“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much”. Helen Keller
Founded in 1929, the CTSB is an innovative, not-for-profit, community based service organisation situated in Salt River in Cape Town.
Supporting Blind and Visually Impaired Persons (VIP’s)
We are a hub of activity and a place of hope and opportunity. Through our professional and committed team of management, trainers and social workers, as well as our dedicated volunteers, we provide Blind and VIP’s within the greater Cape Town and Boland areas with specialised skills development and employment opportunities that will enhance their lives so that they may become independent, self sufficient and empowered members of our society.
We promote the skills and abilities of Blind and VIP’s, irrespective of race, colour, age or creed.
Engaging the Community
We are dedicated to raising awareness and creating a spontaneous appreciation within the greater Western Cape community for the exceptional skills and value that Blind and VIP’s are able to offer. We provide a modern, exciting and highly successful range of professional services, awareness programs and facilities to the community.
History
CTSB was founded in 1929 by a group of Cape Town women. Their objective was to provide much needed training and employment opportunities for Blind and VIP’s within a secure and supportive environment.
Although the Society had for many years provided invaluable support to the community of Blind and VIP’s, in 1997 the CTSB embarked on a program of transforming the Society from a purely welfare model to the current capacity building model.
Instead of only providing sheltered employment and career training, a self sufficiency program was implemented, whereby those in sheltered employment were able to create their own small businesses as suppliers to the society.
Infrastructure enhancements such as the upgrading of our switchboard, launch of a media centre for Blind and VIP’s and upgrading of IT platforms for training and general management, has created an enabling environment for personal endeavour and enhanced levels of service.
CTSB is a positive hub of activity with the flexibility and efficiency to cater to the demands of a modern world.
Mission
Our mission is to develop the abilities and skills of Blind and VIP’s, irrespective of age, colour or creed, through innovative training, job development and job placement programs that facilitate the creation of self confidence as well as economic independence.
Vision
Our vision is to continually expand our training, education and development programs, thereby aligning the skills of Blind and VIP’s with enhanced employment opportunities within the corporate sector.
We are committed to increasing our small business units and developing additional skills within the crafting sector, ensuring accessible, sustainable employment opportunities and enhanced quality of life for Blind and VIP’s.
Values
We strive to capacitate and uplift Blind and VIP’s through education and training in an honest, ethical, caring and supportive environment.
www.ctsb.org.za

Established in 2005, Help the Rural Child Trust is a registered charitable trust and Not for Profit Organisation (NPO). Based in Cape Town, we operate a network of 5 charity shops across the city. Our shops are entirely dependent on donations and support and the proceeds of the HTRC charity shops go directly back into Goedgedacht’s Path Out of Poverty programme, helping to support the rural children of the Swartland.
Our Vision: is to turn otherwise invisible rural children into happy, secure citizens.
Our Mission: To make a sustainable contribution towards rural development from the funds generated by a network of charity shops and other fundraising activities.
Although HTRC’s primary focus is supporting children that live in vulnerable rural communities, we reach a wider group of people through our charity shops, as we collect unwanted items in good condition and sell them at affordable prices. This creates a win win situation for the communities involved.
Our charity shops are a unique funding model. By creating a sustainable network of shops that are self-sufficient and profitable, we are able to fund and strengthen development projects which focus on disadvantaged rural children. Our aim is for each shop to generate enough money annually to pay the running costs of one of POP’s Rural Youth Centres for a year.
Our mission is to improve the lives of rural children by funding sustainable development programmes. Our partner of choice is Goedgedacht’s Path Out of Poverty (POP) programme, which builds youth centres in rural communities. Goedgedacht has over the years refined an integrated community development model, which is made up of 17 connected projects that farm workers and their children have access to.
Currently, there are 7 POP centres in the Swartland area of the Western Cape, The POP objective is to continue to open rural centres and, therefore, reach thousands more vulnerable rural children throughout Southern Africa. We aim to assist in realising this objective with our charity shops and other fundraising activities.
www.goedgedacht.org/hrc/about-us/

About Us
When did Solomons Haven start and How, what are Maria and Alec’s background?
1989-1990 – Maria son Nadeem(Nigel)(passed away, 2005) was in Grade 5 when he brought a friend home from school and Maria questioned when she saw the child coming everyday and asked him why he wasn’t going home. He mentioned that his dad was very abusive towards him, his siblings and their mother. Maria took it upon herself to contact the child’s mother and invite her to find out if she could help. This is how it started. Maria housed them while the woman took steps against her husband. Maria took care of them and her passion for helping others started as she herself was an abused child. Maria was illiterate for the most part of her life as she had to work for her siblings and never had the opportunity to attend school. She has however achieved her aim of reading and writing when she attended classes at Maryland Literacy program. Alec has always supported Maria in what ever she does and with this their love for their community and the kids in their care has grown. Maria and Alec has been married for 25 years and still going strong.
What different organizations do they work with?
JDI Foundation (Just do it) Herzlia High School – Cape Town Marco van Embden (Tourist Company), etc
What sort of donations do they find the most helpful?
Groceries Meat hampers Clothing/shoes for the kids
How many children do they have currently, what ages and what are the circumstances that they come from? How much does it cost to feed, clothe and house each child? How many bedrooms does the home have, how many kids in a room- what do they children do for recreation- TV, games church etc.
+- 17, number may vary as place is needed for others.
How do Maria and Alec motivate themselves to do this good work even when times are tough?
When things get tough Maria and Alec knows that praying which they do every single day helps them through. The love for the children makes them look past the fact their might not be for tomorrow. They won’t allow a child to go back to what they were saved from. They will take each day as it comes and God (Their savior) makes things just fall into place.
Achievements of some of the kids
Lorna Cooney – Achieved 9th position (Grade 9 – All grade nines) at school – Princeton High School
Lorna Cooney – Won the Sanlam Art award at school (Picture of Painting available)
Aneesa Warries – Was the haven for about 9 years and is currently working for Social Services
Anthony – Has become a City police officer
Vanessa – Was at the haven for a few years and never attended school but with Maria’s help she has matriculated and has attended college and studied Accounting.
http://www.solomonshaven.co.za/

