When I first visited South Africa, in 2001, I was introduced to the South African NGO, the Hillcrest AIDS Centre Trust (HACT) near Durban. After finding out about the work they did, I just could not walk away! Given that I work in education (during my career I have been a teacher, school Principal and consultant), I had the opportunity to involve young people from both the UK and South Africa to get involved in assisting school children in South Africa. This involvement meant that everyone could learn from the experience. This is how the UK charity, the Hillcrest AIDS Centre Trust UK, started.
For me, the importance of all our projects at the Hilcrest AIDS Centre Trust UK is to give opportunities to the children in deprived areas so they can gain an education and move forward to a secure job. For the past 5 years we have been able to support a small number of very gifted children from these disadvantaged areas so they can attend a well-resourced High School in Hillcrest near Durban. The school has reduced their charges for these children which has been a great help.
The first two girls going through this support programme (one supported by us and the other by Lionsraw) will begin University in 2021, one to study Law and the other Medicine. These are the first two young people in their community who have ever been to university, which makes me extremely proud. But I also feel sad, as I know there are dozens more children in the same area who are equally as able to attend such schools, but finances make this impossible. Therefore, to assist others, we need to fund raise as much as we can so they too can follow the same path.
I was asked for this interview if there is anything humorous I would like to share from my education as a child. Well, while I was in school I grew in height to 5ft 10inches – taller than any one in my class and one of the tallest in my year, so as a teacher once said to me, if you do anything wrong in line, just remember you are always visible! That soon taught me a lesson!
And finally, I was asked about favourite foods, well sadly I like everything! But I have to say that ice-cream is always close to my heart. I have even managed to find a suitable ice-cream that will only count as 80 calories per portion for when I am dieting.
If you would like to help us raise money for any of our projects, please contact us or donate here.
To read the full story of how our charity began – The story of the Hillcrest AIDS Centre Trust UK, check out our new feature, Stories.
We are a registered UK charity raising funds to support children impacted by HIV and AIDS and rural township schools. All money raised goes directly to the projects.