Here at Hillcrest (UK) we have a number of trustees helping to ensure the charity meets its objectives, driving new ideas and ways of supporting Hillcrest and working with the local community both in South Africa and the UK. We thought it would be nice for you to know a little more about each of us, so we are kicking off with our lovely Mary Findlow…
Hi, I’m Mary and I have been a trustee of Hillcrest AIDS Centre Trust UK for many years. My interest in South Africa originates way back to the days of the ‘free Nelson Mandela’ campaign. As a teacher in the UK, I have always worked to ensure equality of educational opportunities for students. I became interested in the Hillcrest AIDS Centre Trust’s education work and started to fundraise for the charity in my school. Eventually, my school initiated the 6th form student work programme which took place during the Summer holidays. This programme involved the young people from our school raising their own funds to travel to South Africa to teach and assist with refurbishing classrooms in under-resourced schools in the rural areas of the Valley of 1000 Hills which had a positive impact on everyone involved. I have been out to South Africa myself to work on the programme and I have also visited South Africa as a ‘tourist’.
The work of the Hillcrest AIDS Centre Trust UK is invaluable in enabling students to attend school and to work to achieve their potential. We recognise the importance of education in improving life chances. Families and teachers also benefit from the charity’s work so our continued support for the charity is vital.
I was asked for this post to share some fun facts that I enjoy about South Africa, so here they are! I have a passion for traditional South African music and I must also mention that I think the best pies in the world must come from the South African supermarket – the Spar!
If you would like to support any of the work we do, please donate here. Every single penny given goes to where it is needed and goes a long way.
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.