South Africa Development Fund

Actively involved in grassroots efforts to battle the AIDS epidemic, reverse environmental degradation, expand educational opportunities and community development, and promote democracy and a culture of human rights.

Why do we exist?

By the mid-eighties, thousands of South Africans had fled into exile to escape political oppression and the international anti-apartheid movement was established. The South Africa Development Fund was founded in 1985 by exiles living in the U.S. to provide financial and material aid to organizations working in South Africa's urban and rural communities. South Africa is now a democracy, but the legacy of the apartheid social policies will take many years to undo.

A whole generation grew up without decent education and are left illiterate and unemployed. Millions of black South Africans still live in makeshift shacks with no electricity or clean water. The HIV/AIDS epidemic has hit South Africa incredibly hard, with 5 ½ million South Africans living with HIV by the end of 2005. Unfortunately, the government has been slow and even combative in helping fight the disease. But there is hope that South Africa can become the society that people dreamed of for so long - and along the way, provide a model of freedom and justice for the entire continent.

What have you accomplished?

With the help of our supporters in the US, the South Africa Development Fund has raised $9 million for a variety of different projects in South Africa. We focus on addressing issues concerning the HIV/AIDS pandemic, toxic environment, poverty, disempowerment of woman and children, education, social justice, and other human rights issues faced by the still-disadvantaged sectors of South African society.

To get a better understanding of the types of organizations we fund, it makes sense to look closely at one in particular. One grantee that the organization started funding in 2005 is the Lutzville School, situated in the remote Northern Cape. Before our involvement, the school was in serious disrepair, and struggling to cope with the rapidly expanding student population from nearby squatter camps. Our first grant made possible the hiring of a teacher and helped repair the dilapidated school building. This past year, they were able to hire a second teacher. The impact our grants have made has not been lost on the school’s principal who wrote to us saying, “Can you imagine what it will mean for your organization if one of our stars can look back one day and say: ‘If it was not for S.A. Development Fund it would have been not possible for me to become the president of South Africa’”

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