learning from the past: building for the future

Learning from the Past:Building for the Future

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fifty years ofgrantmakingfor peace andjustice inSouth Africa

Photo © Paul Grendon

1

Introduction

This booklet is a celebration. It celebrates some incredible work that wasdone over more than forty years in and about South Africa which helped tochange individual lives, change communities, change a country and changethe world.

This is work that the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust (JRCT) has beenprivileged to support. Since it was set up in 1904, the Trust has responded togrant proposals from its friends, colleagues and grant applicants. TheTrustees and staff are aware that they don’t ‘do’ the work. But what they cando is to support passionate people – trying to ‘strengthen the hands of thosewho are effectively doing the work that needs to be done’.

It is sad to realise how many people who played their part in this story are nolonger with us. Many simply grew old – and the deaths of others werecaused, directly or indirectly, as a result of living within an inhumane, immoralregime. But many still thrive, and are working in different ways for a morejust and peaceful world. To all the people that the Trust has worked with overthe years:

Siyabonga – hamba kahle

Thank you; and go well

Photographs: please note that in the main photos do not relate to thedecades indicated in the adjacent text, except for the most recentproject funding.

2 Learning from the Past: Building for the Future

early daysp1900–1959

There have always been links between members of the Joseph RowntreeCharitable Trust (JRCT) and South Africa. Even before the Trust wasestablished, members of the Rowntree family invited Cronwright Schreiner(husband of Olive Schreiner) to speak in Yorkshire. This was in 1900, duringthe Anglo-Boer War, when public opinion in Britain towards the Boers washostile, whipped up by the popular press. During Shreiner’s visit organisedviolence damaged Rowntree factories and a mob attacked the private homesof Rowntree family members. Joshua Rowntree – Joseph’s cousin – spentthree months in Natal, Eastern Cape and Cape Town in 1901.

Another cousin, Arthur Bevington Gillett, became a Trustee in 1921. As aBarclays Bank director, he was responsible for its South African subsidiary.His wife worked with Emily Hobhouse in the camps set up after the Anglo-Boer war; Jan Smuts became a close family friend. Arthur’s son Nicholas,another Trustee, maintained the personal connection.

Joseph Rowntree set up his trusts in 1904, donating shares from his thrivingconfectionary business. The company exported products to South Africabefore the end of the Anglo-Boer war; by 1905 it had established links withJ&R Wilson & Co. which eventually – in 1925 – became a subsidiary of theRowntree company.

The first grant made by JRCT to South Africa was in 1910 – a relatively smallcontribution of £100 to the ‘South African Native College’ – later to becomethe University of Fort Hare.

Apart from this early grant, JRCT did not focus on Africa again until the early1950s. By then, several Trustees had a personal connection with thecontinent: Arthur Gillett’s son Nicholas had joined the Trust, along with JoyceAspden (who had been born and eventually died in South Africa). Afteranother Trustee, Roger Wilson, and the Trust Secretary Eric Cleaver, visitedKenya on behalf of British Quakers, the Trust began to look at whatcontribution it could make to helping communities there deal with thetransition to independence.

3fifty years of grantmaking for peace and justice in South Africa

Grants in the 1950s

J Dlmini (Durban) – educational grant

Edendale Nursery Project

Johannesburg Quaker Meeting House

Landless people at a rally in Bloemfontein. Photo © Paul Weinberg


1960p1960s

By the late 1950s and early ‘60s people around the world were becomingincreasingly concerned about developments in South Africa – and JRCTmade a handful of grants to South Africa at this time. But it was not until1964 that Trustees heard first hand reports. Roger Wilson, the Chair of theTrust, shared news from his visit on behalf of British Quakers. He wasimpressed by the boycott action already taken by independent Africanstates, and explained that ‘despite the courageous action of oppositiongroups and individuals, the increasing weight of restrictions was making lifefor many Africans intolerable and at the level of human contact and dignifiedencounter the separation of the races seemed almost complete’.

In 1964 the Trust Secretary, Eric Cleaver, also travelled to South Africa. Thecontacts he made led directly to some grants being made. JRCT began tosupport adult education for prisoners, and emergency support for Aid andWelfare in Cape Province.

Trustees also received two important visitors. In 1964 Noel Salter of theBritish Council of Churches (BCC) visited JRCT and spoke with Trusteesabout the reality of life in the country: the injustices of the ‘Pass Laws’, the90 day Detention Clause, and other restrictions on individual freedom. Buthe felt that Christians could not support coercive measures such assanctions; instead he believed that the structure of society would have tochange through a change of heart. He proposed a programme of inter-visitation between Dutch Reform Church (DRC) ministers and members ofBritish churches. This led the JRCT to make a series of grants through BCCand to begin a long relationship with the Christian Fellowship Trust.

The following year Beyers Naudé of the Christian Institute of Southern Africavisited York: his moving, stimulating talk to Trustees marked the start of along and fruitful relationship with JRCT.

Although personal contact between JRCT and activists in South Africahelped the grants programme to grow, it was difficult to sustain themomentum. Several times Trustees delayed grants decisions, while theywaited for personal reports from travellers.


