Our 2023 Charities:
The Message Trust, South Africa
Recently, the IIWC has partnered with the NPO, The Message Trust (South Africa). The Message Trust was launched in South Africa in 2014. It began with prisons ministry in Cape Town's correctional facilities. Today, it is a dynamic NPO.
It provides a safe environment for young people to engage in after schools by facilitating programmes geared at life skills, faith-based discipleship, educational support and fun-based youth activities. As far as rehabilitation is concerned, The Message Trust provides a support system for ex-offers geared at their successful reintegration into the community through learning, training and employment. It is home to South Africa’s first coffee shop, Gangstar Cafe, that employees both men and women ex-offenders. Gangstar offers training and employment opportunities to previously incarcerated youth to break the cycle of re-offending, crime and gangsterism.
Percy Bartley House
Percy Bartley House was established in 1951 as a youth hostel and was known as Christopher House. Serving young men in need of a place to stay while they look for employment or needed support to complete their education. Many have walked through the doors and continue coming back to give testimony of help rendered to them. Due to old age Mr Bartley In 1991 handed it to City Mission and it was renamed: Percy Bartley House after its founder, Percy Foxwell Bartley and continued to render the service in his honour however due organisational restructuring in 2007 it became an independent organisation from city mission with a focus of serving boys age 10 to 18 in line with the children’s act.
Saartjie Baartman Centre
The Saartjie Baartman Centre for Women and Children (SBCWC ) is a one-stop centre for women and children who are survivors of abuse. Our vision is the creation of a safe and secure society and a human rights culture where women and children are empowered to exercise their full rights.
Mdzananda Animal Clinic
It all started with a community hero who wanted to help his neighbours pets. Mr Jo from the Khayelitsha pushed a trolley and water bucket around the community, bathing and feeding community pets. He soon attracted volunteers to assist him. A long standing volunteer was able to secure funding from the International Fund of Animal Welfare to assist this man in his animal saving efforts. Overwhelmed by the funding, he decided to hand the project over to this volunteer who grew the Mdzananda Animal Clinic and became the full time Project Manager up until May 2015 when a new Director joined Mdzananda. Highly respected and supported by the Khayelitsha community, the Mdzananda Animal Clinic was founded in 1996 in response to the need to provide primary veterinary healthcare services to a fast growing community that had no access to help for their animals. It is a permanent, non-profit, veterinary council registered animal hospital serving up to 1000 pets per month. Initially Mdzananda worked from a single donated shipping container with no running water or electricity. Today, thanks to the support of our donors, Mdzananda is a fully functioning animal haven running 6 days a week. Mdzananda means distemper in the local isiXhosa dialect - a viral disease affecting many animals in the Khayelitsha community.
Food Forward SA
Established in 2009 to address widespread hunger in South Africa, FoodForward SA connects a world of excess to a world of need by recovering quality edible surplus food from the consumer goods supply chain and distributing it to community organisations that serve the poor. More than 80% of the food recovered is nutritious food.