Law and Human Rights Programme in South Africa

We recently had a chat with Ryan, who volunteered at Nkosi’s Haven for a month. Ryan had worked in business development for several charitable organisations, including Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, which has a strong relationship to Nkosi’s Haven. This helped him get involved as a volunteer and put his experience as a fundraiser to use at the project centre. As he explains: “Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS is the fundraising arm of the Broadway industry and community. Each year, they raise close to $20 million, mostly through fundraisers and donations related to the Broadway shows.” The money is then granted out to AIDS service organisations, mostly in the US, but they do have a very special grant category that goes to South Africa. That’s because the Lion King is one of the longest running Broadway shows, it’s phenomenal, and a huge number of the actors in the show and the dancers come from South Africa. “The Lion King also helps raise millions and millions of dollars for Broadway Cares. So, years and years ago, they decided it was only right and only fair that a considerable amount of money be given back to NGOs in South Africa. They have about 20 different grantees in South Africa that get money from Broadway Cares. Nikosi’s Haven is one of the most well-known, most beloved ones, and for good reason. It’s got heart.” “There's a lot of need there, and I think they look towards volunteers as being able to temporarily fill those needs, whether it's something as simple as attention, or playing with kids, or tutoring them, or even better, just bringing special skills to improve their lives, like business marketing to help the organisation grow. I was immediately at home, I always felt like I was wanted there." “So when I was travelling, I decided I wanted to spend about a month volunteering. Nikosi’s Haven came to mind, so I got in touch with Vocational Impact and they welcomed me with open arms.” “I was pretty clear on what I wanted to do, I said : I have this fundraising and business experience and with your permission I'd like to help you with whatever fundraising programmes you have or if you don't have any we can talk about starting one up" “I arrived with some idea of how I wanted to help, and instantly helped Gail create a direct mail campaign to their existing donors.” “We also built something called Nikosi’s Angels, which is a programme for people to give at a moderate level and become Angels. In the evenings, I spent about two hours doing tutoring with some of the older kids.” While Ryan was discussing his work, he also mentioned the freedom the project offers volunteers: “ It's up to each volunteer to really take initiative and create whatever you want to create. if you want to get behind social media, or compliance and policy then there is an opportunity for you. If you want to help with fundraising and corporate CSR, then jump right in." As we all know, no volunteer opportunity is perfect. Ryan also informed us of one of the more difficult aspects of volunteering at Nkosi’s Haven. “When they’re on campus, it can feel a little isolating because you don’t have a car there. You can get Uber, and I would recommend getting Uber so you can take it to the nearest mall if you just need a break. But I was so busy with helping that I got stuck right in and the time actually went by really quickly.” However, at the end of the day, Ryan said what made the Haven the perfect fit for him was how he immediately felt at home “I was in touch with Vocational Impact just by email for a month and a half or two months before I went. They prepared me with documents and background information. This meant I could make a start almost instantly. Everyone who walks in those doors is fully embraced by everyone, by the students, by the kids, by the staff.” “I arrived and there was lunch set up for me, and then they took me around on a tour of the place. I think it's hard for anyone to show up there and not get this overwhelming sense of love and community, you're just embraced".

"Vocational Impact really helped set up my placement and tailored the topics to my specific degree requirements. No other volunteer organization provides this level of support." See below the different tasks you can get involved with. Get in touch with Vocational Impact and they provide all the support you need. Not to be missed! a) Develop a template to track financial situation & received funds. How can this inform future revenue predictions? b) Create a template for their yearly annual plan that can be used in the future, and complete 2019. c) Evaluation and risk management. How we can measure both? d) Assist with policy design by department - They have very basic ones and there’s an opportunity to add or ‘re-design’ e) Identify a business problem and craft a plan to solve this problem. Act as a consultant. f) Develop a plan to increase donors for the charity through fundraising. Document progress, challenges and plan of action. g) Create a plan to find new corporate partners. How do you make that connection with corporates and start accessing CSR budgets? h) Getting all compliant ready. One of the main challenges of starting new corporate relationships, where there is a high emphasis on compliance, is international charities are really struggling to keep up with compliance demands. i) Develop a centralised data system for monitoring, evaluating & information storage. This will include a list of policies, compliance, contacts, processes, action plans… so information can be drawn easily. j) Design performance and evaluation documentation for staff k) Workable Programmes for children during the holidays (i.e. based on budgets) and bearing in mind that the caregivers are not the most creative and energetic.

In November 2018, Portsmouth University International Development student Satara spent 4 weeks at our project in Johannesburg, living and working at Nkosi’s Haven, a community that supports HIV/AIDS affected mothers and children. During the time at Nkosi’s Haven, Satara had a large role working and helping with the admin task in the office. I assisted with researching and writing letters for fundraising. I took part in the celebrations of World AIDS day. I learned from being in the heart of a working and active internationally renowned charity. I observed and learned about how tasks are completed and how often resources are split, when they are limited by funds. Satara had a great time working alongside Gail, the founder and director of Nkosi’s Haven. Gail took time out of her extremely busy day to make sure I knew what I was doing and if I had any questions. There were constantly little feet running in and out of the office, it was so sweet, some of them were extremely cheeky and were constantly looking for a biscuit on your desk or a sweet in your bag. I definitely learned to work independently and persevere. I was working to update the system in which they send enquiring funding letters. Their system was very out of date and needed to be made practical and modern. For a student studying International Development such as I am, it is very important to have an idea on how an internationally known organisation such as Nkosi’s Haven struggles with funding. Whilst I was there, they were deperate for funders and it gave me a great insight into the process that they had to go through to achive fund to stay afloat. I was also able to build confidence when talking to all levels of people internally, from the Founding Director, the on-site nurses, social workers, funders, and everyone in between, helping my communication skills and time management experience. Nkosi’s Haven provides a lot of opportunities to learn from the inside of an internationally known charity. It is full of friendships and love. The children show you the future of acceptance of HIV/AIDS, they showed me the determination despite their disease to achieve their dreams. I got to see the how the internal medical ward worked, sat in the office when meetings with partners and funders and even experienced events held by Nkosi’s Haven. To volunteer at Nkosi's Haven is to see the future of South Africa, inclusivity and diversity. I believe everyone should participate in volunteering, especially in South Africa. I also got to watch Gail, the founder of Nkosi’s Haven present the children’s peace prize held in Cape Town. Gail’s son was the first recipient of the prize and now years on she is still pursuing his dream and pushing his message on. Showing the world that AIDS should be prevented but also accepted. It was great work experience and really opened my mind to the rest of the world. I can use the experience to apply to practical examples when I start applying for work. I am continuing my work with Nkosi’s Haven as part of my year placement at Vocational Impact. I am helping them with their international development efforts, including assisting with crucial fundraising and engaging funders so Nkosi’s Haven can continue the amazing work they do by providing a safe Haven for those affected by HIV/AIDS.