What we do
Learn to Earn is a skills development and job creation organisation seeking to develop people, especially unemployed people, socially, economically, emotionally and spiritually.
Our skills development and training centres are based in vibrant Khayelitsha and the seaside town of Hermanus. Here, we endeavour to eradicate unemployment and other legacies of injustice in South Africa. Since 1989 we have trained more than 9500 unemployed people with market-related skills.
We have seen over 80% of our graduates become economically active, with up to 11% starting their own businesses. Our students have the option of receiving tuition in Sewing, Graphic Design, Carpentry, CaterCare, Bake for Profit, Home Management and Office Management . All of our courses have a basic business and life skills aspect.
Coffee Shops
We have two well-appointed coffee shops called ‘The Odd Cup’ at our training centres. These are run by graduates of our Bake for Profit course and for part of the E³ Programme. Come and visit and experience the tastes of The Odd Cup. Available are cappuccinos, muffins, a delicious selection of light lunches and traditional meals. ‘The Odd Cup’ is open Monday – Thursday 9am – 4pm and Friday’s 9am – 3pm.
Business Resource Centre
In our coffee shops you will also find the stunning collection from Khanya Creations . The Learn to Earn brand of our Business Resource Centre . This desirable, bright, fun, fresh and funky range of handmade high quality products are unique and reflect the positive atmosphere of the heart of Khayelitsha. The range consists of beautifully beaded and embroidered handbags, cushions, placemats and shwe-shwe wrap skirts. We also sell stunning mosaics from the creative people of Mandela Park Mosaics.
The feel good Project
LtE is also in partnership with JSE listed company and South African retail giant, TFG (The Foschini Group). Established in 2008, the feel good project (tfgP) is an innovative civil society project which aims to fight poverty by training unemployed people in skills relevant to the retail supply chain. TfgP trainees are chosen from students who have completed one or more of LtE’s market related skills training courses for further training in the retail, supply and warehousing sectors.
LtE Association
Because of LtE’s reputation as an organisation that makes life changing interventions in unemployed people through skills training, job creation and enterprise development we receive many requests to start branches in various areas of South Africa. These requests have resulted in us establishing the Learn to Earn Association.
http://www.learntoearn.org.za/

The Athlone School for the Blind is a public school situated in Bellville-South, Cape Town, South Africa. Having been established by the Athlone School for the Blind Association in 1927 to provide education and residential care for blind and visually impaired children from disadvantaged communities, we have a proud history spanning more than 84 years.
Our primary goal is to meet the educational, vocational and therapeutic needs of our learners so as to ensure that they have the appropriate skills, education and competencies to effectively participate in the broader social and economic world.
The school is both a day and boarding school for children from pre-school to grade 12 and accommodates blind, visually impaired and multiply disabled learners. The academic programme followed at the school is the same as in mainstream schools, complying with the curricular standards assessment processes, procedures and promotion requirements. We also offer a vocational training programme for learners who have difficulty coping with the normal scholastic programme. At the end of their vocational training we assist the learner in securing suitable employment in the open market. Failing this, we seek placement in sheltered employment workshops.
Currently the school has 405 learners, 45 educators, 13 non-CS educator support staff and 60 non-CS non-educator staff members. Our multi disciplinary medical support team is involved with the learner from admission date onwards to ensure that he receives the best educational support and interventions suited to his needs.
Programmes offered

• Early Childhood Development Programme
• Grade 1-12
• Multi-handicapped Class
• Special Education Needs Class

Vocational Training

• Switchboard Training
• Upholstery
• Cane Work and Basketry
• Metal Work
• Hand Work
• Wood Work
• Arts and Crafts
• Marimba Production
• Home Economics
• Maintenance of properties and grounds

On site Support Services

• Psychological and Therapeutic Support
• Occupational Therapy
• Clinical and Medical Support
• Parental Guidance and Counseling
• Orientation and Mobility Training
• Specialized Residential Care
• Daily Transport
• Hostels for Boys and Girls

Outreach Programmes

• Public Awareness workshops & presentations
• School Visits
• Counseling and support for newly blinded adults and the Aged

www.athloneschoolfortheblind.org.za