My name is Andy Bellisario and my connection with Hillcrest UK and South Africa started when one of my three sons, David, took part in the Hillcrest 6th form project at Inchanga Primary School, back in 2007. An experience that changed his life. He has since set up his own charity, ‘Sing Inchanga’ which provides opportunities for children to access music and the arts in their curriculum – something that rarely happens in township schools.
In 2014 I visited South Africa with my husband and David, staying with an amazing family who have provided David with a home every time he has gone to SA, including his very first trip with Hillcrest UK. They are definitely part of our family now. While there, we met up with Margaret Turnbull and were shown around some of the schools where Hillcrest projects were running.
I had the opportunity to teach for a couple of days in Inchanga school – a very humbling experience – 60 children in a class and almost no resources! But the kids were amazing, motivated and so eager to learn.
We also helped create a vegetable garden at a children’s home in KwaNyuswa. When we arrived, there was just a very large sloping patch of hard, red, dried earth, but after just a couple of days of serious work and with the help of some lovely young volunteers that David had roped in, a vegetable garden was created. All this was done on a very tight budget and with very few proper tools. I was so chuffed at having made an earth sieve using an old pallet and some discarded chicken wire and it worked! As a family of vegetarians, we love vegetables and while in South Africa, we were given some mushrooms that had been grow in the mushroom farm that was part of the Hillcrest Horticultural project – they were delicious!
When I was asked if I would like to become a trustee for Hillcrest Aids Centre Trust UK, I jumped at the chance. My main role within the charity is updating the website, which is great because it means I am up to date and well informed on all the charity’s activities.
The opportunities provided through the projects Hillcrest runs, for the students and the community, are fantastic. I particularly admire the work that Hillcrest does to provide teacher training, empowering and inspiring them to become even better teachers and so improving the educational experiences for the children we support. Inspirational teachers are key. For someone who didn’t enjoy school and was not academic, I needed support from my teachers. It wasn’t until I began my secondary education that this started to happen. There I discovered the wonderful world of dance with the most amazing and inspirational teacher. The love of this subject and the support of my teacher drove me through school and eventually on to university and into teaching too.
To find out more about David and his work, you can read his story here
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.