Dear friends of Hope and Light
2024 is on the horizon! Another year certain to be filled with new challenges, new highlights and new exciting developments! But before we get there, let’s take some time to reflect at the year that was.
As 2023 comes to an end, we are reminded of the harsh and extreme challenges that faced Hope and Light – especially financially – as our much-needed restructuring of the organisation was not well-received by everybody. But we made it by God’s grace. It would not have been possible without the prayers and support of many people who share our vision, working shoulder-to-shoulder with us and continuing to donate on a monthly basis or bridging financial gaps when needed. We are immensely grateful!
It is with a humble amount of pride that we can share some good news today:
- We finally received our provisional accreditation by Umalusi (an independent accreditation body for independent schools), an accreditation that we’ve been striving for since 2018! This is a wonderful Christmas present and would not have been possible without our headmaster, Blackie Swart, who immediately took the bull by the horns when he joined the Hope and Light family in March and led his team through an intensive time of gathering documentation. He also prepared an intricate schedule for the on-site visit that stood the test of load shedding.
- We are extremely grateful to Werner Klimke, who was appointed to the role of facility manager at the three premises in March. There is still a lot of work and resources are limited but with his practical and hands-on approach he continues to go the extra mile with his team.
- Personnel restructuring and training was another focal point in 2023 and many of our staff attended workshops, developed their potential and rose above the challenges. We will continue to use the resources available to us in 2024 to upskill, uplift and empower our staff members.
To create a sustainable organisation it is vital to enlarge the support base – not only overseas, but also locally and internally – from the staff to local businesses, from politicians to friends of friends of friends … We are still speechless when we look at the number of people who contributed in 2023 through fundraising activities, donations, volunteer work, gifts and prayers. Too many to mention here, but you are in our hearts and are all appreciated!
Please take a few minutes to look back on our 2023 achievements: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uvx3osOgCxU
To everyone near and far – we wish you a festive season of hope and light! Where there is light, darkness must flee and where there is hope, there is a future!
Best wishes from directors Neville, Anthea and Judith
and the entire team at Hope and Light