At the same time, increasing restrictions in South Africa made it difficult forJRCT to fund important work. South African Prime Minister Dr. Vervoerd sawthe DRC intervisitation as an attempt to influence the South AfricanGovernment, saying: ‘We cannot see how ministers of Afrikaans churches canaccept their invitations’ – and in spite of a ‘very happy’ visit on the part ofthree ministers, the programme struggled to keep going. The prisonauthorities created difficulties for the Prison Education Scheme, although theNational Union of South African Students sustained the work with the help ofprisoners’ relatives.

In this context, it is not surprising that towards the end of this decade somegrants were made to individuals who found it difficult or impossible to live inSouth Africa, helping them to travel to or study in the UK. They included AnnTobias, James Moulder, Ruth Sidzumo and Albie Sachs – whose ‘Jail Diary’made a strong impression on Trustees.

National Land Committee

Income and literacy self-help project (Ethalaneni Development Trust)


1960p

Grants in the 1960s

Albie Sachs

Ann Tobias

British Council of Churches:inter-visitation between UK churchesand Dutch Reform Church leaders

Cape Flats Distress Association(CAFDA)

Cape Province Co-ordinating Committeefor Aid and Welfare

Christian Council of South Africa

Christian Fellowship Trust

Edendale Nursery Project

Edendale Welfare Society

ISA Trust, Pietermaritzburg

James Moulder

Mrs Mavis Solomon (South AfricaDependants’ Conference)

National Union of South AfricanStudents

Rev. Beyers Naudé (Christian Institute ofSouth Africa)

Ruth Sidzumo, Johannesburg– study costs

SA Adult Education for Prisoners

Aid and Welfare in SA

South African Aid and Welfare

Education Committee for South Africanprisoners

South Africa Council of Churches

Providing copies of ‘A New course inSouth Africa: The Report of the UNMyrdal Committee’ free to interestedQuakers

Albie Sachs


Agriculture in Dukududu (AFRA)

1970p1970s

During the 1970s, as the situation in South Africa became more entrenched,it remained difficult for JRCT to maintain a strong programme of grants.

Communication between projects in South Africa and the Trust’s office inYork was slow; and visits to partners were not easy. Any visit that could bemade were usually offered result in fresh applications. Any grant that couldbe made tended to result in fresh applications; but otherwise, grants wereusually offered on the basis of personal recommendations from Quakers orother church groups.

Largely because of personal connections, but also because of the differentsituation there, most grants made by JRCT in this time were to projects inNamibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe (then Rhodesia).

JRCT’s interest, at this time, was principally in adult education, helping bothto address inherent injustices in South Africa but also to build the skills andexperiences of the people who, it was hoped, would one day lead thecountry. Often, this meant enabling Black South Africans to travel overseasfor study, so the Christian Fellowship Trust and World University Service werekey grantees. It was also heartening to support people in South Africa whowere speaking out, including Beyers Naudé who led the Christian Institute ofSouthern Africa.

Meanwhile, grants for academic initiatives – such as the Study Project onChristianity in an Apartheid Society (Spro-Cas) helped to expose theeconomic, social and political implications of the regime. There were alsoefforts to address practical problems through social work: grants to the BlackSocial Workers Association and the Dependents’ Conference, for workamong the families of political detainees. A grant to the South AfricanInstitute of Race Relations for a Domestic Workers and Employers Projectenabled them, in 1974, in to employ their first project worker, Leah Tutu.



Grants in the 1970s

Africa Vision

Aid and Welfare

Black Social Workers Association


Christian Institute of Southern Africa

Edendale Lay Ecumenical Centre

James Polley: Research project on theMethodist church and race relations

South Africa Council of Churches

South African Institute of RaceRelations: Domestic Workers andEmployers Project

Southern African Committee for HigherEducation: Turret CorrespondenceCollege

Southern Africa Quakers

Spro-Cas Programme

Mrs. R Dlamini: study costs

Reinier Holst: study costs

Reggie Africa: study costs

Terence Shott: study costs

Urban Training Project:Johannesburg Legal Clinic

Zennie Mandela and Zinzie Mandela:study costs

University of Cape Town:Research on Farm Labour

KZN Programme for Survivors of Violence (Sinani)

Legal Entities Assessment Programme (LEAP)

1980p1980s

For a Quaker Trust, grantmaking in South Africa in the 1980s was notstraightforward. Trustees did not feel it was right to offer support to thosewho advocated violence as a means of change: but they recognised that inSouth African townships and homelands, this attitude could understandablyseem self-righteous. Grants also had to be for work which was charitablewithin UK law. It was difficult to identify suitable projects, and to keep intouch with them, from outside of the country. Yet Trustees remainedcommitted to supporting and working alongside those who were strugglingto confront injustice.

At the same time, Trustees became increasingly concerned about theactivities of the Rowntree Mackintosh company in South Africa, through itssubsidiary Wilson Rowntree. Disputes at the factory in East London were wellpublicised: grantees became aware that their grants had come from profitsmade there. Trustees visited the factory and worked hard ‘behind the scenes’to engage the company’s directors. JRCT avoided investments in othercompanies working in South Africa but remained a shareholder in theRowntree company, hoping that dialogue would lead to change, whilemaintaining and strengthening the grants programme.

1983 saw Trustees review their Africa policy. Trustees confirmed that incountries dominated by white minority governments, they were keen tosupport initiatives which strengthened the prospects of solutions whichcombined peace with justice. In South Africa, they wanted to strengthen theposition of black people in the long term.

This led Trustees to fund projects which strengthened institutions such asblack trades unions, which worked to promote social and educationaldevelopment. They were also keen to promote awareness, education andunderstanding in the UK about the situation in Southern Africa.

