Vrygrond Community Development Trust

View the latest video of the official opening of the Vrygrond Community Centre, attended by Annie Lennox, Elton John and David Furnish. The Centre is a joint venture between the Elton John AIDS Foundation, Annie Lennoxs SING Campaign, and the Vrygrond Community Development Trust. It will provide vital services for adults and children in the Vrygrond community, up to 13% of whom are already infected with HIV. View the video.
Visit Vrygrond Community Development Trust's website.

The New Centre

The center will provide nutrition, educational and material support through its services, which will include:

• Infant and pre-school care
• After school care
• Skills training income generation and marketing support for HIV positive women
• A vegetable garden for the users of the center and as a teaching aid for the community
• Provision of healthy and inexpensive meals for the users of the center and to improve the eating habits of the community
• A social worker and team of community care workers to do home visits
• A “Fit for Life, Fit for Work” skills training and job placement program for unemployed youth.

To improve their community further, the Vrygrond Community Development Trust requested the services of Etafeni Trust to develop a multi-purpose community center, based on the Etafeni model. The center, that will care for the AIDS-affected and vulnerable children and their caregivers, will also serve as a resource center for the community in their struggle against AIDS and poverty. In keeping with the Etafeni model, unemployed people who were recruited for training in construction are building the center.

History

Vrygrond, a sub-economic community in the sand near Muizenberg, is historically under-resourced. Over 80% of the residents are unemployed and a large portion of the population are under the age of eighteen. Visit Vrygrond Community Development Trust website.

The Vrygrond Community Development Trust, in partnership with the community, has taken an active leadership role to negotiate and implement Vrygrond’s development plans. The Trust’s efforts have resulted in infrastructural improvements in the community. Permanent housing has replaced most shacks and a crèche, primary school and library have been built. However, the community remains without any health services or medical facilities.

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