People can be confused when dealing with HOPE Cape Town. It seems to be one organisation, but there are different additions to “HOPE Cape Town”: either Trust or Association. “What’s the difference?” they ask often.
When HOPE Cape Town was founded in 2001, an Association was created and named: HOPE (hiv outreach program & education) Cape Town Association. In the years to follow, the Association grew from a 1 employee organisation with a small board into a more sizable entity.
In 2006 the Board decided after long and intense discussions: There is a need for oversight. The HOPE Cape Town Association should in future be functioning as the working horse. The HOPE Cape Town Trust was founded as an oversight entity, looking after the financials and overseeing the marketing/fundraising part of the organisation. The trustees generally don’t get involved in operational questions, but assist from time to time in a very limited and clearly defined role.
The HOPE Cape Town Trust also became the face of the organisations for all marketing/fundraising related activities.
Once a year, the HOPE Cape Town Association presents the budget to the Board of Trustees, which in turn exams and gives approval to the projected spending.
Both entities, Trust and Association, are each a NPO and a PBO in their own right with all the necessary credentials in South Africa. Both entities have a board – the Association’s board is called the “Board of Expertise”, being exactly this: experts in the various fields of work. The chairperson of the Association is ‘ex officio’ part of the Board of Trustees with voting rights and vice verse.
While the Board of Trustees meets formally twice a year, the Board of Expertise meets quarterly to conduct business.
Reading newspapers, social media or watching news on TV or stream in the first days of the New Year confirms what those say, who never celebrate New Year: “Nothing will change except the date!”
And indeed nothing seems to have changed, even the opposite rules supreme: more bombs in Ukraine and Gaza, more killing, more suffering. The political and social drama in the USA does create rather fear than optimism, and I could now list here a litany of what’s wrong in this world.
And still I believe that the New Year is meant to be a reminder, that nothing has to stay the same, that there is always the chance to change for the better. A chance which is so often forgotten when we are battling our daily life and challenges.
And this applies not only in the private sphere — it applies to those running companies or carrying responsibility social or politically — and looking at the world, the social and economic challenges, the complexity of the world; they need this reminder.
To be able to change and to assist the change in society or economy, it is important to be able to think and see outside the box. It is essential to have time to look far ahead and plot a way forward. And it is critical to have friends and colleagues who are not nodding ‘yes’ at everything you think is right.
Running an NGO is like running a company. There is a business plan, a strategic plan, a financial plan. There are employees counting on receiving their salary at the end of the month and boards to satisfy. And those who “invest” in development to reassure, to report back to and to gain new friends, partners, and supporters. Last, but not least, not to forget those we work with. They are more than “customers’, they are people we walk with for a while to explore possibilities, to strengthen their resolve and to allow for hope translated into real life action.
So what are our steps into and our vision for 2024 as HOPE Cape Town?
Hopefully for most of our employees to still have a great time off work – with family and friends together charging their batteries and to come back to work relaxed and with joy in their heart.
We have had big dreams in the last years, and we still do with the extension of the garden project. The “Bettina Benzoni-Ruffert Community Garden — Environmental Training Centre” will grow in 2024. Training, education and environmental questions are the guiding forces behind this addition.
We will sharpen our fundraising. Living only from donations if and when they come in is difficult when you have reached adulthood as a foundation. We would like to connect with people who understand that social investments and letting money work for years or decades to come is an investment into the next generation in a connected world.
Our strategy plan for the next 5 years is on the homestretch. We hope to impact meaningful social and economically and to connect even more with those who do similar. After some years on the new campus we learnt lessons now implemented and further explored.
We will see all our challenges as opportunities and therefore overcome them. We are looking forward to continuing making our campus “The Nex – Indawo Yethu” and all satellites welcoming locations and places of learning and mutual understanding.
If you want to have a quick view of our work – please check this 3-minute video here; subscribe to the channel to be always the first to know…
If you want to be part of this inspiring journey in any form or shape, please let me know.
Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all. It means a conviction that there is light, a better life, a better world beyond the horizon.
May the festive season, Christmas, Hanukkah and whatever else you celebrate hold the promise of hope in you alive.
Thank you for being a messenger of hope in this world!
“Why Africa?” is a phrase I often hear when I present the work of HOPE Cape Town. Two weeks ago in Bitburg at the Secondary School I was discussing the question of why young people in Bitburg / a little town in Germany, should be interested in what is happening at the very bottom of the African continent.
“We have our own problems: the war in Ukraine, the many refugees, the economic situation, the climate” – and those, they tell me, “are more important to us than South Africa at the moment.”
The sentiment is right – and Corona and the experience of powerlessness during the pandemic, as well as the government measures that were often perceived as excessive during this time, have massively increased the anxiety and insecurity of many people. Many people’s sense for security has been eroded in times of Covid-19; this has long-term consequences.
But feelings are not always the whole reality – and it seems difficult to understand the complexity of life and interdependencies far beyond borders and distances.
Take the refugee issue in Germany: 2015 was a year Germany felt the influx of refugees in a very special way. But long before 2015, it was clear to anyone who wanted to know that Europe would have a problem that would be massively exacerbated by the climate issue. War, hunger, but also the simple human impulse for more security, prosperity and that children should have a better life are pushing people to flee or embark on the – often supposed – journey to a better future. This has also become a highly attractive business that promises massive profits for human traffickers as well as security companies. And it has become a political pawn between European countries and interests – see Hungary or Turkey, for example – and a bargaining chip for decision-making in the EU and beyond.