At the beginning of this decade the Trust began a long relationship with theLegal Resources Centre. The Christian Fellowship Trust, arranging visitsbetween South Africa and the UK, was a core grantee. Hendrik van derMerwe also became a close partner, through grants to the Centre forIntergroup Studies which he directed.



By the mid 1980s, JRCT had increased the amount of money available to theprogramme, which was now almost exclusively focused in South Africa. Thefocus was also sharpened; projects supported were predominantly thosewhich could not reasonably be expected to find sufficient support from othersources. The Trustees relied on guidance from people with whom it was intouch in Southern Africa.

In 1987 the Trust Secretary’s visa exemption privileges were withdrawn (therestriction was lifted in 1990). Visits between York and South Africacontinued, with Trustees travelling to meet grant applicants when theSecretary could not.

“The Trust continues its efforts to strengthen activities which lessen theimpact of an unjust society and/or help to bring about peaceful change.”

Sinani teambuilding session

Inkanyezi Child and Family Welfare Society encourages child-headed households to start home gardens


1980p

Grants in the 1980s

Administrative Training Project

Albert Luthuli Welfare Services

Bill Dietel: policy options for a majorityruled South Africa

Book on Apartheid and the NGK

British Council of Churches

Canon Collins Educational Trust forSouthern Africa (British Defence andAid Fund)

Catholic Institute of InternationalRelations

Centre for Enrichment in AfricanPolitical Affairs (CEAPA)

Centre for Inter-Group Studies

Centre for the Analysis of Conflict

Children’s Legal Centre


Community Agency for Social Enquiry(CASE)

Community for Reconciliation:Fellowship in Music for Peace

Concerned Evangelicals

Conference on Law, Children andRepression in Apartheid South Africa

Donald Woods

Dren Nupen: study costs

Elaine Proctor: ‘Palesa’ film

End Conscription Campaign

Film (‘The Cry of Reason’) on the Life ofBeyers Naudé and other South AfricanChurch Leaders

Frank Field MP: research on ChurchCommissioners’ Investments in SA

Grubb Institute

Human Awareness Programme

Independent Conciliation Service

Independent Mediation Service ofSouth Africa

Independent Ombudsman Project

Institute for African Alternatives

Institute for the Study of DemocraticAlternatives

Institute of Race Relations

International Broadcasting Trust

International Fellowship ofReconciliation

James Moulder: research on educationpolicy

Kathryn Boraine: Film on South Africanindependent churches

Koinonia

Lambeth Palace Colloquium

Lamla (formerly Western ProvinceCouncil of Churches)

Laurie Nathan

Legal Resources Centre

Maringa Educational Trust: scholarships

Mary Ann Cullinan: study costs

Masazane Open School, East London

Michael Evans: study costs (campaign toend conscription)

N Haworth – meeting with South AfricanLabour Bulletin

Nahoon Methodist Church, East London

Peace Brigades International

Quaker Peace Centre

Rev. Cecil Begbie

Rev. Cedric Mayson

Royal Institute of InternationalAffairs/South African Institute ofAfrican Affairs

Sarah Hayward

Scottish Education and Action forDevelopment

Sharon Sopher: Film about apartheidand Desmond Tutu

South African AdvancedEducation Project


Southern African DevelopmentCo-ordination Conference

Student Union for Christian Action

T Mhajane: study costs

Trevor Huddleston

UDF Treason Trial – airfare of Britishobserver and quick responses

UNA Nelson Mandela BirthdayCampaign

Unemployed Workers Union

University of Bradford

University of Cape Town:Centre for Intergroup Studies

University of Natal: Paralegal courses

University of the Witwatersrand:History Workshop Videos on Soweto

University of York: Centre for SouthernAfrican Studies

Urban Training Project

Using Spoken and Written English,Cape Town – adult education

Vuyani Educare Centre, Cape Town

War Resisters International:European tour of South Africa

Weekly Mail: training youngblack journalists

Woodmead School

World University Service:campus scholarships

York Film Workshop

Zamani Soweto Sisters Council

Demonstration food garden, Sweetwaters (Built Environment Support Group)


1990p1990–1994

By the early 1990s it became increasingly clear that change was imminent.Even then violence threatened to undermine both the elections and the newdemocratically-elected government, which would be faced with massiveexpectations and problems. This led JRCT to prioritise grants which workedin practical ways to strengthen peace and justice.

It was also a time to strengthen civil society, and the Trust began to receivemore applications to the programme than ever before. In 1992 JRCT becamean associate member of Interfund, which was set up to serve internationaldonors without offices in South Africa. Interfund assessed applications, steeredappropriate proposals to the Trust, and monitored grants that were made.

Faced with pressure of choice from South Africa itself, the Trust alsodecided that it was no longer appropriate to spend significant sums on workbased in the UK, on awareness raising for instance, or – more controversially– on scholarships.

As other donors began to question their role in South Africa, JRCT confirmedthat it was ‘firmly committed to continuing support in the region for theforeseeable future’.

“The Trust seeks to support programmeswhich aim to contribute towards peace,justice and reconciliation in Southern Africa. It does this through the provision ofcore and project funding for the legally charitable work of organisations andindividuals:

— working on the use of nonviolence andmediation, the legal system or otherpeaceful means of resolving conflict and achieving change;

— providing skills and support for those working for peaceful change;

— helping to develop the skills necessary to bring about and sustain a healthydemocratic society in South Africa.”


