History of Hillcrest AIDS Centre Trust South Africa

The Hillcrest AIDS Centre Trust is a Methodist Church project that was established in 1991 in response to the pending HIV/AIDS pandemic.  In the last 16 years it has become a model of holistic HIV/AIDS care and its projects include: a feeding scheme, counselling, testing (HIV and CD4 counts), home based care, respite/hospice care, HIV/AIDS education, income generation through craft, horticulture/food garden project and a school fee fund.  All projects coordinate with each other forming a holistic model of care.

In 2002 following a visit to South Africa by Margaret Turnbull a link was established with the charity to raise money to fund the education of Aids orphans.  In 2004 the charity in England gained charity status and over the years in addition to raising funding for the education of aids orphans it now takes English students to work in township schools; has provided a reward for township pupils who have achieved educationally and in 2009 will be taking a group of Sports Leaders to work in 3 primary township schools.