Carol Hofmeyr, a medical doctor and fine artist, moved to the village of Hamburg in 2000. The harshness of life experienced by local inhabitants of the village stood out uncomfortably in comparison with the rich and serene beauty inherent in the natural environment. Poverty and disease, particularly HIV/AIDS, were having a devastating effect on the communities of Hamburg and neighbouring villages. There was a severe scarcity of jobs in the area and the possibility of further education was very limited. Initially, as a means of taking their minds away from the suffering and despair around them, Carol began by teaching embroidery to a handful of Hamburg women. This small beginning soon grew into the Keiskamma Art Project, a powerful band of developing artists who, through their art, began to communicate what was happening in their lives and in the local Xhosa community.

Today the Keiskamma Art Project employs over 100 people from the area around Hamburg. Early on, however, it became clear that Art alone could not make a big enough difference in the lives of people suffering from disease and death caused by HIV/AIDS.

Carol began working in the rural clinics in 2002 and by 2004, through generous funding from close friends and supporters, began to initiate patients on anti-retroviral drugs. This action began the Keiskamma Aids Treatment Program, an endeavor to reach and to treat as many people as possible who were sick and dying at the hands of the epidemic. Today her team has grown into a strongly-knit unit of committed nurses, doctors, counselors, health workers, monitors and volunteers who take this fight against HIV/AIDS into the very heart of the community. The Umtha Welanga Treatment Centre was built in 2005  to house the growing needs of patients and the multifold functions of the Health Team.

In order to manage both the Keiskamma Art Project and the Keiskamma Aids Treatment Program, the Keiskamma Trust was established in 2003. Although today Art and Health stand as separate beacons of hope to a community faced with many challenges, they have grown interdependently, and continue to do so. The Trust’s work has also grown, and today extends to care for and manage the integrated needs of the people of Hamburg and surrounding villages, its ultimate aim the long term health and improved quality of life for every member of the community.

The needs of the community change all the time and it is the vision of the Trust to change and grow to meet them.

The Keiskamma Trust consists of a board of 7 Trustees who oversee the actions and financial operations of the entire organisation.

Board of Trustees:

• Carol Hofmeyr  (director of the Keiskamma Trust, doctor, Hamburg)
• John Kincaid (advocate, Grahamstown)
• Nomsi Mei (businesswoman, community leader,  Hamburg)
• Heather Holmes (business fascilitator, Johannesburg)
• Mavis Zita (Head Nursing Sister, Hamburg)
• Jan Chalmers (director of Keiskamma Friends, Oxford, UK)
• Novuyani Peyi (Art Management, Community Leader, Hamburg)