Grants 1990 to 1994

Association for Rural Advancement

Association to Protect All Children

BCC Conference for World Mission –British Churches’ work on Africa

Black Sash Advice Office Trust

British South African Conference

Buitenkant Street Community Centre:District Six Museum

Campaign Against Physical Punishmentof South African Children

Canon Collins Educational Trust forSouthern Africa

Centre for Conflict Resolution

Centre for Intergroup Studies

Centre for the Study of Nonviolence

Centre for the Study of Violence andReconciliation


Christian Institute Charitable Trust

CIIR: Justice and Peace in SA

Community Agency for Social Enquiry(CASE): Monitoring and analysis of theReef Violence

Community Dispute Resolution ResourceCommittee

Council of Churches for Britain andIreland: Ecumenical MonitoringProgramme in South Africa

Cross Times Trust

David Cooper: Environmental problemsin SA

Development Resources Centre

District Six Museum Foundation

Farmworkers’ Research and ResourceProject

Film and Allied Workers Organisation

History Workshop

History Workshop: Soweto Videos

Human Awareness Programme

Independent Board of Inquiry

Independent Mediation Service ofSouth Africa

Independent Projects Trust

Institute for African Alternatives

International Commission of Jurists

International Fellowship of Reconciliation

Laurie Nathan Centre for IntergroupStudies

Legal Education Action Project


Living Memorial Fund

Military Research Group

National Institute for Crime Preventionand Rehabilitation of Offenders

National Peace Secretariat

Phakathi Films: ‘Healing the Land’

Project for the Study of Violence, WitsUniversity, Johannesburg

Quaker Peace Centre

Southern African Advanced EducationProject

Southern African Moot CourtCompetition

Thom and Barbara Manthata

University of Natal, Durban: MediaResearch Group

University of the Western Cape: StreetLaw Human Rights Campaign

University of York, Centre for SouthernAfrican Studies

Violet Walker

Vuleka Trust

War Resisters International

Weekly Mail Training Scheme: TrainingBlack journalists in SA

World University Service (UK) CampusScholarships Scheme

Legal EntitiesAssessmentProgramme (LEAP)


1995–1999

Following the transition to democracy, there was real hope and excitement inSouth Africa, as a brutal and morally indefensible regime was replaced by ademocratically elected government. People who had lived in fear, withinSouth Africa or in exile, became respected policy analysts, working within orclosely with the government. It was a joy to see people and projectspreviously supported by the Trust step into positions of power andresponsibility – people like Arthur Chaskalson, Charles Nupen, Laurie Nathanand Alex Boraine. Yet this also left the non-profit sector haemorrhaging skillsand experience, as many of the brightest and best were sought out to workin government and the private sector.

Not surprisingly, the new country struggled with its deep-rooted problems.Between 1994 and 1999 half a million jobs were lost. Violence, especiallyagainst women and children, seemed endemic. The police force foundtransition difficult. HIV and Aids ravaged the country.

Like other overseas donors, JRCT reflected on its involvement in SouthAfrica. Trustees recognised that the stability and prosperity of South Africawas essential for the rest of sub-Saharan Africa. JRCT felt it was importantnot to throw away the links it had built up over the past decades, anddecided to remain involved for the time being.

1990p

Rural Women’s Movement

Women On Farms Project


“Themain thrust of current Trust funding is supporting work on conflictmanagement and on the building of a human rights culture in the new SouthAfrica. The Trust supports work in both urban and rural settings. In its conflictresolution work, the Trust prioritises support to projects in KwaZulu-Natal.”

Grants 1995–1999

African Centre for the ConstructiveResolution of Disputes


Black Lawyers Association

Black Sash Trust

Ceasefire Campaign

Centre for Adult Education,University of Natal


Centre for Rural Legal Studies

Centre for the Study of Violenceand Reconciliation

Community Dispute ResolutionResource

Eastern Cape Agricultural ResearchProject

Farmworkers’ Research and ResourceProject

Future Links

Gay and Lesbian Archives ofSouth Africa

Group for Environmental Monitoring

Gun Free South Africa

Hendrik van der Merwe

Ikhwezi Women Support Centre

Intermedia

International Lesbian and GayAssociation

Jeffrey Jowell

Johannesburg Maintenance Forum

Khulumani Support Group (Gauteng)

KwaZulu-Natal Programme for theSurvivors of Violence


Mark Kaplan

Mpumalanga Reconciliation Project

National Coalition for Gay and LesbianEquality

National Network on Violence AgainstWomen

North West Para Legal Movement

Peace Action

People Opposing Women Abuse

Project for Conflict Resolution andDevelopment

Rape Crisis (Cape Town)

Religious Response to Truth andReconciliation Commission

Riviersonderend Advice andDevelopment Centre

Sexual Harassment Education Project

South African Prisoners Organisation forHuman Rights

South African San Institute

Southern African Advanced EducationProject

Truth and Reconciliation Commission:Capital Punishment

University of Natal: Campus Law Clinic

Victory Sonqoba Theatre Company

Wits Rural Facility Refugee ResearchProgramme

Women on Farms Project

2000p2000 onwards

At their Decennial Review in 1998, held four years after the first democraticelections in South Africa, Trustees began to consider seriously whether it wasright to close the programme down. Then, it was felt that there were stillstrong reasons for continuing the programme. But in 2001 a full review led tothe ‘difficult, yet liberating’ decision to launch a final five-year programme,starting in 2004.

