upliftment project. So far we have trained about 13 community members to the point where they are fully qualified to work at our nurseries. 10 of them have gone off to find jobs in the related field while 3 have remained to work with us on a permanent basis.

The plants that are grown in the nurseries are planted all across Lavender Hill. We plant in drug hang out spots or dumping spots to reduce drug use and clean up the area. We are also in the process of gaining acceptance for a large piece of land to plant a lavender field. The community has reacted very positively and lovingly. These lavender gardens belong to the community. They are responsible for looking after them so that one day in the future our team can walk away, and a wonderful Lavender Hill will carry on blooming by itself.

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Learn to Earn seeks to develop people, especially unemployed people, socially, economically, emotionally and spiritually. The vision is to eradicate unemployment and other legacies of injustice in South Africa.

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Main Objectives

*The objectives of the organization are to:

*Change the existing negative perception about lesbian, bisexual and transgender womyn in our
society.

*Support and reach out to lesbians who have been forced from their homes due to their sexual
orientation and HIV status.

*Raise awareness on social culture, political and economic issues, that impacts on lives of
lbt’s.

*Develop an archive of LBT womyn in townships commemorate and celebrate young and older
LBT womyn.

*Fundraise necessary funds for different programs and infrastrure (sustainability)

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In the Western Cape there are many welfare organisations that deal with a vast population of pets and pet owners. But as a direct result of South Africa’s apartheid past, animal welfare organisations are mostly situated in so-called “white suburbs”.

Khayelitsha has a human population of approximately 1,5 million people. It is estimated that each household has at least one domestic pet. This means that there are over 1 million pets that need access to veterinary services at sometime in their lives.

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For the past 126 years Nazareth House, one of the oldest organisations, has taken care of indigent elderly and orphaned and abandoned children, or children with incurable diseases. The Sisters arrived in Cape Town in 1881, at the request of the then Bishop of Cape Town. In total, more than 100 underprivileged children and adults are sheltered, fed, medicated and counselled at any given time. This equates to 110 000 meals served or 36 500 beds that have been occupied for the night!

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NOAH is a model of housing and services for the poorest older people of the Western Cape. With 12 houses for the fit elderly, 2 assisted living facilities, 2 community centres, a primary health care clinic and a growing network of social clubs, NOAH provides a fully integrated package of care. Each year, NOAH reaches out to over 700 older people – helping them to feel secure and happy, stay connected to their communities, retain their dignity and independence and remain healthy and active for as long as possible.

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The Nonceba Family Counselling Centre, opened in 1998, is the only child rape crisis centre in the sprawling township of Khayelitsha on the outskirts of Cape Town. A true grass-roots community project, Nonceba (“concern” in isiXhosa) started with one woman’s decision to take action against the scourge of child rape and abuse in her community. The Centre, which began as a humble, one-room drop-in facility just over a decade ago, is now a landmark building and a beacon of hope in this largely impoverished community. In addition to campaigning against child abuse and domestic violence through community education and awareness projects, the Centre today accommodates up to 204 residents in its emergency safe houses for abused women and children. It also provides specialist counseling and expert psychological preparation for rape and domestic violence survivors in preparation for testifying in court.

In addition, the Centre prepares and trains foster and adoptive parents of orphaned and vulnerable children (OVC) and runs an afternoon care facility for school-going children who have no parental supervision in the afternoons. Nonceba offers support in obtaining medical, psychological and legal help for violated mothers and children. Staff from the Centre accompanies children and their guardian/s to hospitals, the courts and through the often traumatic procedures necessary in the prosecution and recovery process.

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The Pebbles Project believes that if a child, particularly one with special needs of any kind, is supported and given the necessary education at an early age, they are far more likely to go on to achieve more at school, and become well-adjusted, educated and achieving adults.Pebbles works closely with several wine farm owners, who support their work and assist them with the upliftment of their farm worker communities and the education of the workers' children. Pebbles also supports township crèches.

