The Themba Trust UK
The Themba Trust UK is disolved
Trustees of the Themba Trust UK met recently and made the decision to dissolve the UK charity. Themba in South Africa will be ten years old in February next year and has had long standing support from British and South African Friends.
‘Themba exists to reduce the spread of HIV,’ said Kim Hope, a member of the Blue Idol Local Meeting and also of Johannesburg Monthly Meeting. ‘They recruit and train young people to become actor-educators in a very special interactive theatre process, and then go to schools, colleges, prisons, youth prisons and other organisations to empower people to stay safe within the context of HIV and AIDS.’
‘Themba is now financially viable and therefore no longer needs our continued help,’ Kim explained. ‘Since the Themba Trust was formed in the UK in 2007 more than £20,000 has been donated from the United Kingdom.’
‘So this is to say thank you for all the wonderful support individual Friends, Quaker trusts, Local and Area Meetings have given to the Themba HIV&AIDS Organisation (now called Themba Interactive) in South Africa and to the Themba Trust UK.’
Themba has worked with well over 100,000 people and now they are making plans to replicate their work in a further three provinces in South Africa.
Kim added: ‘None of this work would have been possible without the help and support, financial, material and spiritual, of Friends. Although Themba has never been an “official” Quaker organisation, Quaker beliefs and values have consistently imbued the organisation and the work, and there are Quakers on the board of Themba in South Africa. It is “held” by Quakers, and is a true example of faith in action.’
