| Keiskamma Newsletter Issue 1 |
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Dear Donors, Supporters and Friends, Click here to download the first official newsletter of the Keiskamma Trust! In addition I would like to give you an update on our current situation as well as a report on the recent annual meeting of our board of Trustees. We have been struggling to find funds as all of you know and have made several cuts to our programme and reduced salaries in an effort to keep running while we wait for some of our proposals to be accepted. I have been encouraged in this by the positive attitude of both the management and staff who have all opted to reduce salaries across the board rather than reduce the staff. This is important as in both our health and art programme we are a poverty alleviation project and many of our health staff are former patients needing continued support. In the meantime we have appealed for funding and some of our long-time donors have responded as well as many individuals from around the world. Many thanks to all of you - especially PWRDF, Keiskamma Canada Foundation, 25:40 and Keiskamma Friends UK for forwarding us emergency funds. We will be able to keep working for the next several months on a reduced budget thanks to these organizations and individuals who responded so generously. We have also had our annual board of Trustees meeting which was very successful and positive and we are grateful to have a dedicated board to help us especially through this difficult financial time. The Board of Trustees also endorsed the re-structuring process our project has been in during the past 8 months and was supportive of the new management team structure and procedures that have been put in place. Doug Woudstra and Coleen Driessel have re-vamped our accounting system and the trustees were grateful to have clear financial reports and a good system in place. For some time now my work load has been too large to cope with adequately. I have felt that I need to focus on those parts of the project that I am best at and which no one else is able to do at the moment. Annette Woudstra has now been in Hamburg almost a year and is well accepted by the community, shares my vision for the trust and is committed long term to the trust. She has already demonstrated her ability at organisation and communication. She has agreed to take the role of managing director and deal with all administration and fundraising and on-going communication of the Trust. I am delighted and relieved to have someone so competent and understanding to hand these aspects of my work over to. I will meanwhile stay on as founding director and continue working in the health programme and the art project where my own skills are. Annette will manage the trust in partnership with the trust management team. To end I would like to introduce our new board to you. Dr Paul Roux, founder of Kids Positive and PATA and a paediatrician who has long experience in the treatment of AIDS in children has agreed to join our board. Andrew Hofmeyr will act as donor liaison for the board. Jan Chalmers and Jacky Jezewski have resigned from the board due to difficulty attending board meetings but remain on the board of Keiskamma Friends and will continue to teach embroidery to the art project. We thank them for their long term involvement and continued support. Heather Holmes has also resigned so the board is currently: John Kincaid, Nomsi Mei, Novouyani Peyi, Carol Hofmeyr, Annette Woudstra, Paul Roux and Andrew Hofmeyr. The board have agreed to approach another community member and an accountant experienced in working with NGO’s. I have been encouraged by the renewed energy and commitment in the Trust on all levels and look forward to an exciting year where we continue to work in the Peddie community amongst the poor and ill people and I have confidence that our art work will also continue to be innovative and of the highest standard. Thank you all for your interest and support. Carol Hofmeyr Founding Director Keiskamma Trust |