For the past ten years, JRCT had been supporting organisations working toput in place elements of a strong and healthy democracy. Many of thebuilding blocks were now incorporated into national legislation, and Trusteesrealised that little more could be done at that level within the time left. Theydecided to concentrate on one province, deepening and strengthening thework for peace and justice at local level.

So from 2004 the programme continued to fund work focusing on ruralpoverty, conflict and transformation; but it was restricted to projects inKwaZulu-Natal. JRCT said goodbye to some long-standing partners; butmany remained, and new projects came on board. By 2008 the Trust wasfunding more black-led organisations, including community-based groups.Local communities were seeking and implementing local responses, but alsolinking their experiences to provincial and national advocacy.


“We support work that promotes a just and peaceful South Africa:

— By addressing the problems of violent conflict on all levels of society

— By building a strong human rights culture

— Through the reduction of rural poverty”

Sinani


Grants 2000 onwards

African Pathways

Alliance for Children’s Entitlement toSocial Security


Biowatch Association

Black Sash Trust

Built Environment Support Group

Canon Collins Educational Trust forSouthern Africa

Ceasefire Campaign


Centre for Public Participation

Centre for Rural Legal Studies

Children First


Church Agricultural Project

Community Law and RuralDevelopment Centre

Diakonia Council of Churches

East London and Border Refugee Forum

Ekupholeni

Freedom of Expression Institute

Friends of Mosvold (FOM) Trust

Gay and Lesbian Archives

Gun Free South Africa

Hopetown Advice and DevelopmentCentre

Inclusive and Affirming Ministries

Independent Projects Trust

Inkanyezi Child and Family WelfareSociety

Institute for Democracy in South Africa(IDASA)

Institute for Healing of Memories

Justice and Women JAW

Karoo Centre for Human Rights

Khulumani Support Group

KwaZulu-Natal Christian Council

KZN Network on Violence AgainstWomen

Masimanyane Women’s Support Centre

Media in Education Trust

Men For Change

National Family Maintenance Forum

National Network on Violence AgainstWomen

Open Democracy Advice Centre

Persona Doll Training South Africa

Phaphama

Phoenix Zululand

The Power of Women and Children

Quaker Peace Centre

Rape Crisis (Cape Town)

Rape Crisis Centre (Port Elizabeth)

Regional Peace Network

Resources Aimed at the Prevention ofChild Abuse & Neglect

Rights Africa

Riviersonderend Advice andDevelopment Centre

Rural Development Support Program

The Rural Women’s Movement

Sex Worker Education and AdvocacyTaskforce (SWEAT)

Sinani

Soul City/ACESS

South African History Archive (SAHA)

Southern African Grantmakers’Association

Spirals Trust

Surplus People Project

Sustainable Enterprise for EnablingDevelopment (SEED) Trust

Themba HIV/AIDS Organisation

UKZN Campus Law Clinic

UKZN Peace Education Programme

U-Managing Conflict

uMngeni AIDS Centre Trust

Victory Sonqoba Theatre Company

Wits Rural Facility Refugee ResearchProgramme

Zenzeleni Community Project

2008pCurrent Grantees (2008)

The next pages describe the projects that the Trust was funding in 2008,when its programme came to an end. They are dynamic, inspiring projectsand the Trust is proud to have been associated with them.

] Gun Free South Africa was formed in 1994 to help build a safe and secureSouth Africa, free from fear, by reducing the number of firearms insociety. GFSA works in conflict-ridden communities in KZN, runningworkshops in schools and working with local authorities to promotegun-free zones.

Lihle Cwinya’ai e 033 342 6880 e www.gunfree.org.za

] Community Law and Rural Development Centre is working to promoteequitable access to justiciable, socio-economic and human rights.A network of paralegal advice centres provide access to the law in someof the most rural communities in KwaZulu-Natal.

Langalihle Mtshali e 031 205 8844


Paralegal advice office (Community Law and Rural Development Centre)

] Legal Entities Assessment Programme (LEAP) is a group of actionresearch projects that network and share common themes in land andhousing issues in both rural and urban contexts, with a focus on tenuresystems. JRCT has supported a project involving Mdukatshani RuralDevelopment Project (MDRP) which works in the Msinga area and Plaasbased at the University of the Western Cape. This project aims to deepenknowledge of land and resource use systems in the land reform and trustland areas of the tribes set against a rapidly changing legislative context.It also seeks to explore and challenge local cultural understanding of landand natural resource management practices, particularly relating towomen and HIV/AIDS affected households – and is also developing abetter understanding of how legislation impacts on tenure andgovernance systems.

Rauri Alcock (Church Agricultural Project) e [email protected] e www.leap.org.za

] Sinani is an Nguni word which means ‘we are with you.’ Sinani, otherwiseknown as the KwaZulu-Natal Programme for Survivors of Violence, buildscollaborative partnerships with communities affected by violence, povertyand HIV & Aids. Together with community partners Sinani assesses localdynamics and tries to draw on existing resources and traditional ways ofaddressing these problems, while introducing new learning andnetworking.

