The Charity...
By 2040, the average life expectancy in South Africa will be 39.
20% of the population are already infected with AIDS/HIV and thousands of children like the ones you can see here have been orphaned as a result. So, by donating to this charity you're helping children like the ones in the picture, whose families are rapidly disappearing.
And we are incredibly proud to support the work of ukuthasa, a small charity that's making a big difference in South Africa.
Its aim is to empower people and change lives:
- Through funding a pre-school to give young children the opportunity to learn
- Through the development of an HIV Peer Education programme, teaching young people about the dangers of HIV
- And through investing in small businesses to help people escape the poverty trap and providing housing.
The charity first came to our attention when Scarlett was pointed towards the ukuthasa website, and if you have a look you can find out more about their amazing work.
For those of you familiar with the TV programme, 'How clean is your house?', you might also recognise that Aggie MacKenzie is currently one of Ukuthasa's patrons. So we also thought that Dame Fandango and her feather boa might be a perfect match to Aggie's marigolds!
As for us, well, if you look at the ukuthasa website you'll see that Nicky and Gary Welsh, who started the charity, gave up their jobs in 1995 - and actually moved from England to South Africa, so that they could serve from within the community. We haven't opted for anything anywhere near as bold - we're just happy that we can share some great recipes, and hopefully raise money (and awareness) for a group of extraordinarily committed people who are doing a fantastic job.
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