People stay at home when it is peaceful and there is a chance to live safely. Nobody sets off on an uncertain journey just for fun or because it’s funny. Sheer economic hardship is also a serious reason for people.
I don’t have the impression that much has really changed on this issue in Germany since 2015. Development policy has not really changed fundamentally. And the political landscape that increasingly consists of professional politicians. They are often distanced from the realities of ordinary people as a result – and their focus is often limited to the next election – they often fail terribly to see the bigger picture, which also includes the far-reaching complexity of matters in our days. Perhaps we also need to think about how politics should be structured differently in such a rapidly changing and evolving world. And whether it should be entrusted to professional politicians; some of whom who never have learned or practised a profession or trade, is another important question.
But back to the question of why people in Bitburg, or let’s say in Germany, should take an interest in what is happening in Africa and do something about it?
The mass exodus of people will not be stopped if money flows through the governments in Africa, which take their “cut” and whose corrupt actions are known and almost factored in.
The problem of refugees will not be solved as long as the economy is mostly seen to benefit Europe and adding value does not take place on the African continent.
Africa will have the youngest population in 2050 – and therefore consumption and work will take place on this continent. We are facing massive upheavals not only in terms of the climate, but also in terms of the future of the world’s population, the future of work distribution, which people in Europe need to take into account now. We should avoid that in 30 years’ time the old saga repeats again that nobody saw this coming. The run by European politicians for green hydrogen from Africa shows where the journey is heading. The economic stagnation of many African countries is now becoming an advantage when it comes to renewable energies.
For this reason alone, Africa is important. And also South Africa, which is still a major player in African politics and is often used economically as a gateway to Africa. It should be mentioned in passing that South Africa has taken its share of refugees from Somalia to Zimbabwe. Anyone who looks at the numbers of internally displaced persons in Africa knows how critical the situation is and how few refugees actually arrive in Europe.
We are facing tectonic shifts as humanity, as societies. Europe not really looking beyond their own backyard, thinking only nationally or Eurocentric – even if that is currently “in” – is simply short-sighted and will exacerbate the problems in Europe even more. No one is an island, no one can do it alone: climate, hunger, war, demography in a country and so much more require global solutions.
To break it down and put it simply: we as humanity, as a society, must ensure that wealth, added value, security and future prospects are available in every country (in Africa there are 54 countries covering 30 million square meters). We can only achieve this by working together and with an honesty and willingness to cooperate that can certainly be improved at present. Far-sightedness is required, and solidarity that ultimately also serves those who exercise it. Africa is a continent of the future, and Europe should align its policies accordingly. And NGOs are important points of contact here because they work at a level that enables decision-makers to see and understand realities. They often do very local but crucial groundwork on which society and politics can then build. Supporting NGOs in Africa is far more than charity; it serves the future security and peace of all, especially in Europe.
Talking to a cleaning lady at a South African hotel I am staying, she enquires about my work. Hearing that my office is in Delft, you could see the disbelief in her eyes – and the first words in response: “I would never go to Delft!” Born and raised in Bontheuwel and now residing in Mitchells Plain; both so-called “coloured” areas not really known for too much peace, she still makes a determination that walking the streets of Delft voluntarily is utter madness.
This recent encounter once again made me aware how even locals look at the township of Delft. Certainly, it is the murder capital No 1 in the province according to the last crime statistics and No 3 in the country; it is high on the list of rape, GBV and other crimes not to name gang related violence. But I ask myself whether it is fair to judge and discriminate against hundred thousands of people because it has its admitted problems of severe nature.
I realise of course how anxious people are to come to Delft. How it sometimes needs convincing to visit us on campus. But I also see how – once there – the realisation sets in that while acknowledging the realities, the fantasies and anxieties are often bigger than what one experience once there.
Delft is unique – and there should be the unique Delft way to get it right. To get it right, there needs to be communication and encounters, there needs to be the openness of joint engagement. Talking to our advisory committee the goal is clear: not to run away to anyhow not greener pastures but to stay and to change the situation so that people can live in peace, prosper and make a living for their families.
Change will only happen when those living in Delft will be working on this change. HOPE Cape Town and “The Nex – Indawo Yethu” can in this regard only be a tool, an auxiliary, a point of synergy and a force of good and goodwill.
And the organisation can be the way into this community for those coming from outside to engage, to understand and to be part of a way to what every human being dreams of: a decent life in a safe environment and a better future for the next generation.
But there is more: Certainly, the LEAP forces make a great impact in reducing crime and bringing more safety and stability. NGO’s try their very best to unlock potential and assist those in need. Church groups are hard at work with charity efforts. Civil society groups and self-help groups are dedicated admirably to tackle problems, supported by local councillors in many ways.
Looking at the youth unemployment rate for Delft it is clear that also the opportunity to find work must improve heavily. The City of Cape Town prides itself with attracting business and investment, like we have seen with the Amazon company. If there would only be more courage to offer incentives to do business in the Cape Flats, creating jobs and prosperity. It might mean in the beginning more efforts to upskill people and to guarantee security. But in the long run, it would change not only a township, but it would have a ripple effect for others with the message: change is doable and the Cape Flats could become also a beacon of hope which those living there deserve to experience every day more.
God, AIDS, Africa & HOPE 