Mdu Molefe e 033 342 1378 e www.survivors.org.za

“These experiences were not meant to break us. Theywere given to usin order that wemight be strengthened. It is the same boiling waterthat hardens an egg and softens a carrot.” Sinani participant.

] Sustainable Enterprise for Enabling Development (SEED) has beenworking in the Uthungulu District (near Richard’s Bay) with the TraditionalHealers’ Project (THP). The project is enabling local communities toprotect areas of cultural and ecological significance, using processes thatstrengthen traditional knowledge and using governance practices thatfocus on developing sustainable livelihood options and sound naturalresource management.

Haidee Swanbee e 031 7651494 e www.seedtrust.net


Legal EntitiesAssessment

Programme (LEAP)


] Rural Development Support Programme works with rural community-based organisations. Its Khanyisa Capacity Building Programme in KZNhas drawn in a range of groups from across the province, giving them keyskills, networking opportunities and customised organisationdevelopment support. Course components included structures andsystems; financial management; fundraising; sustainability; impact;HIV/AIDS; gender; and understanding poverty and development.

Gardie Judge e 021 462 4555 e [email protected] e www.rdsp.co.za

] Built Environment Support Group promotes sustainable livelihoods andhabitable environments as a way of supporting the poor and vulnerableto access resources and increasingly gain control over their lives anddestinies. JRCT has funded BESG’s ‘Deepening Democracy’ programme. Ithelps communities to engage with strategic planning and participatorybudgeting; gain access to basic services, and secure tenure for women-and-child-headed households.

Cameron Brisbane e 033 394 4980 e www.cindi.org.za/BESG

] Justice and Women (JAW), based in Pietermaritzburg and Mthonjaneniworks to improve urban and rural women’s access to family law rights(maintenance payments for themselves and their children, inheritancerights, securing protection from domestic violence) through equippingwomen to deal with the court system and through helping communitiesexamine and change gendered customs and practices which militateagainst women and children getting support.

Jenny Bell e 033 394 9949 e [email protected]

] Persona Doll Training South Africa provides an effective, non-threateningand enjoyable way to raise equality issues and counter stereotypical anddiscriminatory thinking with early years practitioners, community workers,students and young children. Persona Dolls and their stories are powerfultools for exploring, uncovering and confronting bias. They help children toexpress their feelings and ideas, think critically, challenge unfair treatmentand develop empathy with people who are different to themselves.

Carol Smith e 021 788 4365 e www.persona-doll-training.org

Doll makers, Persona DollTraining South Africa


] Victory Sonqoba Theatre Company was set up by Bongani Linda, adynamic and determined dramatist and activist. The Company works withex-combatants and young people, devising plays which respond tocurrent issues, and performing them in marginalised communities. VSTChas offices and troupes of actors in Gauteng and KZN.

Bongani Linda e [email protected] e 011 786 9099

] Mphophomeni Gender Paralegal Office provides advice and support tothe people of Mphophomeni, a township near Howick in the KZNMidlands. A young office with keen staff and volunteers, it helpsindividuals and families, and works to build a strong and cohesivecommunity. With a good record in working in the field of Human Rights(Community Legal Assistance), Gender and HIV/Aids issues, the officealso champions the peer education programme that enables learners totalk about youth pressing issues and confront them.

Thulani Mthalane e [email protected] e 033 2380934

] Khulumani Support Group was formed in 1995 by survivors and familiesof victims of the political conflict of South Africa’s apartheid past. It wasset up in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission by victimswho needed to speak out about the past to ensure that such violationsnever occur again. Khulumani’s activities are guided by the need of itsmembers; building provincial capacity is one crucial activity.

Rose Dlamini e 011 403 4098/4396 e www.khulumani.net

] The Power of Women and Children works to support and empowerwomen and children through a wide range of initiatives, including a daycentre and nursery, computer training, and organisation developmentsupport.

Mufumbe Mateso e 011 402 8034 e [email protected]

] Ethalaneni Development Trust, based in an isolated rural area nearNkandla, developed a peace programme bringing together all membersof the community to identify and find solutions to common problems.This work has made a real impact on the quality of life in the valley. TheGender Imbizo project is now working with community members andleaders to promote the needs of women in the area.

Zodumo Ndwandwe e 35 833 9041 e [email protected]

Workshop on gender roles,Mphophomeni Gender

Paralegal Office


] The Centre for Public Participation is an independent non-partisanorganization empowering civil society to engage actively with accessibleand accountable structures and processes of governance. It achieves thisthrough promoting democratic governance and dialogue between stateand the public; increasing civil society participation in governance; andstrengthening the quality of public participation through research andeducation.

Shelton George (Director) e 031 261 9001 e www.cpp.org.za

] Biowatch is a national NGO which publicises, monitors and researchesissues of genetic engineering, and promotes biological diversity andsustainable livelihoods. The head office is in Cape Town: JRCT hassupported its local office in Mtubatuba in northern KZN, where itsupports sustainable agricultural practices and access to markets forsmall-scale farmers.

Leslie Liddell e 021 447 5939 e www.biowatch.org.za

] Phaphama works to build a nonviolent society by connecting peoplethrough life skills and conflict resolution training, language and culturelearning and community tourism initiatives.

Colin Glen e 011 487 1950 e [email protected] e www.phaphama.org

Biowatch

Non-violenceworkshop,Phaphama


] Themba HIV-AIDS Organisation delivers health education and behaviourchange for HIV prevention among school learners, teachers and adults.Through youth training, personal development, performance-workshopsand Interactive Theatre Companies, Themba is changing the way youngpeople participate in creating their futures free from HIV.

