Message from our director

As we come to the end of the year, we can only look back over the past year with gratitude. After losing a significant amount of funding and being forced to retrench a large number of staff in late 2020, things looked bleak indeed. We faced great uncertainty and the prospect of greatly diminished impact in our work. However, the remaining team stuck together, focused on the positive and looked to build back stronger.

As a result, we had a number of significant wins this year. We reorganised internally, secured the services of a Business Development Specialist, and put stronger focus than before on marketing, media and fundraising. We hosted two successful fundraising breakfasts, ran a number of successful campaigns seeking support for our work and made connections with a number of new partners in our local communities.

On the fundraising front, we won two new funding contracts with the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund and the PEPFAR Community Grants Program. We are grateful to these partners for their support. We were also able to continue offering our computer course due to funding received through Skillwise, the developers of our course. We continued with staff capacity building and organisational support with our partners, ActionCOACH Ignite, Thrive and Fulfil. We thank them all for helping us get through the tough times.

No reference to this year is complete without referring to the impact of the riots we experienced in July 2021. TVT was not spared. We saw our building – which housed a hardware store we rented out – get looted over a number of days and then get partially burnt. But yet again, we’ve seen the operator of that business come back and prepare to reopen, albeit with certain changes to how the business will operate.

TVT has undertaken a study to understand the motivations and impact of the riots on community members. We hope to release the findings early in the new year. Through all the ups and downs of the year, TVT has enjoyed the unwavering support of our board of trustees. Our heartfelt thank you goes to all these individuals.

It seems that one clear lesson from the past year is that one should never give up hope. No matter how bad things look at a particular point in time, they do get better. At TVT, we will hold on to that hope as we go into the new year and trust that 2022 will bring not only challenges, but opportunities for us all to get better at what we do as well. We wish all our friends, supporters and other stakeholders a safe and enjoyable festive period and a prosperous 2022!

S’bo Vilakazi

Past Director’s Breakfast

In November, The Valley Trust (TVT) held a successful business breakfast on its premises just outside Botha’s Hill. According to Pippa Whittle, TVT’s Business Development Specialist, the aim of the breakfast was to honour the organisation’s past executive directors and raise funds for its programmes. “The event was a roaring success,” said Whittle. “All three directors attended as well as many other former staff members of TVT,” she said.

The event was also attended by members of the business community in Hillcrest and surrounds, as well as local civil society organisations and community members. Ms Candace Davidson, CEO of Hillcrest AIDS Centre Trust, delivered a word of support. Davidson praised the 68 year old organisation for its longevity and continued impact in the local communities and further afield within KwaZulu-Natal.

The three surviving former directors, Irwin Friedman, Keith Wimble and Tuki Maseatile, engaged in a panel discussion moderated by the current executive director, S’bo Vilakazi. The panel discussed the contributions of TVT to the development of surrounding communities, the changing needs of communities and what NPOs such as TVT and others could do to remain relevant today.

NMCF Partnership

We are honoured to partner with the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund (NMCF) from November 2021 to October 2022.

PEPFAR Partnership

TVT is excited to have partnered with the Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) Community Grants Program.

New Charity Shop at The Valley Trust

We are delighted that our Khethokuhle Charity Shop is open on The Valley Trust property in Bothas Hill. If you are cleaning out, think of us. Everything from second hand clothing, furniture, kitchenware, toys, books to ornaments and jewellery is gratefully accepted at our charity shop – where it is sorted, priced and turned into cash to help fund our programmes and running costs.

We are still in need of more shelving and storage so please contact us if you can help.

We attract all types of customers. Some love a bargain, others might not have a large clothing budget and then there are those regulars seeking vintage items.

Thank you to all who have given so generously!
You can either drop at The Valley Trust, Zulu Reserve Road (Manqoba Drive), Bothas Hill
or call Sindi on 0842765609 or Pippa on 0814133996 to arrange collection.

Accommodation & Facility rentals

The Valley Trust, situated in Botha’s Hill, offers many facilities for hire. We have a spacious hall with foyer and canteen, office space, seminar rooms, overnight and long-term accommodation and a tennis court, all situated in a secure and green environment on the campus of an NPO that has promoted health within the local community for more than 60 years.

The Valley Trust hall seats 100 people with adjacent foyer and canteen that seats 60ppl.
Our well equipped kitchen offers a full catering service to conference and training delegates.
A spacious tennis court is also available for hire.

Merry Christmas