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Place of Hope is a registered NPO ( 016 -266 ) which was established in July 2001. It is a residential centre for victims of domestic violence (and their children), whose lives have been extremely adversely affected by ongoing acts of violence perpetrated against them – a ‘near-death’ incident is what eventually causes a women to seek help, and she is then referred to our centre via a Social Worker, The Police, a Minister of Religion etc
The women stay at Place of Hope for approximately 6 months, and during this time they participate in a various programmes

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SAEP is a non-profit organisation based in Cape Town, dedicated to improving the lives and opportunities of children in the townships through education and life-skills training. SAEP’s Early Childhood Development Programme provides support for 16 independently run township pre-schools/day-care centres (known locally as “crèches”) through the Safety Unity Crèche Forum in the informal community of Philippi, assisting them move from being simply day care centres to early childhood development centres.

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The Sunflower Project ‘assists survivors of gender violence every step of the way’. The project was born 5 years ago in response to the staggering amount of abuse suffered by women and children in the local area. It is the proud recipient of both a CPSI (Centre for Public Service Innovation) Award and a White Ribbon Award – both in 2006. The project is active throughout the Sisonke District Municipality.

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Bestselling author John Mason said “What you need is an idea and be brave enough to live creatively”. That is just what the people of Original T-bag Designs did – they had an idea and applied it.

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Thandolwethu is a day care centre or creche which was recently established on the 3rd of September 2007. The creche currently has 7 children enrolled and with the completion of their new building is looking forward to increasing this amount of children.

Thokozani Brothers is a non-profit organization which was established in 1997 by ten young men who started singing Isicathamiya - a traditional form of music.
Thokozani Brothers was founded in response to the social challenges under which individuals in the community find themselves, especially the youth and young adults. 
Many young people were dropping out of school due to family poverty such as not having a school uniform or having to care for siblings.

Thokozani Brothers make interventions that go a long way towards providing alternative options for young people. Music is regarded as a universal language and they use it to reach out to adults and children in our community. It serves as a chore of their activities but leads to additional support and empowerment through extended activities.

Thola Ulwazi Crèche is situated in Creighton Village 136kms from Pietermaritzburg. The village is surrounded by dairy farms and beautiful countryside. Ms Florence Ngubo is the principal of the crèche, Florence is young and dynamic and the children are joyful and lively. HNO has been involved with Florence from her humble beginning, operating the crèche from a small out-building at the local club – an initiative of an innovative farmer’s wife.

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Established in 2002 by Mandlesizwe Lufele and other concerned community youths, the Volcano Arts Project is a Community Based Organisation that is committed to community development and empowerment through arts, culture and life skills training.

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Young Guiding Stars Sacred String Band of Claremont, one of the oldest Christmas Choir Bands in the Western Cape, if not in South Africa, is celebrating their 80th Anniversary in August of 2012.
Founded by the late Appolis Davidson and established in 1932 in the Harfield / Claremont area. The band in the early years was traditionally run by family and friends, from the neighbourhood but in the years to follow has become part and parcel of the local community. It has a membership of 55 members, with a willing working committee comprising of parents and women, dedicating their time to arrange fundraisers and keeping the band going.

What started off as a string band way back in 1932 has now been replaced by brass and reed instruments, with the odd banjo and piano accordion still evident from yesteryear.
At the helm of it all is our Life President Mr Fred de Kock (Senior), Mr Diederick de Kock (Captain) and Mr Wellesley de Kock (Bandmaster).
The bands celebratory their 80th birthday Thanksgiving Service to be held on 5th August 2012 at St. Mathews Church (Claremont). An experience for many of those whom were juniors then (now seniors) to go back and march down those very roads which they played in, many nights sitting on the corners by “Allies-shop” and remembering.

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Zama Dance School is directed by former CAPAB Ballet and Cape Town City Ballet dancer Andrew Warth. Andrew trained at the Legat School of Russian Ballet in Tunbridge Wells, England, before his first engagement as a professional dancer in Germany with the Essener Ballet and later with the German Opera on the Rhein, in Düsseldorf. In 1990 he moved to Cape Town where he danced for CAPAB Ballet, now known as Cape Town City Ballet.

In January 2009 Andrew joined Arlene Westergaard at Zama Dance School in Gugulethu, and with Arlene’s guidance became Zama’s full-time ballet teacher. On Arlene’s retirement at the end of 2011, Andrew was promoted to director. “I feel I have very big shoes to fill and am grateful for the support and guidance offered by Zama’s patron, Raymond Ackerman and the Ackerman Family Foundation,” he says.

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