Eric Richardson e 011 403 7222 e www.themba.org.zae [email protected]

] Media in Education Trust Africa works to improve the lives of children bystrengthening education systems in Africa. Its Peace Begins With Meproject, funded by JRCT, has been developed in rural schools inKwaZulu-Natal.

Wilna Botha e 031 261 1013 e www.miet.co.za

] Phoenix Zululand works in prisons and with ex-offenders based on theprinciples of restorative justice. Its pioneering Family Conferencing work ishelping prisoners to regain a home and employment after completingtheir sentence.

Richard Aitken e 035 474 5689 e [email protected] www.phoenix-zululand.org

] Association for Rural Advancement (AFRA) is an independent NGOworking on land rights and agrarian reform in KwaZulu-Natal, SouthAfrica. AFRA’s work focuses on black rural people whose rights to landhave been undermined, whose tenure is insecure, and who do not haveaccess to sufficient land to fulfil their development aspirations or eventheir basic needs.

Lisa del Grande e 033 345 7607 e www.afra.co.za

Women at Tent Town,Greytown


] Inkanyezi Child and Family Welfare Society works in townships and ruralareas around Eshowe, promoting children’s rights. Its Child AdvocacyProject is a groundbreaking initiative, involving children in decision-making and policy development in the area.

Lwazi Fihela e 035 474 0712 e [email protected] e www.icw.org.za

] The FOM Scholarship Scheme identifies, trains and supports ruralstudents to become qualified health care professionals in order to addressthe human resource shortages in rural hospitals, thereby improving healthcare to rural communities.

Gavin MacGregor e 031 765 5774 e www.fomscholarship.org.za

] Zenzeleni runs a series of community-based initiatives in Mphophomeni, atownship near Howick in the KZN Midlands. The Community PeaceProject initiates mediation in this area which was previously ravaged byviolent conflict

Bonginkosi Ndlovu and Fazakile Mchunu e 033 2380966e [email protected]

] Rural Women’s Movement co-ordinates research and advocacy onwomen’s and children’s land, property, housing and inheritance rights.

Sizani Ngubane e 033 343 4147 e [email protected]

FOM ScholarshipScheme graduates

Demonstration outside theWorld Congress of Rural

Women in Durban(Rural Women’s Movement)

closingpDeciding to close

When democracy was won in 1994, Trustees realised that the programmewould need to change – but agreed it would not be right to withdrawimmediately.

After ten more years, Trustees reviewed the programme. It was clear thatmuch of the work that JRCT had been funding had been successful. SouthAfrica now had democracy, with perhaps the best constitution in the world,and much helpful legislation had been passed since 1994. A great deal hadbeen achieved, although there was still a very long way to go.

However, by the early 21st century new strategies were needed. Goodlegislation was in place, often thanks to civil society organisations working topromote civil and political rights. Now, social and economic rights were thepriority. Good legislation needed to be implemented at local and provinciallevel to make a real difference to people’s lives.

Trustees decided to close the programme for four reasons:

1. They believe that grantmaking is most effective when there is directengagement between applicants and grantees, Trustees and staff and it isdifficult to do this from such a distance.

2. In the context of the enormous amount of work needed to implementsocial and economic change in the new environment, the amount ofmoney that JRCT had available for funding in S. Africa (about £0.5 million,or R7.5 million a year) could only have a limited impact.

3. For many years JRCT was one of very few overseas funders supportingwork in South Africa. Now there were more donors operating in thecountry, able to commit much larger sums of money as well as having alocal presence and staff.

4. In reviewing the programme areas and overall workload of the JRCT,Trustees decided that for the Trust to work more effectively the overallnumber of programmes should be cut from 7 to 5; and the South Africanprogramme was the one that operated at the furthest geographicalremove from the Trust’s base in England.



After careful reflection Trustees agreed that the South Africa programmewould be closed in 2008, following a final five-year programme focusing inone province and prioritising two strands of work: rural poverty and conflictand reconciliation.

Trustees were aware that sudden and unplanned closure of grantprogrammes can be devastating for grantees, and for this reason they stageda gradual withdrawal over five years. The final five-year programme was usedto work with grantees to build their capacity to fundraise from other sourcesand, as far as possible, to sustain their work programmes into the future.

closingp

Living Sustained Dialogue(Ethalaneni Development Trust)

Biowatch


leavingpLeaving South Africa – how it was done

Solid groundwork

Before the final five-year programme was shaped, Trustees organised a two-week visit to South Africa, to meet with and hear from grantees and others.Consultations in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town focused on ruralpoverty and conflict. As well as informing the framework for the programme,and the decision about where it would operate, the visit helped JRCT todevelop existing relationships and create new ones, to underpin the nextthree years’ work.

Active engagement

The final five year programme differed from the earlier years in two respects.For many years applications to the Africa programme had been consideredby a special committee, involving Trustees and co-opted members withexperience of South Africa. For the first time, two resident South Africanswere co-opted to the Committee in 2004. They both brought invaluableexpertise: Ntebo Ngozwana a solid understanding of organisations andtransition, and Donna Hornby deep knowledge of rural communities and theissues they face.

