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History
The Hermanus Rainbow Trust was established in 1997 by Vivienne Owen in response to the dire conditions that children in Zwelihle township were living in. The organisation was officially registered as a trust and as a nonprofit organisation in 1999. The initial focus of the Hermanus Rainbow Trust was to improve and develop the conditions of early child development centres (crèches) in poorer areas of the Overstrand so that small children would be able to receive the quality of early education that they so desperately needed. The Trust’s scope and objectives have widened over time, and it now operates within the areas of early child development (ECD), health, and social welfare and development.
| Some highlights of the Trust's development | |
|---|---|
| 1997 | A handful of interested people go together to discuss the formation of a Trust to assist with three ECD centres that were struggling in Zwelihle township |
| 1998 | Documentation drawn up to constitute and register the organisation as a Trust and as an NPO |
| 1999 | The Hermanus Rainbow Trust is officially registered on 19 February. NPO registration is finalised on 30 August |
| 2000 | The Home-Based Care (HBC) programme is initiated on a small scale through the Trust's initiative |
| ECD teachers received training | |
| 2001 | An administrative assistant was employed to help with the dat to day running of the Trust |
| Seven home-based carers were employed and trained | |
| The Trust's Grade R school - Zwelihle Pre-Primary - was opened | |
| 2002 | The Department of Health came on board to assist the growth and roll-out of the HBC programme |
| Renovations and additions were built onto the three assisted ECD centres, and more funrniture and learning materials were obtained | |
| 2003 | All ECD centres became registered with the Department of Social Development | 2004 | A nursing sister was employed to coordinate HBC activities, and the services were expanded to include Gansbaai, Stanford, Hawston and Kleinmond |
| Orphans and vulnerable children were provided with lunch and clothes through the Children's Circle of Support programme | |
| 2006 | Seven home-based carers began EPWP training so that they could ultimately move into nursing careers |
| The Children's Circle of Support programme expanded to provide breakfast and school lunch-boxes | |
| After-school activities were begun to provide children with stimulation during afternoons | |
| 2007 | Health screening and adherence support programmes were introduced into the HBC programme | The number of children attending Zwelihle pre-primary grew to 142, and a total of seven teachers were employed |
| 2008 | The Trust experiences significant expansion and employs more service and administrative staff |
| 2009 | Parenting Worx is initiated as a new programme aimed at promoting and restoring family structure, and at reducing child mortality |
| Another new project - ECD Health - is begun to reduce child illnesses at ECD centres | |
| The Trust's total staff contingent reaches over 75 individuals | |
| 2010 | The HRT does not begin any new programmes, but grows and improves its existing services. The total atff component swells to almost 100 individuals |
| Some of the organisation's longest-standing Trustees decide to hand the batton to a new generation of Trustees with new skills and energy | |
| The HRT begins to pay significant to attention to its long-term sustainability, fundraising and marketing, and seeks to promote its brand locally, regionally and internationally |