Our South African Committee members were encouraged to attend at leastone UK-based meeting a year and although this was not always possibletheir comments always helped to inform decisions. Several Committeemeetings were held in South Africa itself, so that Trustees could visit projectsand learn about current issues, together, and with South African partners.

Clear communication

Once the decision had been taken, the first task for the Trust was tocommunicate the news, giving grantees clear information and plenty of timeto adapt. When the final five-year programme was announced in 2004 allgrantees received a personal letter, outlining the changes and indicating howit would impact on them. Some key grantees based outside of KZN wereallowed to apply for a final grant. All grantees working in KZN were able toseek continued funding.


leavingpCareful grantmaking

During the final five years, Trustees were careful not to make grants thatcould leave grantees in a potentially weak situation. Guidelines were used toinform grantmaking decisions, and were also incorporated into theinformation for grant applicants:

Project sustainability

a) Ideally, projects will enable the recipient to lever other funding;

b) Projects should have a built-in capacity building component;

c) Grants are unlikely to be made to isolated groups: projects should be ableto secure realistic and sustained support, ideally from within KZN;

d)Where an organisation or provincial project has a partner (including anational office) it should be clear that the partnership strengthens ratherthan weakens the work;

Types of work

e) The focus of a work programme should not be limited to the recipientorganisation; there should be benefits for member organisations and/orlocal communities;

f) The Committee wants to support community-based socio-economicdevelopment;

g) The Committee values the opportunity to fund advocacy and lobbying atlocal and national government level;

New and existing grantees

h) In the final year of grantmaking, the Committee will not take onorganisations that have recently been established;

i) Those grantees assessed as having a strong capacity to survive will not beprioritised for grant funding from the Trust.

An independent, listening ear

Too often, grantees and grant applicants tell donors what they think we wantto hear. In 2006 the Trust commissioned a local consultant, with appropriatelanguage skills, to visit each grantee, explain the closure of the programme,and discuss the problems they would face as a result. Makhosi Mweli listenedcarefully and reported back to the Trust. We were glad to hear that her visithad been welcomed by the grantees.

As a result, we realised that many grantees would benefit from extra supportto strengthen their capacity to survive.

Shared fundraising development

Most grantees had asked for two things: fundraising training and a chance tomeet and network with other JRCT grantees. So, we recruited and workedwith a local organisation development specialist who provided a fundraisingdevelopment and training programme. This was offered, free, to all grantees.


However, fundraising is not a narrow, enclosed area of work. So theprogramme was designed to build the wide range of skills needed todevelop a sound fundraising strategy. It also involved several members ofeach organisation.

Bespoke capacity building

Each organisation is different: it would have been counter-productive toimpose a ‘one-size-fits all’ solution. We understood that some grantees werebetter equipped to withstand JRCT withdrawal. Less robust organisationswere encouraged to work with an external consultant, at the Trust’s expense,who could help them build the particular skills and strategies they needed.Although we suggested the names of some consultants, grantees were askedto choose the one that suited them best.

Local partnership

During the final five-year programme applications were sent direct to theoffice. But we still needed a local partner to help assess grant applicationsthree times a year. Rebecca Freeth, a South African with extensiveexperience of the NGO sector and organisational development needs, provedto be the perfect partner. She worked closely with JRCT committeemembers and staff who benefitted from her clear and positive analysis of theapplicants and the context in which they are working.

Trustees agreed that once the final grants were made it would not beappropriate or necessary to visit South Africa on behalf of the Trust again.Grantees continue to liaise with the Trust office in York by telephone andemail, and send written reports when available. In South Africa Rebecca visitsgrantees from time to time, offering guidance and support, and reportingback to the Trust.

A slow exit

The process of JRCT’s withdrawal from South Africa has been slow.Sometimes there has been impatience, in South Africa as well as in the UK.Yet Trustees understand that it would have been wrong to pull out tooquickly. South Africa is a young country. JRCT has built up relationships withpeople in South Africa, over many years. Trustees believe that closing theprogramme gently and carefully will better help them adapt to meet the newchallenges they face.

Landless Peoples Movement(LPM) march (AFRA)


Acknowledgements

Thanks are due to all of the individuals linked to Trust grants – far too manyto name individually. We also thank all our colleagues at Interfund, ourassessor Rebecca Freeth and many other consultants and partners who havehelped us at different times.

The following people have been particularly closely connected with theprogramme:

Trust staff

Eric Cleaver

Trevor Jepson

Steven Burkeman

Sally Scarlett

Nick Perks

Rachael Hansen

Juliet Prager

Trustee members of JRCT’s Africa Committee

Andrew Gunn

Beverley Meeson

Carol Saker

Christine Davis

Christopher Holdsworth

Derek Guiton

Michael Rowntree

Peter Coltman

Peter Stark

Ruth McCarthy

Tom Allport

Co-opted members

David Maughan Brown

Brian Brown

Donna Hornby

Elaine Unterhalter

Hannah Pennock

Ntebo Ngozwana

Sarah Hayward

Simon Fisher

Shirley Mashiane-Talbot

33over forty years of grantmaking for peace and justice in South Africa

The Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust

The Garden House

Water End, York YO30 6WQ

Tel: + 44 (0) 1904 627810

Fax: +44 (0) 1904 651990

www.jrct.org.uk

[email protected]

Registered Charity: 210037

ISBN number 978-1-0-3196-13-7

© The Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust 2008design:dg3.co.uk

learning from the past: building for the future

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